September 27, 2024
Introducing the Millennial-ish Group
A couple Sundays ago, our young adult group met for the second time. During our meeting we discussed what we were going to call this group. A name is important. The label we place on groups like this helps us to define our purpose, and helps others identify whether it’s a space for them.
In reality, those of us in this group are no longer young adults (usually defined as 18-29 year-olds, or something in that range). We may be one of the younger cohorts at First Cov, but none of those at either of our two gatherings were actually in their 20s. And labeling it a 20s and 30s group is also problematic because, deny it as we might, many of us won’t even be in our 30s much longer.
Calling ourselves a young adult group seems disingenuous. Young adulthood, as we will explore more in an adult Sunday school series next year, is a particular stage of life that is often tumultuous and fraught with the challenges of establishing an adult identity. And while our “young adult” cohort may still have some of those experiences, for most of us, we have graduated beyond that stage. We are neither as young and free, nor as uncertain and unstable as we were in our 20s.
I would love for First Covenant to someday have a young adult group. But at this moment, we don’t have many people who fit that label. What we do have is a large cohort of 30-somethings (soon to be 40-somethings, in some cases) who are very active at our church. In fact, this is probably the group that will be guiding First Cov into the future. So, while we’re not young adults, we still need a cohort-specific group. But, again, what to call it?
The other reality is that this cohort is currently raising the next large cohort at our church—our toddlers and preschoolers. (Thanks to all those who offer childcare during our gatherings! It’s such a blessing to the parents in our group.) But we’ve been clear that we don’t want this to be a parents group. We want it to be more inclusive than that. Too often the church has a great support system for married people (and for their children) while almost ignoring the single or childless people in their midst. That’s not who we want to be.
So, labeling ourselves “young adult group” doesn’t work, neither does “parents group”...what does work? Looking around the table at Stoup, we realized that the thing we all had in common was that we were all Millennials—a fraught term, but an apt one. The nice thing about this label is that it will age with us. People won’t age out of this group, as they would with a “young adult” group. Even as we enter our 40s and then our 50s, we will always be Millennials. We will always love avocado toast, and be responsible for reviving public libraries and killing the canned tuna industry.
However, we don’t want this group to just be for Millennials. Especially while we don’t have enough people for a specific young adult group, we want people who are a bit younger (or a bit older) to still feel welcome—hence the “ish” in Millennial-ish.
We hope the label “Millennial-ish” will help identify who we are and will be welcoming to newcomers. If you haven’t yet participated in one of our gatherings, but feel like you fit this label, please reach out to me and I’ll add your name to the email list. If you’re looking to develop a greater sense of community at First Cov and you’re a Millennial, or a fringe Gen Xer or Gen Zer, we would love to have you!
With hope that all who attend First Cov Seattle will find community and connection,
~ Pastor Lauren