Old and young together

It’s the best part of a year since I moved into Dudley. And even in that short space of time, the town has not been static. From the Vicarage we can see new build going up. At our church school, Jessons, the Foundation Block for nursery and reception children has been completed. Change, not decay, all around I see. Although the town has a sense of pride and history, it is also looking to its future with a vision for 2020 and beyond. And in the churches, we are also called to be people who announce the future and support people through times of transition because we believe it is in dying that we live.

Last year, parish conversations took place involving St James’s and the other local parishes. It was a chance to listen in on the voice of the community during this time of upheaval. One person said “perhaps people who have already lived here for a long time should look at Dudley with the eyes of a newcomer and appreciate what we have.” The message is clear – the new Dudley and the old have something to bring in making our town happy and hospitable for the future.

That’s one reason the churches across Central Dudley are wanting to develop intergenerational work. Although the word’s a mouthful and it sounds like new jargon in fact it names a feature of our communities going back over centuries. After all, it’s only recently that elderly people have begun to feel disconnected and fearful. In the past, communication across the generations was strong, whether in traditional Black Country life or in the life of black and ethnic minority communities. And grandparents remain important – perhaps more so now than before.

Quite simply, intergenerational work involves finding ways of getting people together, talking together, working together, across the generations. We want to find ways for young and old together to share in building our future – ways of looking to our future that build upon our past. Over coming months, as we talk more about this, I hope you can consider how you can take part in this new initiative. If we do, then we can be a part in making Dudley a better place for us all, old and young together.

Fr Andrew