Boomerality

Happy New Year! Here we are, already two weeks into another new year! Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? How are they going? If you are finding that you are having trouble keeping those goals you have set to lose weight, exercise more or de-clutter your home, maybe it’s time to think differently about New Year’s resolutions.

Here’s a thought. For 2017, why not consider what kind of legacy you wish to leave?

One of the pioneers in ministry to those in the second half of life is Amy Hansen. Hansen has written extensively on the subject. I love the story she tells about a time she was speaking with a very dedicated retired gentleman. She asked him how it happened that he devoted so much of his time to serving his church and community. Here’s what he said:

When my granddaughter was a little girl, I used to sing a song to her that went like this:

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
All good girls go to heaven.
When they get there, they will say,
‘We love Jesus every day.’

One day, I overheard her singing the song in another room. She sang:

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,
All good grandpas go to heaven.
When they get there, they will say,
‘GOLF, GOLF, GOLF, GOLF, every day!
WE LOVE JESUS EVERY DAY.’

At this point, Amy says that she cracked up laughing, but he looked her straight in the eyes with a serious look on his face and said, “Amy, in that moment, I saw myself through the eyes of my granddaughter. She saw what my passion was, and this was not the legacy I wanted to leave.”

Now, there was nothing wrong with this man’s desire to play golf. It can bring him exercise, time with friends and acquaintances, and fun. It is a pleasure that he should keep in his schedule, but as he himself came to understand, it’s a hobby that needs to be balanced with those things that engage one’s soul and which bring true meaning.

Unlike many of the resolutions we make, creating a legacy is not just about improving oneself. It’s about helping others and making a difference in the community around you.

Consider where and how God is calling you into service in this New Year. Are you being called to serve at the local food bank? Are there people in your faith community who are lonely and housebound and would love to have you visit? Is there a program at your neighbourhood school or library where you can volunteer to help refugee children learn to read? Can you volunteer at the local hospital or Habitat for Humanity? Alternatively, you may wish to think about becoming a Big Sister or a Big Brother.

Make this still very new year one of your best ever! Share your gifts and talents with others who need your help! Create a legacy of the spirit.

The story included in this blog post is excerpted from Amy Hanson’s Baby Boomers and Beyond: Tapping the Ministry Talents and Passions of Adults Over 50 (San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2010) p. 185.

Today, as I complete my final preparations for our Christmas Eve service, I am struck by the fact that I have been doing this for over thirty years. In fact, this is my 61st Christmas. Everyone says that Christmas is for kids. Yet, with sixty Christmas celebrations behind me, most of them happy, some tinged by the sadness of passing loved ones and friends, I still find this to be an especially beautiful and magical time of year.

In many congregations tonight, children will participate in a nativity pageant. But if we want to stay true to the Christmas story, it might be better to have most of the parts played by people like us – men and women who find ourselves in the second half of life. Think of it. Apart from the infant Jesus and his mother, many of the characters in the biblical narrative are older people. There are Zechariah and Elizabeth, who were blessed by the birth of their son John the Baptist when they were greatly advanced in age. There’s Joseph, partner of Mary, generally thought to have been many years older than her. There are those weather-beaten and seasoned shepherds, out watching their flocks by night. There are the magi, those wise royal travellers from the east, who have spent years and years studying the stars and who now make their journey to bring gifts to the child Jesus. And let’s not forget the elderly prophets Simeon and Anna, who have spent their whole lives waiting for the birth of the Messiah. These and many others are witnesses to the love of God born in the Christ child that first Christmas long ago.

The message is clear. You and I, who now find ourselves in the second half of life, have a special role to play in witnessing to God’s love in the infant Jesus. This Christmas, take time to reflect on how you can share the miracle of this holy night. Consider how you can give birth to God’s love in the coming New Year.

Merry Christmas!

In his novel, Nothing to be Frightened Of, British Baby Boomer Julian Barnes begins with these words: “I don’t believe in God, but I miss him.” His remark reminded me of a comment made to me 35 years ago, by a then much younger Boomer: “I don’t miss the Church or all that Sunday School stuff they taught us, but I do miss the piety.”

Today if you ask those working in the field of church and culture, most will tell you that it is the piety or spiritual practices that many people miss. Chief among those searching for a more practical spirituality are those of us who are called Baby Boomers, who in Canada (depending on who you are talking to) were born roughly between 1946 and 1964.

We Boomers are a very diverse group. We also have very eclectic tastes. We draw nourishment from many sources: the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, meditation, spirit yoga, native spirituality, world religions, the arts, eastern mysticism, Reiki, Shamanic healing, crystals, and drumming, to name just a few. While our approaches may be as individual as we are, some things many of us share include a longing for the transcendent and a desire to really live our faith. So, let’s honour one another’s searching. After all, as church consultant Tom Bandy writes: “The point of course is not to attract people into the institution, but to bless people in the name of Christ in ways uniquely relevant to their needs.”

Who are we?

Seekers, searchers, learners, open to the embracing of the Spirit – that’s who we are!

Who are we?

Employed, downsized, empty-nesters, retired, and re-fired.

Who are we?

Single, married, in relationship, separated or divorced. Who are we? Straight, gay, trans-gendered and twin-spirited.

Who are we?

Partners, siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and the children of elderly fathers and mothers who increasingly need our care.

Who are we?

We are every colour and we are no colour.

Who are we?

Lovers, friends, and servants of God, keen to make a difference in our world.

We are all these things and so much more! Diversity is our middle name. We are Baby Boomers.

Depending on who you are talking to, we Canadian Boomers were born roughly between 1946 and 1966. We are searching for a more vibrant and yet practical spirituality to support us as we engage in this exciting and often challenging period known as the second half of life.

Boomerality is my new blog. It’s about Boomers and Spirituality, specifically Christian spirituality. In Boomerality I will be exploring topics related to Boomers, Faith, Meaning, Spirituality, and How We Build a Life of Meaning in the years after 50. I hope you’ll join me and share your ideas and thoughts.