Worship Arts April May June 2022

R E A C H I N G O U T

young and for For

I have long loved Shirley Erena Murray’s text “For Everyone Born (A Place At the Table),” and one of my favorite stanzas has always been this one: “For young and for old, the right to belong.” What a powerful theology. And how often I have, sadly, not seen that played out, and have watched children and youth get edged out of worship, and older adults get edged out of the imaginative future of the church – both extremes relegated to their sticky nurseries and shut inside their dusty 1940s houses. How can we set more places at the table? I come from a “goodly heritage,” as the psalmist would say (Psalm 16, NRSV). My mom, Laura Garrett, retired from music and worship arts ministry after serving for over 40 years in churches of many shapes and sizes. Growing up I watched her navigate the complexities of that ministry: the joys of fruitful programming and community outreach, the strange hours (I mean really … an Easter Sunrise service on Time Change Sunday?! Who thought that was a good idea?!), the reality of planning Christmas in June and Easter in September, the underbelly of church politics that sever friendships and wound hearts forever. The whys of creating space As I have formed my own theology of ministry, theology of worship, and, specifically for this article, theology of intergenerational ministry, many of my grounding tenets come from my mother. Here’s one of my favorite parts of Mom’s theology that I have shamelessly lifted (with her permission): “Children have a right to every aspect of ministry – singing, dancing, drumming, reading, leading, thinking, speaking, challenging – and the whole church misses out on their witness, richness, talents, and wisdom when they’re relegated to the children’s wing of the building. It’s our responsibility to create space for them, so they can teach us just as much or more than we teach them.” How do we do that? How do we create space for children, and space for older adults, and space for all in between? Before we get to the “how,” though, I want to share a few thoughts on the “why.” I believe we are called, theologically, to intergenerational ministry, and the “how” makes more sense when the “why” is established.

old

The whys, whats, and hows of intergenerational ministry

by Rebecca Garrett Pace

For young and for old, a place at the table, a voice to be heard, a part in the song, the hands of a child in hands that are wrinkled, for young and for old, the right to belong. And God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace, yes, God will delight when we are creators of justice, justice and joy!

From “A Place at the Table” Words: Shirley Erena Murray

Words © 1998 Hope Publishing Company Carol Stream, IL 60188 www.hopepublishing.com All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Reprinted from WorshipArts May-June 2018

___________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16 April-May-June 2022 • WorshipArts • umfellowship.org