17 March 2008

The New Methodist Hymnal Survey - Let's show our age!

I come from the Methodist tradition, despite spending a large amount of time in military chapels. And I've always liked the Methodist hymnal, especially when compared to what's used in military chapels. Well, ok, that's a lie. During most of high school, I preferred contemporary worship. But as I've gotten a little more mature, I've started to have a deeper appreciation for the old hymns and liturgies. Which is why when my pastor sent me a link to participate in the survey concerning the new hymnal, I jumped at the chance.

As I've gotten more mature, I've also heard from both bloggers and professors that the UMC is an aging church. And as I finished the survey, the UMC proved this to be rather true. The age groupings? Over 70, 51-70, 30-50, and Under 30.

I despise statistics, I really do. It was the biggest waste of four hours a week I've seen since enrolling in college. But the little bit I did take away from the class suggests that something is either flawed with the age question or the UMC really needs to reach out to kids my age a lot more.