When I was little, my father took my sisters and I to the field one afternoon. He said “Now girls I want you to look all around. “ At the time, my parents owned fifty acres of woods and farm land. It was a dream. He continued, “Some day all this is yours.” I was in awe. It got me excited thinking about the future. My imagination couldn’t help wonder what I would do with my portion of the land. Would I build a house on it? Would my children play in the same woods I grew up exploring? I could picture it. My father’s words gave me permission to dream about the future and how I fit into his plans for me. It made me feel like I had ownership of something big.
I think about this in relation to the churches that I belong to today. I think about the thirty-something year olds, like myself, and the youth. Do they know that the church they attend belongs to them? When I look at the state of the churches and parish halls, my guess is no, they don’t know. the buildings are dusty, the landscaping needs work, the candle sticks need a good cleaning. You see, obviously the land that belonged to my parents belonged to me and my siblings because we were all family, but we needed to hear our father tell us that; we needed him to say it to our faces, like an audible confirmation of our stake in the property. He was passing unto us our responsibility to one day take over and care for the land just like the younger generation will one day take over the operation of the churches.
So shouldn’t our elders be saying these things? And if so, why aren’t they conveying this powerful message to us? We need to hear it. We need to know that we have permission to dream about the future. There can be no future without a vision, and there can be no vision without dreams. And how can our young people begin to dream if they have nothing to dream about?
This is what I would say to a child in my church: “Look all around you. Look at the pews, look at the statues, the altar and all its details, look at the organ and the music equipment, look at the hymnals and liturgical books, look at everything in here. All this belongs to you. And one day, you will be in control of these things with other people. What do you want it to look like then? So you must cherish this place because it is yours.”
Words are sometimes necessary even in the obvious because it gives way to sentiment, that not only is this the reality of things naturally, but that we desire it in our hearts. In other words, I want the youth to take over, I want them to have this. Don't miss the chance to let them know.