What a wonderful surprise when my spouse, Eileen, opened a moving box of old audio cassettes and beta-max video tapes. For those of you under twenty-five years of age, cassettes and tapes were the methods by which voices and images were recorded back in the day. For those of us over fifty, these are simply updates from the 8-tracks, 78 records, and Victrola's we knew! Once we figured out the prehistoric technology of these mediums, we heard our sons telling stories when they were four years old. What a joy to watch their jaws drop in disbelief as they listened to voices they could not recognize as their own.

Technology certainly seems to change year by year. I was stunned when I heard a young person say recently: "Nobody uses email anymore!" My sons never bother to answer a telephone because no one they know would be calling them on a land-line. Apparently Twitter and a variety of social networking sites are how our young people are communicating today.

In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul writes: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways." When we hear this passage in the church, we may assume it means that children will grow up to inherit the faith that their elders have cherished for years. This includes attending worship, serving on a committee, and attending fellowship events.

Recent research, however, indicates that the life of faith I have just described does not necessarily appeal to people in their teens and twenties. Young people are interested in deepening their spirituality and being involved in causes of justice - not in building up organized religion.

As technology changes, we may have trouble finding devices on which to play our taped treasures. I wonder if this is also true for the church. As one generation moves to the next, will our faith have any appeal? The Book of Hebrews states: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (13:8). Apparently, there are many who feel that this is true of the church as well. This is definitely worth some more conversation among those of us who thought that by the year 2000 cars would fly!

The members of Portage United Church of Christ are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of their church in 1953.  The celebration which began in the fall of 2012 will be culminating the weekend of April 20-21, 2013.  Most of our former pastors have indicated they will be joining our members for this joyous occasion.

A reception has been planned for Saturday afternoon, April 20, from 3:00 until 5:30 p.m.  This will give our members and friends the opportunity to meet our former pastors and to renew past friendships.  There will be only one worship service on Sunday, April 21, at 10:00 a.m.  Rev. Dr. Deborah Kohler, Acting Associate Conference Minister, will deliver the sermon and the visiting pastors will participate in various ways.  A reception to further socialize will be held after the service.