A UMNS Commentary by Paul Black*: A new generation rises above tragedy

Flowers and tokens of remembrance decorate a makeshift memorial to students killed Feb. 14 in a campus shooting at Northern Illinois University. A UMNS photo by Stacey Huffstutler/Northern Star.

"That was the best of the American spirit, I thought--having the audacity to believe despite all evidence to the contrary that we could restore a sense of community to a nation torn by conflict; the gall to believe that despite personal setbacks … we had some control--and therefore responsibility--over our own fate. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. -Hebrews 11:1

In offering my personal reflections on the recent tragic shooting at Northern Illinois University, I cannot help but think about my ongoing conversation for months with Howard Daughenbaugh. I had the privilege of being a colleague of Howard's for eight years as we served as assistants to Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher in Illinois. An area of common interest is politics, and the meteoric rise of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., has been fascinating to watch.

Even before the Kennedy clan endorsed the first-term senator in his presidential run, comparisons already were being drawn. Howard saw Obama's visionary call as similar to President John Kennedy's, although I had to tell Howard that I wouldn't know; for I wasn't born when John Kennedy ran. I drew the comparison to younger brother Robert Kennedy's presidential run in 1968, noting that U.S. division over the war in Iraq is similar to the Vietnam conflict and that the struggle for civil rights is similar to immigration issues that are front and center in today's national debate.

We both noted how such calls to face our country's problems are fueled by a new generation of leaders. We noted that, in our history, once we turn the page to a new generation of leaders, we never go back to an older generation for leadership.

And then, noting the tragedy that occurred in Dallas in 1963 and Los Angeles in 1968, Howard said, "You know, as Americans we can only take so much hope, and then we kill it."

Those prophetic words haunted me on Feb. 15 when I received a call that Ryanne Mace--one of five students killed at Northern Illinois University the day before--was the granddaughter of two of our retired United Methodist pastors.

As I listened to the Rev. Miley Palmer talk about his granddaughter, I realized the idealism of today's generation who are asking for a place at the table. "Ryanne wanted to make a difference in her world. She would throw herself into a variety of things and she felt most fulfilled when she was helping others."

Ryanne's death hit close to home. While Columbine High School in Colorado and Virginia Tech seem remote, campus tragedy has come to the American heartland. And perhaps because I have a son enrolled in a state university and a second son who will attend another university next fall, I have struggled to understand what appears to be a senseless act: a life filled with hope taken from us before it reached its full potential.

And yet, in the midst of the tragedy, I believe this generation is once again showing us how to live. As scores of young people enter the political arena for the first time, they want to make a difference. Their idealism is truly inspirational, and their lives have been tested in the fire of a violent world that has tended to teach them to look out for number one.

We as a society feel we have done a good job of managing life. We ask the question, "Are we doing things right?" But the younger generation pushes back with a much deeper spiritual question: "Are we doing the right thing?" For them, the premise of what we are doing in life will determine whether we make a difference, rather than how well we do it.

The United Methodist Church is struggling with these questions as well. We find fewer and fewer young people answering the call to ordained ministry. In 2005, it was reported that 850 of the 18,141 probationary or ordained elders in the United States were age 35 or younger. And since 1985, the percentage of elders had dropped from 15.05 percent to 4.69 percent. Leadership development has become one of the four churchwide areas of focus for program development and funding for the next four years.

What young people ask is whether the amount of time and energy spent by specific interest groups to mold the church in their particular theological stripe or to make the church in their image is the right thing to do in the first place.

For the church, the challenge is to find ways to bring these young voices who are far more talented and creative than any generation before and allow them to be the salt, the light and leavening for the loaf. And may their audacity to hope in the midst of tragedy truly light our church and world.

Thank you, Ryanne, for having journeyed our way, if but for a few short years.

*Black is director of communications for The United Methodist Church's Illinois Great Rivers Annual Conference