A cup of tea is just the start

9 June 2009

Church Army's Claire Dalpra has written an article on the 'Saga' generation which is featured in this month's Woman Alive magazine.

Entitled 'Cup of tea, dear?' it focuses on the bad record of the church when it comes to "recognising the diverse needs of all those that come under the label of older people".

Claire's article examines the type of person who falls within the 55-75 year-old age bracket; essentially those who were young during the 1960s and who have brought "the music, clothes and values of their youth into their older age."

She highlights what is meant by four different groups of 'older people': Adventurers; Activists; Carers and Seekers. In each case she outlines how the church can reach this diverse and dynamic generation. For example: 'Seekers' are those unlikely to have had a Christian upbringing, yet they can be engaged in issues of faith through Fresh Expressions of church that meet them on a spiritual level, rather than a traditional, religious one.

The article concludes: "So by all means serve tea to this generation, but let there be different kinds of tea, a chance for them to raise Fairtrade issues or the enjoyment of serving tea in mugs they've kilned themselves. Or suggest that the place where the tea is served is in a Pilates class, a grand-parenting prayer group or a spiritual accompaniment training course. Maybe then we'll be a little bit nearer responding to the needs of the Saga generation."

Claire is an Assistant Researcher at Church Army's Sheffield Centre. To read the entire article, click here. 
To see a short film about the diverse work of the Sheffield Centre go to our website.