Opinion: Where Have All the Children Gone?

According to The Oregonian, "Just 30 percent of households in Oregon have children, the lowest rate among all but seven states..The picture is even starker in Portland, where only one in four homes includes a child 17 or younger."

Many churches believe that the only way to grow is to attract families with children. However, what about the 75% of homes which have no children ?

This note is the opinion of the author and does not purport to represent the opinions of Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church.

Living Without Religion Part 2

It is hard to judge what effect  the Center for Inquiry's billboard advocating living without religion had on our neighborhood, or on the city as a whole.  The billboard came down after a brief month to be replaced by an ad for Stanford's. I assume that some interested people received information from livingwithoutreleigion.com.  I also assume that many people, like me, viewed the site to, as it were, scope out "the enemy."

Sometimes it is good to be reminded that what we believe is questioned by well intentioned people who have trouble with putting their faith in a Being that they cannot see or touch.  We remember how hard it was for Thomas to put side his skepticism at the notion of a Risen Christ. 

Each of us has come to faith in our own way and yet each of us has also come through the hand of God.  Sharing what living life with religion means to us is not as scary when we realize that all we are asked to do is to talk about what God has already done for us.  Sometimes when life is giving us lemons, we need to be reassured by our faith community that God is faithful.

Thought for the Day

“Hope is hearing the melody of the future. Faith is dancing to it." Rubern Alves

Has the Vision for the Church changed?

A study done by the University of Chicago several years ago found that 50% of Americans have fewer than three people that they can confide in.  That same study showed that 25% have no one at all that they can confide in.  We hear alot about how the popularity of Facebook and other social media sites is overtaking face to face contact at events such as reunions. 

It seems that everyone, even churches, have jumped on the Facebook bandwagon.  I am not saying that doing so is a bad idea.  It just seems to me that the unprecedented social isolation, that has come hand in hand with technology, is where the Church can offer more than virtual community.  The poverty and hunger for human contact that we are experiencing knows no class boundaries.

I was in graduate school when the book Megatrends came out.  The simple trends listed by the book seemed so obvious to us budding futurists. However, over the last twenty years, I have come to realize that a simple truth can be be very powerful.  Although the book is now considered out dated, the trend which equates the need for touch in inverse proportion to the use of technology is still valid (High Tech/High Touch).  In fact, with the proliferation of high tech devices, I think that face time has become even more important. 

The Church needs to be on Facebook and other social media sites because that is the new Town Square.  But, the Church also needs to be much more.  Our current task is describe, in a few words, how Mt. Carmel can meet the needs of people who are not currently experiencing God's love in community. This task is not only to identify what we think we have to offer others but also to think about new ways that we can reach out.  If you are wanting to get involved in this process, let someone know. 

LIVING WITHOUT RELIGION

Portland, Oregon–April 25, 2011–A multimedia ad campaign challenging the myth that the nonreligious lead empty, selfish and self-centered lives will be unveiled this week in Portland, Oregon. “You don’t need God-to hope, to care, to love, to live.”

Living Without Religion billboards will be seen on both the west and east sides of the city, at SW Barbur, 50 feet southwest of Bancroft Street, on the east side of the road facing south; and at Powell and 8th, on the south side of the street facing west.

***

One of the billboards mentioned in the above referenced press release is less than two blocks from my home.  The billboard had recently been used as an advertisment for the Yoga center that is located on SW Bancroft and SW Corbett Avenue.  In addition to the Amrita Yoga Center, my neighborhood is home to two Buddhist congregations, and only one Christian church, a Seventh Day Adventist Church. There are Jehovah's Witnesses on the other side of the freeway.

There has been much talk about how people in Oregon respond negatively to organized Christian religion.  The Conservative Baptist Church that I was raised in dropped the "Baptist" from its name several years ago. We have all seen the advertisements for local non-denominational churches which offer "relationships not religion."

As Lutherans, we have attempted to separate ourselves from the "religious," who we see as judgmental and hypocritical; and, have allied ourselves with the "spiritual," who we see as open and accepting of people no matter where they are on the faith journey.  The Center for Inquiry, who has started their mult-media ad campaign in Portland, however, does not acknowledge a difference and has brought under attack the very concept of faith and God.

There are people in my neighborhood who poke fun at the Seventh Day Adventists because their sign talks often refers to the application of God, Christ, and the Bible to daily life.  Their electronic sign, which changes weekly, is less than two blocks from the new billboard advocating the merits of the non-religious lifestyle.  The battle for the hearts and minds (and yes, souls) of Portlanders is alive and well in my neighborhood, and yours as well.  We must understand that we face a real enemy as we determine how we will "brand ourselves" in a marketplace that is becoming more hostile every day.