A very special welcome to you on this Senior Emphasis Sunday, planned by the senior adults in our church. We are glad that you are here today, and hope that you find special meaning as we worship together as God’s people.
We have made it a special point to make sure that every aspect of our church is intergenerational, including our Worship Planning Team. When we began thinking about a Senior Adult Emphasis day, my first thought was that it might be a step backwards in our intergenerational approach, but one of the young people that serve on the team said that they thought it would be a good idea, as long as we had a Sunday dedicated to Youth Emphasis.
As I reflected on it all, I realized that it is important for us to make sure that we stay multi-generational, but not at the expense of expressing the unique gifts that the generations in our church offer to the congregation.
On Youth Emphasis Sunday, we can expect that the passion the youth have for an experiential worship, from the music to the way the message of the gospel is proclaimed, will be on exhibit; and that is a good thing. We will give thanks on that day for the hope, the energy, the idealism and the passion that the young people bring to our church. Those are among the many gifts that they bring to our church.
Today, we can give thanks for the hope, the tradition, the wisdom and the passion that the senior adults bring to our church. We can expect that their passions, for the traditions and the reverence of worship will be on display, and that is a good thing as well, for those are the gifts that they bring to our congregation.
I hope that today, as every week, you are able to sense and experience the presence of the Spirit of God.