Aging Baby-Boomers in Worship and Music

We worry a lot in The United Methodist Church about attracting, keeping, and ministering to young people. We struggle with changing and adapting our worship and singing styles to appeal to them. The worship wars were largely fought over tensions between the old and the young, the traditional and the contemporary. We're still seeing changes, adaptations, and accommodations made in the ways we worship and sing. Forty years ago, we were just beginning to see the changes that have resulted in worship screens and projection, praise teams and bands, film clips as sermon illustrations, numerous alternative and contemporary musical styles, the rise of indigenous and global music, great changes in language, musical instrumentation, new songbooks, and so much more. We have invested much in these considerations.

I'd like to suggest that there is another significant change in the making, and it may require us to reexamine some of our recent changes. Consider this statistical snapshot of the older generation of United Methodists taken by the U.S. Congregational Life Study in 2001 (figures represent actual worshipers, not members):

• 33 percent of UMC worshipers are ages 45-64
• 39 percent are over 65
• 17.5 percent are 55-64
• 56 percent are over 55; 72 percent are over 45

And consider this informationfrom the Discipleship Ministries Center on Aging and Older-Adult Ministries:

• More than 34 million people in the U.S. are 65 years of age or older. (In 1900, there were only 3 million older adults in the United States.)
• Persons reaching age 65 have an average additional life expectancy of 17.3 years (18.9 years for females; 15.3 years for males).
• By 2030, there will be about 70 million older persons, more than twice the number in 1994 — and more than 20 percent of the total U.S. population!
• Racial and ethnic groups are projected to represent 25 percent of the elderly population in 2030, up from 13 percent in 1990.
• Approximately 5,600 persons celebrate their 65th birthday every day.
• About half (52 percent) of the persons 65 years of age and older live in nine states: California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey.
• Nearly 72 percent of older persons assess their health as good, very good, or excellent.

If a majority of UMC worshipers are over 55 NOW, then that has implications for many areas of church life and ministry, most certainly worship and music. My own Nashville congregation this past Sunday recognized and honored older adults by having them plan and lead worship. It was a marvelous celebration, and here are some of the highlights:

• Hymns were well-known and included some favorites: "O God, Our Help in Ages Past," "He Leadeth Me," and "Faith of Our Fathers."
• There was baptism of twin baby boys by three pastors: the senior pastor, our 92-year-old retired minister still active on staff in various capacities, and the district superintendent. The juxtaposition of baptism of infants on Older Adult Recognition Sunday made us mindful that God is always creating anew as well as ever leading us onward.
• The singing of "He Leadeth Me" revealed the difference in the generations. With so many older adults singing a favorite hymn that has been in their memory banks for years, there was disagreement at several points over pausing or lingering on certain notes, which in many hymnals have had fermatas, but which are not in our current hymnal. The most notable point is the midway point of the refrain, with at least two others in the verse. I was also grateful for the one refrain for which the organist dropped out and we sang a capella. We have a marvelous, large organ, and it is always played well in our worship; but I found myself wanting to sing more without it.
• The pastor's sermon, titled "Journeyed by Stages," used the Genesis 12:4-9 text. He reminded us that life is a journey, that HOW we get there is as important to us as WHERE we're going, and that the journey itself is an expression of God. It is our human response to God's call upon our lives. All faithful life is designed to be a blessing from God to others on God's behalf.
• The Affirmation of Faith was adapted from the General Conference Task Force on Older Adult Ministry's Biblical/Theological Statement.
• Even the choir's closing benediction response from the back of the sanctuary, the Lutkin seven-fold Amen (United Methodist Hymnal, 904) was familiar enough to many members through its frequent use over the years with Lutkin's benediction ("The Lord Bless You and Keep You) that many in the congregation sang along.

I'm not suggesting that we reverse the changes we've made in recent years. We must take into consideration, however, the already large and growing presence of older adults in our congregations. We must understand who they are, what they need, what they expect, and what we need to be doing to minister to them and use the immense gifts and graces they bring to our congregations and to our worship services. The baby boomers in older adulthood, as they have in their youth and middle-age, will have a profound effect on all that they do, including worship and music. They are an active generation who will continue to be active participants and leaders.