It isn’t that young people and newcomers aren’t interested in stories from the past. Whether it be family or community traditions, we can cultivate interest in the newer generations through story-telling.
The process can be fostered at anniversary celebrations, but implanting ideas starts much earlier.
In churches, for example, children can be given a treasure hunt list of questions. Invite them to look for memorial plaques and inscriptions and note interesting details. How old is the organ? What does the writing on the front of the communion table mean? How many different cross designs can they find in the sanctuary? What does “In Memory” mean? Who is the baptismal font in memory of?
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The treasure hunt needs to extend over a couple of weeks, with questions handed out one week and answers sought the next.
A little sense of competition never hurts. Neither does it hurt to start making connections between objects named and the families whose members may still be present in the congregation or serving in the community. Forewarning the representative families and asking them to share something about their great-grandparents gives the tie-in a new vitality.
As we give breadth and depth to the things we once took for granted, we feel our roots reaching out. As we talk about the stories that enfold our surroundings, we nourish the tender spirits of our youth. We also encourage each other to think ahead and try new wings.
If, in the earliest times people recognized how essential a faith community could be, is this also true for today?
The God of our ancestors carries us into ever new tomorrows.
