"Mormon Envy"? Sue Legnani on Chapter 3 of Almost Christian

I have to admit that I do have “Mormon envy” for the Mormons do keep their young people close to the church.  In fact, Mormon youth are so close that they are able to articulate their faith much better than many of the youth and, for that matter, some of the adults that I know in the Episcopal Church.  Don’t get me wrong.  There are lots of wonderful people, young and old, who attend church faithfully and love their church.  They just can’t tell you what they believe about God or Jesus or name a favorite Bible story.  They work tirelessly on fundraisers, paint and maintain buildings, fix broken snow blowers, or shovel snow in the worst of conditions.  But they can’t bring themselves to invite a friend to the church they have worked so hard to maintain.

I also envy the framework that Mormons have worked so hard to build over the generations.  This framework guarantees that there will be future generations of Mormons, unlike our mainline Protestant churches whose numbers are declining at an alarming rate.  Their Christian formation is so complete because parents and other adults are very invested in the instruction and life of their youth that these kids always have someone to mentor them at home, in church and in the world since most of their friends are Mormons too.

It makes me wonder what the Episcopal Church might look like if every priest was able to sit and talk individually with each young person in the church to check in with them and, “make sure they were doing all right”? (Mormon bishop’s do this on a regular basis.)  What could happen to Episcopal family life if we took one night a week to spend with our children at home to read the scriptures together or to just have some down time to talk about our Christian faith? (Mormon’s do this every day.)  What if the children and parents of our Episcopal Church families were in church every week so they and their parents had the chance to learn the vocabulary of our faith through attending and participating in the liturgy and Sunday School from infancy through high school? (Mormon youth assume that their contributions to church life matter.)  Would any or all of these things make a difference, not in attendance numbers, but in commitment to Jesus and the mission of his Church? 

Christian educators in the Episcopal Church are wrestling with this very question of life-long Christian education and faith formation.  At a resent meeting of Christian educators from a broad perspective of denominational perspectives (Roman Catholic, United Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Episcopal) Sharon Ely Pearson, Christian Formation Specialist for Morehouse Publishing, writes that those attending this meeting discussed these questions:

• How can faith formation flourish in Christian churches over the next ten years?
• How can congregations address the increasingly diverse spiritual and religious needs of people today?
• What are the promising innovations that can guide faith formation for all ages and generations in this decade?

There are four scenarios or outcomes that are identified for the future of faith formation.  In brief they are:

• Vibrant faith and active engagement: similar to the highly devoted teens in Dean’s book.
• Occasional participation, but not actively engaged or spiritually committed: their spiritual commitment is low and their connection to the church is more social and utilitarian than spiritual.
• Spiritual, but not religious: this reflects a growing minority of the American population, especially among the 18-39 year olds.
• Unaffiliated and uninterested: this group rejects all forms of organized religion and reflects a steadily increasing percentage of the American population, especially among the 18-29 year olds.

Pearson ends with this thought: “Imagine what faith formation could look like if your church is responding to the challenges and opportunities of all four scenarios.  Imagine the impact on the life of your congregation if faith formation addresses the spiritual and religious needs of all ages and generations in each scenario.” 

What a challenge and what a blessing this will be!

  

Sue Legnani

Director of Christian Formation

St. Peter’s Episcopal Church

Medford, NJ