Generation Attitudes

I have been writing and thinking about the generational attitudes. Generational attitudes are classified as Baby Boomers born 1946 to 1962 (some authors will close that generation at 1964); Generation Xers born 1963 to 1980, and Generation Y or Net Generation or the Millennials (depending on who you read) born 1981 to 2000. As I think about reaching these generations in my professional teaching experience, we also need to think about them in the church. If you want to learn more about the Millennials, Pew Research published some interesting findings. Read their report Millennial's Judgment About Recent Trends.

2010 Adult Education Year

The Adult Education Team at St. Paul's has been working hard to create learning experiences for our attendees. In 2010, we do not expect to slow down. We just finished two weeks of "Serious Answers to Hard Questions" video series. The first week started with "Science vs. Religion". Lecturer John Polkinghorne is an Anglican priest, past President of Queen's College at Cambridge, former Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Society. Polkinghorne suggests that science asks, "How do things happen?" and religion asks, "Is there meaning and purpose at work in the world?" This Sunday the topic was on "Resurrection" by N.T. Wright. Also coming with a long resume, Wright is a well-known, somewhat conservative and respected New Testament scholar, and also a gifted speaker. He currently serves as Bishop of Durham, England. Bill Tammeus, former religion writer for the KC Star, quoted Wright in a recent blog about the Christian view of death, dying and the afterlife. I would like to thank Marti for facilitating these two sessions.

I would like to hear from the readers of this blog if you would like to have more of this series offered on Sunday mornings.

Religion and Science

Religion and science have been in the news for centuries. Pew Research has some new interesting articles about Religion and Science in the U.S. There is also an interesting article about how our brains are wired for faith.

Choices: Theological Reflections on Living and Dying

On October 18th and November 1st, we got the pleasure of talking with Clauda Ricks Hubbard, UM Elder, Chaplain at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics. We discussed what messages our culture sends about death and living. It is a very important topic to discuss, but one that we many times avoid. Many personal experiences were shared with the group. One participant wrote later, "I think people have to remember that a Memorial service of some kind is REALLY important for the ones YOU leave behind.. whether it is a simple dinner, open house, family-only service or the full blown visitation.. and I thought the comments about watching the casket "go to the bottom" was great.. and the legal papers necessary for last wishes and organ donation were great information to me...I have had several people in my immediate circle of friends lose their parents this year,whom are in their 60's.. and I think the unexpected deaths are particularly difficult to deal with. Thanks for all the heartfelt stories and comments this morning."

Another important message that was mentioned that when our children turn 18 years old, they are legally an adult. If the young adult is in an accident, parents do not have the right to make certain decisions at that point without "durable power of attorney."

The Center of Bioethics has a great informational website including forms to complete for Kansas and Missouri concerning Durable Power of Attorney and Healthcare Treatment Directive. Check out the Caring Conversations link. If you have not thought about your death and how you would like things handled, now is the best time to start.