Bridging Generations: The Opportunities We Create Together

A few weekends ago, I had the privilege of being part of an amazing intergenerational Family Camp in Northern California. This is the fourth year that I have served as the director, and I have been reflecting on the value of helping to create this kind of space. This Family Camp has been happening for almost 40 years and was started by Kristina Seher and others with the vision of bringing families together to experience connection and growth in God's beautiful creation. Now, the children who attended are bringing their children and we had a number of three generational families enjoying S'mores, swimming, family games, archery and more together.

​There is something about singing and having a Sunday message while sitting next to 400–500-year-old trees, watching the sunlight filter through, and breathing in the fresh morning air that cannot be achieved in any church building.  And it seems so much easier to have conversations between a teenager, a young couple, or someone my age in this magnificent setting. 

The question that comes to my mind is: How can we extend these experiences beyond a weekend at a scout camp in the Redwoods? With the help of Google and ChatGPT, I offer some suggestions. Perhaps I might inspire you to try one or two.
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• Share meals together: 
  Invite people of different ages to breakfast, lunch, dinner, or coffee. Food creates a natural setting for conversation and storytelling.
  
• Adopt a grandparent:                                                                                    When I was a child, we lived far from my grandparents. There were a few single women in our church who became our "great aunts," baking us cakes and helping our family. Also, when I was in college, we had an assisted living next door to us. One of my professors facilitated the students adopting one of the seniors in the nearby nursing home. We visited once a week and spent time together with our adopted grandparent talking, playing checkers and other games, or eating the delicious cookies from the kitchen.
• Ask for stories: (this can be for family, neighbors, anyone)
  Instead of simply asking, "How are you?" ask:
  • What was life like when you were my age?
  • What is something you learned the hard way?
  • What are you most proud of?
  • What do you wish you had known earlier?
• Exchange skills by creating opportunities for people to teach one another:
  • Grandparents teach cooking, gardening, crafts, or family traditions.
  • Younger people teach technology, social media, or new skills.
  • Everyone learns something and becomes both a teacher and a learner.
• Practice being curious rather than assuming:
  • One of the greatest barriers between generations is the belief that "they won't understand me."
  • Asking genuine questions can replace assumptions with curiosity.

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