Worship and Young Adults:
What are they looking for, anyway?

By the REV. JENNIFER LINMAN

Where are the young adults? ask Episcopal clergy around the nation, realizing that if the average age of an American is 32 and the average age of an Episcopalian is 60, the future of the Episcopal Church looks bleak. There is an understanding that worship is both the primary way to reach “young adults” in their 20s and 30s and sometimes the primary obstacle. So, what kind of worship do these young people want?

There are actually two questions here. One asks what young adults who are already in Episcopal churches desire in worship; the other asks what young adults who are not affiliated with a church would need to come inside and discover God within a church community. The answers may not be the same to the two questions, and there is certainly not a single right answer, since people in their 20s and 30s are a diverse group with diverse needs: singles, newlyweds, couples with children, gay, straight, and from diverse backgrounds.

As it happens, there are significant numbers of “young” Episcopalians in the diocese, and many of those are attracted to the same things in worship that other, older people are attracted to: engaging preaching, well-planned liturgies, and good music. There is certainly an openness to alternative music, media, and liturgy among many young people, but even within that openness there is a desire for tradition.

Relevant words
Smart, grounded exegesis that is connected to the issues and problems of the day will never go out of style, because it breathes life into tradition and encourages people to come back the following Sunday. “I like preaching that makes me think,” says Stacey Whitaker of Epiphany, Manhattan. Emily Helming of St. Mary the Virgin, Manhattan affirms, “I am learning so much about how to interpret the Bible and how to apply the lessons to my life. It’s a healthy philosophy and faith, which I find extremely important today.”

Music with an open mind
William Byrd, J.S. Bach, Charles V. Stanford, and Herbert Howells, when sung and played well, continue to speak to young adults’ hearts and minds. Familiar hymns are familiar because they continue to be relevant beyond the
circumstances of their writing, and are often quite meaningful to young people today. That doesn’t mean that young people only like traditional music; there are ways to entwine the sound of the 21st century with the heritage of the Anglican Communion. The Hip-hop e-Mass at Trinity in the Bronx is attempting to capture the authentic music of the South Bronx to accompany its liturgy. Mass with a Beat at Epiphany takes traditional hymns and texts and gives them an urban trip-hop sound.

Silence is good
The younger generations are burdened with the talent of being able to pay attention to three things at once—and so the absence of stimulation is a great gift. When asked when he felt closest to God, Michael Gaulin of St. Bartholomew’s, Manhattan, said, “In the quiet moments; I can actually feel my ‘batteries’ charging back up to prepare for the week during these times.” Intentional silence is one of the greatest gifts the church can offer.

Seeing peers in the pulpit Young clergy really do attract young people. The Rev. Astrid Storm at Grace Church, Manhattan, says, “Parishioners in their 20’s and 30’s tell me pretty routinely that my presence at the pulpit and altar is what drew them to and keeps them at Grace. Seeing as how the generation we grew up in can significantly shape our views of God, the church, and religion in general, I suppose it’s hardly surprising that a parishioner my age might find me more accessible than, say, an older priest.” 

The young and the unchurched
Getting young adults who don’t attend a church through the doors and into worship is a more difficult task. This calls for worship to defy stereotypes of Christianity as boring, conservative, and didactic. Newcomers can find their expectations pleasantly shattered by seeing a woman standing at the altar, or watching Christians admit they have doubts about matters of faith, or hearing an Avril Lavigne song blaring out the door of a church.

This is where the alternative worship movement is so hopeful. There’s no problem in finding good traditional worship, but to make use of up-to-date media technology, modern music, and still retain our sense of tradition in the liturgy is a balancing act with great potential. It’s a witness to the ability of the Gospel to reach out to those who don’t think they want to hear the Good News of God in Jesus Christ, and draw them into a life of faith. Such lively worship will be part of invigorating the Episcopal Church in this country and developing the lives of many new—and young—members.

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