Not the Target Demographic

The colombarium at St. Paul's

On a peaceful Saturday seventy mostly gray-haired students gathered at St. Paul's in Burlingame to acquire the tools and knowledge, not to mention courage, to help them accomplish their spiritual goals.

Why "courage"? Episcopalians are notoriously reluctant to discuss their faith, much less try to convert others. Yet, there's no alternative to evangelism if the Episcopal Church is to survive the century. Current membership of two million is roughly half the size of the church in its heyday.

There were short courses on prayer, lectoring, and evaluating grant requests. We could learn how to improve stewardship campaigns and how to be a better witness. For the more esthetically oriented, there were sessions on music, art projects, and theology in film. All very interesting, and I intend to sign up again next year. But there were only a handful of attendees under 30, and unfortunately I'm not the target demographic. © 2013 Stephen Yuen