After a meeting at Trenton United Church this week our son, Rev. Isaac, shared this photo in our family chat. It is of the chair of the committee and it's newest and youngest member, a 16-year-old. As they talked they realized that there is a nearly 70 year difference between the two of them. I figure it's more like 65 years, but what do I know. The two of them are also members of the choir. In a day when many congregations are child and youth-free zones it is refreshing that there are several teens at TUC and they are helpful contributors to congregational life in several areas.
We are very aware that many of our elder members have grown weary after decades of service, yet they carry on. For young people it is the reality of having few peers in their congregations and essentially spending time with a whole bunch of grandparents, yet they contribute.
Through the years I served congregations where there were teenagers, sometimes plenty of them. We tried to figure out how to involve them in service and decision-making as aspects of their Christian discipleship and maturing faith. I'm pleased to say that a number of them -- perhaps half a dozen including Isaac -- went on to choose ordered ministry as a vocation, but there are lots of ways to serve.
The bible has many examples of our equal opportunity God, with calls to people of all ages, some of whom were reluctant to answer because they figured they were either too young or too old. God saw it differently. To these two and others, thank you for saying "yes".
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