Being intergenerational at Pentecost

Rev Sandy Brodine

The story of Pentecost in the Book of Acts is the inspiring of the birth of the church. Filled with rushing, violent wind, divided tongues of fire and the ability to suddenly be able to speak in other languages, this is a story of discerning the will of God for the people of faith, and being able to genuinely hear one another speaking ‘about God’s deeds of power.’ (Acts 2:11).

In the recently published Assembly resource paper “Being an Intergenerational Church” it was stated that: “the Uniting Church in Australia seeks to be a genuinely intergenerational church in which all ages are welcomed and valued, where every generation is engaged together in active discipleship, growing in and sharing faith in Jesus.”[1]

This is certainly a high ideal to which we should all aspire. We might well add that we also seek to be an Intercultural Church: one in which people of all cultures and backgrounds are welcomed and valued, and that we seek to be a church that seeks to genuinely “walk together as First and Second Peoples.” If a story of God coming amongst the church like a rushing wind and tongues of fire resting on the heads of the disciples does not encourage us to seek to be in deeper, more intimate relationship with the rest of the community of faith so that we may grow together in discipleship and in sharing faith in Jesus, then I don’t know what will!

But it’s a lofty ideal that requires hard work and deep listening. We pray that God will sweep amongst us and help us to grow as a community of faith. To do so we must learn to listen to one another across generations and cultures. This requires empathetic listening and a deep seated determination to value our relationships with one another. Recognising our mutuality, our deep seated need of each other and the value of each other’s feelings, beliefs and opinions is central.

In 2023 the Uniting Church Assembly put together a document called: Being an Intergenerational Church. In it there is lots of wise advice about how we can become a more genuinely intergenerational church. It opens with this “Vision Statement:”

Our vision is to be an Intergenerational Church where every generation is engaged together in active discipleship, growing and sharing faith in Jesus. We nurture, equip, and encourage faith and discipleship intergenerationally as communities where …

• All ages are welcomed and valued equally. Faith and life are intentionally shared as all ages travel together, bringing healing, hope and reconciliation across all generations and to the whole of creation.
• Relationships between different ages are intentionally created, deepened and encouraged. Relationships are marked by mutual giving and receiving. Respect and humility mark our journeying in faith together.
• Safe and empowering spaces are created where the experiences, voices, and ideas of all can be listened to and valued, where transformative relationships of empathy, trust and genuine love can flourish amongst all ages.
• All people, across the ages and generations, are generously invited and enabled to use their gifts and leadership to shape the community and its communal life of worship, witness and service.
• Generational and cultural differences are recognised and appreciated. Respectful listening, grace-filled truth-speaking and openness to learning from one another are clearly evident.
• Opportunities for age-specific gatherings and activities are considered important, especially when intergenerational engagement is encouraged within and alongside them.[2]

This Pentecost season, let’s spend some time in each of our faith communities wondering and praying together about how we might bring this vision to fruition.

How can we become communities where we recognise the wind of the Holy Spirit as it blows amongst us, listen genuinely to the voices of different ages, identities, languages and cultures and change so that we are genuinely inclusive and welcoming?

How might we become communities where every person is being encouraged to worship God with their whole life and to grow in faith?

As a beginning, I encourage you to download the Being an Intergenerational Church booklet from the Assembly website and to explore some of the 12 papers available on the Assembly website.

Being an Intergenerational Church Booklet

[1] and [2] https://victas.uca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Being-an-Intergenerational-Church_March24-Final.pdf

Being an Intergenerational Church Papers:

https://uniting.church/being-an-intergen-church-papers/