Where young and old come together
Last week, the series finale of Reservation Dogs premiered. This is one of my all-time favorite shows – and friends, I watch a lot of TV so that’s saying something.
The Reservation Dogs are a group of Native American teens. It’s about the struggles they face during their coming-of-age years. What makes this Hulu show unique, among many things, is that it was created, produced, written, directed, and primarily acted by Native people. It provides a unique look at Native life rarely seen on television or anywhere else for that matter.
One other thing that makes this show special is that it’s not just about teenagers. Many of the episodes – especially this last season – focused on “the elders.” The elders are held in high esteem by the teens on the Oklahoma reservation and by everyone else too. They impart wisdom and knowledge and when one of them passes, the community, all of the community, mourns.
This weekend, I saw another example of young and old people coming together. At Bush’s Pasture Park (in Salem, OR), the World Slalom Skateboard Championships were held. Fourteen countries were represented (the Czechs came out on top). Sauntering over to watch, I was slack-jawed when I saw people in their mid-to-late 60s racing down the soapbox derby track. Judi Oyama, 63, a Hall of Famer and USA team member was competing. Though I knew nothing about her or the sport, I was taken by the reverence people gave her as she passed by. A legend was in our midst.
Those two things, Reservation Dogs and a skateboarding competition, got me thinking about how hard it is to find places where generations interact with each other. Many children don’t live near relatives. In my own experience, both my grandfathers were deceased by the time I was born and one Granny lived in Scotland and the other was in Colorado, so far from little old Azusa, CA.
Where did I find a place to know and interact with older people? You know it…church. It was in church that I had many substitute grandmas and grandpas. And though I didn’t call them “grandma” or “grandpa,” they played that role for me. They were the wise ones who modeled living a good life. They would come and sit by me. They would comfort me in times of grief. They wanted to know what I was doing. They wanted to know how my walk with God was going. They cared about me as a whole person.
It wasn’t until years later that I came to appreciate the generosity of these elders. Back then, whenever the offering plate came around, I never put in a dime…but I know those elders did. Many moons passed and at some point, it dawned on me that all those people – Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter, Mr. and Mrs. Ross, and Mr. and Mrs. Ebersole – loved me enough to invest in the church that benefited me and so many others. Those people believed that I and all the other young people in our church were worthy of their generosity, their investment in the future.
Though I wasn’t aware of it at the time, the elders of my church community taught me how to be generous – even when it doesn’t necessarily benefit me directly.
The church surely has its problems. We can all acknowledge that. However, one of the most beautiful things it offers is a chance for generations to interact, to learn from each other, to grow in love and faith.
Something like this is unique. It’s unusual in our society.
And you know what?
It’s worth inviting others to be a part of a community where they too can experience the beauty of God’s all-ages family coming together. So go ahead, invite someone to church today.
Photo credit: Asker Abayev @ pexels.com
Cesie Delve Scheuermann (pronounced “CC Delv Sherman,” yes, really) is a Stewardship Consultant for the OR-ID Annual Conference. She is also a Senior Ministry Strategist with Horizons Stewardship. For 25 years, while working as a volunteer and part-time consultant, she has helped raise over three million dollars for numerous churches and non-profit organizations.
Here’s a lovely scene from Reservation Dogs. In it, Bear “observes the universe.”
You can reach Cesie at inspiringgenerosity@gmail.com, at CesieScheuermann.com, or at cesieds@horizons.net. Want to schedule a meeting? She’s got you covered!
Schedule a meeting now.
If someone has forwarded this to you and you would like to subscribe to "Inspiring Generosity," click here. Miss an issue? Click here.