Many cultures place a lot of emphasis on honoring your elders. Some do so to an oppressive degree, effectively squashing the dignity of the younger generations. When I was in Uganda I was shocked to see children kneeling before their elders, even before young teachers. When they knelt before me I would promptly commit a cultural faux pas, kneeling down to their level and boosting them up again. I’m not interested in that kind of elder-honoring!
It’s great that our culture values youth and children to the extent we do, allowing them dignity, creating child-size chairs to fit their bodies, and never requiring people to kneel before others. 
But at the same time, sometimes in our zest for youth, we ignore those to whom honor is due – those who have walked the road of life with grace and dignity for many years… whose wisdom is often hidden because they are not asked to share it.
On Oct. 30th, we will celebrate All Saints Day – in the most inclusive sense of the word, including both spectacular and ordinary saints, past, present, and future. We will particularly take a little time to celebrate the saints of MPC, particularly the group of saints who have been a part of this community for 40 years or more. Note: they’re not necessarily the oldest! These are the people who have spent the longest time with MPC. We have a list from the membership rolls, but let us know if there’s anyone we might be missing, who should be honored that day. We’ll just take a little time to honor them, so my challenge to you is: seek them out, later on, and ask them for their insights about MPC, or church in general, or the world. Take some time to hear things from someone who may see them quite differently. Take time to learn from someone else’s experience!