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Communities of faith without generational boundaries

Abe Konrad

Bridging the Generations Katie Funk Wiebe. Waterloo, Ont. and Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001, 235 pp.

With this book, Katie Funk Wiebe stridently arouses us from our acceptance of things as they are and invites us to pursue a dream of things as they might be. This book is all about relationships among all generations within congregations of God’s people. In the preface, Wiebe states, “This is a book about changing attitudes, about intergenerational relationships in the church – and about bringing all generations closer together.”

As is characteristic of Wiebe’s writings, Bridging the Generations is holistic; it challenges the head, reaches the heart and empowers the hands in service. Memories of relationships across generations within families and congregations in the past have been replaced by multi-layered approaches. Wiebe’s observations, that generations for the most part exist separately from each other, provide the framework for visioning families and congregations without firm boundaries, resulting in a “culture of connectedness”.

Many of us have learned to appreciate Wiebe’s conversational writing style. In reading this book, it is easy to imagine the author sitting with an intergenerational group, inviting persons to chat about the fragmentation of relationships, challenging them to understand the benefits of changing attitudes, and encouraging them to imagine how to make it happen. As a talented teacher, Wiebe passionately shares personal experiences that have strengthened her resolve to help us bridge the generations in our day. We have embraced the secular values of individualism and competition within our congregations rather than nurturing a holistic community of faith that knows no generational boundaries.

This book appeals to families and congregations alike, and cross-generational groups can explore the dream together. The book has 12 chapters; each chapter ends with some “Now try this” practical suggestions. I highly recommend Bridging the Generations for young and old alike, persons seeking to establish greater connectedness within the family of God.

Abe Konrad lives in Edmonton and is Alberta MB Conference minister.

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Last modified October 3, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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