Recently I attended a workshop on Intergenerational Worship with two facilitators from GenOn in the US who have been working in this area for over twenty years. They gave me some valuable insights into why intergenerational ministry has something to offer us at Brunswick Uniting Church.

So, what is Intergenerational Worship?

It’s a relational model of ministry, as opposed to a program or educational model. It’s a way of seeing rather than a tool. It nurtures Christ-centred relationships by bringing together two or more generations. This doesn’t mean it has to be child and adult, it could be a Boomer and a Gen X.

Intergenerational Worship acknowledges that we all have something to offer in worship and, when we get a chance to share that with others, we all benefit. Doing intergenerational worship means being intentional about creating opportunities where we are mutually invested and we are doing this already. For example, writing or drawing our prayers on flames, sharing experiences of our mothers, creating a cubby or table cloth together. This means there is not an expert and someone who needs to learn, but a community of people who all have something to offer. As children grow with us in this way, we all feel more a part of the community at BUC and invested in each other.

This photo is of the Uniting Church in Maryborough Victoria where I spent my childhood in the 70s and early 80s. You can just see me in the orange jumper. We called it Church in the Round because we met in the church hall in a circle (of sorts). There was discussion and activities and movement. I’m sharing this story now because I realise how much it has influenced my approach to ministry with children, youth and young adults.

Likewise you too will have memories of church (or not) as a child that will influence you. We all bring with us something of what we think church ought to be like.

I have been at BUC for nearly six months now and am starting to get a small insight into this community and the people who are part of it.  I am also sensing that things have changed since the pandemic, and I’m not sure it’s going to return to what people remember from before. There is ‘what we used to do in Sunday Morning Program’ and what seems to make sense to me in this new environment.  I am never sure which children or young people will be attending Sunday worship and the age spread is large. Therefore to create worship where everyone can be part of it regardless of their age makes sense to me. I really welcome your thoughts on this and am very open to having a conversation about it further – even if it’s just to understand what fond experiences of church you carry with you or what possibilities you can also see.

Cath James Minister: CYYA