There's an interesting snap survey which has been reported widely in the media within the last day or so, conducted amongst 2000 adults by Benenden Health, finding that respondents on average believe that middle age does not hit until one is at least 53. A century ago, middle age was reckoned to begin around one's late thirties or early forties - whereas improved health and increased life expectancy for many has tended to push this date later and later. Of course like any stage of life 'middle age' is more a cultural construct than an a matter of a priori chronology - and the survey respondents appeared to agree, with 84% saying that you were only old when you felt old (though it is not clear from the article what was the age range of those surveyed. Social gerontologists have frequently noted a tendency for those currently in middle age to resist traditional understandings of the shape of the life course - perhaps a reflection of having been so strongly identified with youth - as the first 'teenagers' - during their own formative years). The research ends with a list of 40 'signs of middle age' put forward by survey respondents. At 41 and thus firmly into what used to count as middle age, I found that only 13 of these applied to me (many of which I have actually liked or done since I was a student), perhaps confirming the findings of the survey....!
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As a historian by background, seeing value in the past has always come easy to me: I most often find myself asking questions about the present and possible futures when I read history. Meanwhile, there's a long-established body of research on the benefits of reminiscence for good ageing (1). As Christians, we're deeply embedded within a story (of God and God's people through history); not only the need to remember that story but also to draw upon it to play our own part in it today. Not for nothing does Johann-Baptist Metz call the Eucharist 'a dangerous memory' which seeks to bring the present (with all its unjustices and struggles) into question (2). The connection between ageing and discipleship was reinforced again for me today in the copy of Metro News I picked up from the train station on my way into work (3). It featured an article on the psychological benefits of nostalgia, with social psychologists Erica Hepper and Rhiannon Turner variously observing that nostalgia may be linked to good psychological health. Those who reminisce together show more positive self-image, greater intimacy in their relationships, and a greater intent to volunteer or give to others. Nostalgia may also help people through tricky life transitions, as people root themselves in fondly-remembered experiences. All of this echoes Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd's book 'The Time Paradox', in which it is argued that a 'past-positive' stance is one ingredient of a healthy perspective on time and life journeying (4). Nostalgia, and love for the past, has its limits of course - retreating into personal or shared history can be unhealthy if it is a kind of escapism from the present or provides no fuel for the journey. We have all encountered churches which are strangulated by an overly-strong tendency towards nostalgia, such that they cannot break out of well-worn patterns of life to respond to a changed cultural context (this, as Penny Long Marler has shown in the US context, can be particularly tricky where the leadership of a church is heavily derived from one particular age cohort, and who perhaps even unintentionally seek to create or maintain patterns of church for which they are nostalgic) (5). It is also all too easy to fall into a 'declinist' state of mind in which the present is only a shadow of the past, and the future seems to hold the prospect of further decline (some social historians and political scientists including Jim Tomlinson, who coined the phrase 'declinism', and Oliver Bennett have even suggested that such a pessimistic outlook is highly characteristic of much of English society and culture in the last sixty to seventy years)(6). However, for Christians, drawing realistically but positively on past experience (both individually and collectively) can provide some stimulus to persevere through current struggles and trials and to provide a vision which transcends and critiques current realities. So how do we harness nostalgia in a healthy way in our churches and in our individual spiritual journeys, as a stimulus to transformed relationships and action in the present? Session 1 of our 'through-life discipleship' Bible study materials (see resources page) offers some starter materials to begin to explore this - we'd be interested to know what you think.
Notes 1. See for example the work of Peter Coleman, as listed on his webpage. 2. Johann-Baptist Metz, Faith in History and Society: A Fundamental Practical Theology (1980) 3. Metro News 28 August 2013, pp. 12-13 4. Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd, The Time Paradox (2008) 5. Penny Long Marler, 'Lost in the Fifties: the Changing Family and the Nostalgic Church' in Nancy T Ammerman and Wade Clark Roof (eds), Work, Family and Religion in Contemporary Society (1995), pp. 23-60 6. Jim Tomlinson, The Politics of Decline: Understanding Post-War Britain (2000); Oliver Bennett, Cultural Pessimism: Narratives of Decline in a Postmodern World (2001) Launched only a couple of months ago, 'the Bridge' is a website full of articles, videos and resources for young people to be encouraged in their faith. The vision is for a a site which provides relevant, quality biblical teaching that young people can really engage with.
What makes the Bridge particularly potent however is the vision to bridge the gap between the generations in church by faciliating a conversation. The idea is that this website will enable the wider church to learn what young people are wanting from church and what they consider important through polls, discussions and analysing the use of the site. The learning is not only done by the young people reading the site's content but also by church leaders listening to what the young people are saying through their use of the site. Check it out at www.thebridge-uk.com |
AuthorsIan Jones is Director of St Peter's Saltley Trust. Archives
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