21 Aug The Gift of Intergenerational Friendships

Posted at 18:31h in Pastoral Notes by

Dear Westwood Family,

This morning, my read through the LA Times online affirmed something I’ve been thinking about lately: what a gift intergenerational friendships are. (You can read the Times’ take here.)

I continue to believe that the relationships we are able to make across diversities are one of the great blessings that comes from church life. It’s rare enough to find a place where people can easily initiate friendships across generations–but in church we are also expected to see God in each other. This has been such an incredible gift for me: to be received in communities that not only welcomed me, but where people received me as a presence of the living Christ.

I was so encouraged to read the story in the Times today, because Everest and I have been working together on a new project that leans into this strength–a project we’re calling Found Family. Our idea is to connect LGBTQ+ folks in the congregation with older generations in our church community, so we can be family to each other. These relationships, we hope, will expand the meaningful connections of everyone involved. They also respond to our needs: too often, LGBTQ+ folks in our church and community have severed or strained relationships with extended family. I believe our church community can be a place where others step in to offer cross-generational connection. And I know that there are parent and grandparent-aged people in our church whose lives would be enriched by connection to younger, Queer folks.

If you’re a parent- or grandparent-age person, or identify as LGBTQ+, I hope you’ll consider participating in our Found Family project, which begins on September 15. The basic information is available here. And, wherever in life you are, I encourage you to dare to reach out to someone you don’t know well, someone who’s at a different place in life than you, from another age, gender, race, or culture, and learn more about their story. It’s a gift to be connected together.

grace and peace,
Pastor Molly