One of the major criticisms leveled against continuing Anglicanism by its critics is that it appeals only to elderly people, and that our "dying" parishes are full of "gray heads". Well that is not 100% true. Some parishes, depending in part on their location, are indeed full of mostly older folk - this was the case when I was a curate in Florida. But let us remember that "old" does not mean stagnant or spiritually dead. Other continuing Anglican parishes are certainly not full of older people, as is the case here at St. Francis, and in other parishes that I have attended. Now I suppose if the median age of all of the parishes in a diocese or province were averaged out then one could get a truly accurate idea of how old or young a church is. But until that happens it is wrong, based on the rolls of individual parishes, to say that our continuing Anglican parishes have no young people in them. Yet still these rumors and innuendo persist.
To dispel these falsities, and to continue to try to attract more and more young people and families to our parishes, the different Anglican jurisdictions should strive to take concrete steps that will show that they have and value having young people in the Church. While this can be done in a number of ways, one of the best ways to do this is to, as much as possible, promote young people to positions of leadership on the parish, diocesan, and provincial levels. Not only would this contribute to the life and vitality of the larger church by including people of different generations in the decision making and leadership process, it would send the message that we are young and forward looking jurisdictions, and a form of "succession planning".
Many priests want youth in their churches just so they can say they have youth, or so they can have someone serve at the altar, but - perhaps because of pride (the sin that according to some the elderly struggle with the most) - they refuse to take any thoughts or suggestions that young people have seriously, and absolutely balk at the idea of having them in positions of leadership or authority. In other words, they want young people and youth, but only on their terms. This attitude can sometimes be found not only in parishes, but also entire dioceses and provinces, and it is this attitude which does drive young people from the church. Young people know when they are not being listened to or taken seriously.
Without a doubt our churches need more youthful leadership at all levels. This is not to say that we do not need older men and women involved in leading the church, because we do. What we need is leadership that represents the fullness of church - people of all ages. Our churches no doubt consist of people of all ages, so our leadership should reflect that diversity. Wouldn't it be great to have more young people on different committees in parishes and in the diocese? Wouldn't it be a great thing to have more young men serving as deacons, priests, and bishops? Definitely.
