Letter to the Editor

(In Sunday's Pioneer Press/Dispatch, an article came out about Grove United Methodist Church, in Cottage Grove, who want it's elderly members to look elsewhere for a church, because they'd like a younger congregation. Infuriated, I had to voice my opinion.)

My letter - 

As I'm sure you're receiving many letters regarding this article, I'll make mine short and sweet...

I find it absolutely repulsive in today's world when so many people are looking, yearning and needing solace, that the one place they've always assumed they could find it was within the walls of a church, particularly the church they'd been attending for years, that they would be forced to discover they were being told to leave said church because they were 'too old'.

I'm loathe to stress here that it's the generation of 'too old' that's not only doing the lion's share of the work, but doing jobs it seems younger generations no longer wish to do: One of which is to take care of, in every manner, the church in which they attend, whether that be by volunteering, helping or tithing. People doing the right thing, while making themselves feel happier and more fulfilled... are being 'aged out'.

For every 'young' person who subscribes to the notion that age should play a part within the walls of a church, or who should worship where... aside from that last sentence being an outrageous, medieval mind-set... let us hope they take a moment to contemplate on the years fast approaching when they will be unduly ostracized for nothing more than having too many candles on their birthday cake.
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