Do we want what we say we want?

Recently I've talked with some younger clergywomen for a print piece I'm writing. They are the much-yearned-for first-career clergy that are in short supply these days. Some of their comments have left me wondering... not about them, but about the people who ask for them.

The UMC may be encouraging people to go to seminary straight out of college. Congregations may say they want a younger clergyperson. But when they get one, "They look at me and see their grandchildren," says one 29-year-old clergywoman.  "I had to earn their respect, and it has taken a while to do that."

Another clergywoman, who received her first appointment just after her 25th birthday, found that her young clergy friends who were men didn't have their authority questioned--but she did. "Anything that was said by me had to be double- and triple-checked in the Discipline, which many of the people [in that congregation's leadership] had never opened before."

There are uglier stories, too -- of pensions purposefully left unpaid, just to name one example. Why, more than half a century after women were first ordained in the United Methodist Church, are we still dealing with this kind of resistance?

Does the UMC really want younger clergy? If so, we'd better wise up and welcome those we already have.

Comments

[Jeff Lutz]

I wonder if it's not a function of age, but of gender, in which case it still goes with what you are asking about. The sentence in your post read:

Another clergywoman, who received her first appointment just after her 25th birthday, found that her young clergy friends who were men didn't have their authority questioned--but she did.

If the younger male clergy aren't being questioned, but the younger females are, maybe the older, more conservative UM congregations aren't ready for women or young women and to me that is a shame.

Myself, I'll listen to young or old, male or female. It's the content that counts.

[DogBlogger]

You're right, Jeff, this one is more about gender, with age being secondary here. But I've known it to happen with younger male clergy, too: A congregation's "We want someone young, with energy" too often becomes, "This guy comes in here and changes everything! Who does he think he is?"

[Spencer]

I grew up in a different denomination, but remember vividly a youth Sunday dialog sermon (where the two youth ask questions and the pastor answers them).

The pastor pointed out that the percentage of women in our seminaries was about twice the percentage of churches who said they would accept a female pastor - so something, somewhere, is going to have to give.

This was about 25 years ago, so it's not ANCIENT history, but it did give us something to think about...

[John]

A congregation's "We want someone young, with energy" too often becomes, "This guy comes in here and changes everything! Who does he think he is?"

Wow. That sounds like a direct quote from my church.

[SteveHeyduck]

I think the "you remind me of my grandchild" is not at all gender-specific. I used to hear that a lot - even sometimes, into my thirties.

I'm sure it is complicated for women by a lot of that's older generation's lack of experience with women clergy.

So, to be clear, the system doesn't want younger clergy (hence the decade-long process); churches don't want younger clergy because they remind us of our grandchildren (who aren't in church? who aren't in our church?)

And our clergy take such poor care of themselves many of our less-than-younger clergy aren't fit for the task.

[Jeff Uhler]

I have served in Illinois, Alabama, and, now, Wisconsin. I'm almost 50 years old and male. I have experienced the age discrimination in all of the places I've pastored. Even now, some of my colleagues and some of those I've pastored have dismissed me with a curt "You're still young..." It has gotten better, mind you. But it's rough when you're dismissed for your ideas because you're viewed as being young - even when you're almost 50.