From the Rector
Dear Friends in Christ,
I had an interesting conversation the other day. The person expressed a commonly held notion—especially among older churchgoers—that the traditional liturgy may not be attractive to younger people. Given the declines in many mainline churches this is hardly a surprising conclusion.
Interestingly, though, church data reveals something different.
For example, in the Roman Catholic Church, it is often the Latin mass in parishes that are full of young families. In other traditions, their most traditional expressions are finding new life. In the Church of England, for example, the one bright spot with regard to church attendance has been an uptick in attendance at Evensong in cathedrals.
Evensong is perhaps the most traditional and quintessentially Anglican of services and doesn’t rely on anything contemporary at all to attract people. In fact, it is its timeless quality amidst so much that is changing so quickly that is lending it new life.
Those likely to come to church are looking to be drawn back. They are searching for that thing, that intangible and indescribable experience that they once knew before they knew it. They are looking to be part of something larger than themselves, deeper than their knowing, and stronger than their fears. They will not return if they find the slipshod, the careless, or the needlessly innovative.
I think of my family's return to the Church. It was through Rite I morning prayer with hymns and anthems and an East-facing celebration of the Eucharist. Anything more innovative than that would have sent us searching again—for what we could not have expressed until we found it. The generation before us has dedicated itself, in so many ways, to undoing the traditions of the Church.
In many ways this was necessary and healthy.
The new task is the more complicated and deeper one: reconstructing that which has been lost and rediscovering those elements that can be carefully and lovingly restored.
Not long ago, there was a commission assembled to look at the possibility of revising the hymnal. The churchwide survey sent out had surprising results—to some at least.
The survey’s report was designed to ascertain the level of support—or lack thereof—for a revision of the Hymnal 1982.
One factor emerged as surprise to those administering the survey: the group most resistant to the idea of revising the hymnal was comprised of people 29 years old or younger. They are the most resistant by a large percentage.
13,000 people took this survey and the report concludes, on page 57,
“Respondents in their twenties and younger are statistically different than the rest of the respondents, reporting the least interest in desiring worship music to reflect their personal musical tastes. This proves counter to the ‘common knowledge’ theory that younger congregants are looking for a more modern or popular-music experience at church.”
In the Under 30 Demographic:
—Among lay respondents: 50% opposed to revision, 30% neutral, 20% in favor.
—Among clergy respondents: 61.5% opposed to revision, 7.7% neutral, 30.8% in favor.
The report states, “Younger respondents continue to differ from older respondents when questioned about whether they wish worship music reflected their general musical tastes."
One 22 year old respondent wrote,
“I think there is a huge assumption made that the younger generation wants guitar- and piano-based praise and worship music. ...What we want to hear in a Sunday Eucharist are the classic hymns played on organ. And occasionally we want to chant. Church is the one place where our musical taste is not based upon fad, but instead links us with a much more important, more elegant tradition. If I wanted to listen to acoustic guitar and piano, I’d pick up Dave Matthews or Ben Folds. If I wanted rap, I’d listen to Lil Wayne. ...For worship, I want music that connects to me a world outside of the in-and-out of my daily life.”
In its conclusion, the report states, “Perhaps most significantly, there is no pattern in which youth correlates with a particular movement towards new forms of musical expression. To revise the Hymnal must in some way be a project that is a gift to the next generation. Gaining some clearer sense of what the worship music of that generation will look like will require a longer and more careful period of discernment.”
All of this cautions us about assuming that attracting younger members requires huge liturgical changes. That’s not accurate and, in fact, would be received quite negatively by younger folks. The great gift of this is that the Episcopal Church has all that we need to grow. Except, perhaps, the confidence that we have all we need!
A certain steadiness at Saint Philip’s in terms of worship has been a cornerstone of our life. Whatever we do in the future on Sundays will continue to reflect that commitment.
Of course, we will make adjustments in these post-Covid times as we assess where energy is and how to tap into new energy. However, our fundamental commitment to deepening our Anglican identity and heritage will remain sure and certain.
As we look to welcome more into the Episcopal tradition I look forward to sharing all the gifts we have inherited.
Yours in Christ,
—Fr Robert