Liz Perraud
Executive Director
GenOn Ministries
How many celebrations, recognitions, or special gatherings have I missed since mid-March? Weddings, graduations, birthdays, moves; religious holidays, church trips, dedications, and gatherings; annual conferences, meetings, and Youth Summits. Lots. There’s grief as each one passes and can’t be celebrated or experienced as hoped.
What have you missed or experienced in radically different ways during the past few months?
Many of these happenings are milestones. Milestones are actions or events that mark something of significance, often a stage in development. We think of recognizing milestones as something accomplished (driver’s license) or reached (50th birthday). A milestone, literally, is a stone set up beside a road to mark the distance in miles to a particular place. Forward thinking. Not identifying what is happening or just happened, but how far to go to reach a significant destination.
Our milestones (figuratively and literally) have been flipped upside down. It’s been a long, slogging five months in this pandemic, and our end point keeps getting moved. We’re missing celebrating more of our metaphorical milestones. And more literal milestone markers keep shifting.
I need an attitude adjustment. I need to move past grieving and slogging and find new ways to celebrate; to become more experimental and courageous. A milestone can often mark a new chapter in your life’s story. For me, fall has always been the start of the new year. I commit to looking ahead, not knowing what I’m seeing, but recognizing that God knows. I believe that God will lead me to and through the milestones I need to reach along the way. And that I will be reminded of the joy of celebrating new milestones in new ways.
GenOn is excited to do this with you—to help churches bridge through the pandemic time and keep generations connected. We can help you for the upcoming program year. We believe that intergenerational relationships and community are important for and in the church, so we’re excited about partnering with you to discover how to do that virtually. Apart yet together.
How can we help you set up markers along the way so that you know you’re making progress in the direction God is calling your church to go? We’re learning new ways to partner with you, and it’s been surprising and fun.
Liz
P.S. A shout out to our friends at Milestones Ministry who are full of great ways to recognize any milestone.