From a netfriend:

"The oldies won't like it"

I guess there are others on this list who have seen the following:

Someone in the congregation suggests that we try something new or a bit different. There's a discussion. Then one of the matriarchs or patriarchs gets up and says that it's a good idea, it's refreshing to hear people coming up with these sorts of ideas, but the older members of the congregation will not be happy about such a change and because they are the majority in the congregation, we'd better not proceed.

In his recent book, Scott Cowdell (see http://www.stpaulsmanuka.org.au/ )makes a point about the role of the elderly members of a congregation. Originally, he thought that the church in this early part of the 21st century had two roles. First, it was to act as midwife for the new church which is emerging, to provide resources, wisdom and encouragement as "God's next big thing" takes shape. Second, it was to provide palliative care to the "old" church, "smoothing the pillow" of that dying institution and comforting its members as the old and familiar fade away. But then Scott remembered the story of Sarah and Abraham. Paul wrote, "Without weakening in his faith, he [Abraham] faced the fact that his body was as good as dead-since he was about a hundred years old-and that Sarah's womb was also dead." Abraham and Sarah probably figured that they deserved to live out their final days in peace and rest, without being hassled by people wanting to change things. But their advanced years didn't seem to matter much to God, when He fingered them for a new mission.

In his book, Scott Cowdell recants his idea of a church of palliative care. ISTM that the story of Abraham and Sarah puts a different perspective on claims that "the oldies won't like it".

To which another responded:

At a recent meeting of our local Minister's Association I sat and listened to one of the Pentecostal pastors tell us of his anguish that there was an age-group they were just unable to reach. I especially tuned in, as this is the very problem our Uniting Church Congregation has. But when he explained they had come up against a brick wall in reaching the retirement age group in our area, I burst out laughing. I didn't mean to be insensitive; it's just that our problem has been the exact opposite. Try as we might - including employment of a Youth Worker and establishment of a contemporary service - we just could not build a significant ministry amongst the younger generations; even with all the encouragement given by the older generations.

We started to realise that each of our congregations has a particular area of ministry at which we are effective and it might be better for us to send our younger enquirers on to him and he to send his retirees on to us.

I've received fresh impetus from the discovery that "spirituality is the primary task of ageing", and sometimes people just have to have clocked up the years to engage in the exercise. I'm tempted to put a sign out front that says, "When your faith has matured, come to us", not out of any sense of superiority, but in the realisation that we have a particular ministry. In practice, as our frail elderly pass away, a new generation of retirees keeps taking their place.