Cemeteries

God and Old People

February 18, 2013 By Kathy Schiffer 6 Comments

Belief in God increases with age.

That is the finding of a longitudinal study by researchers at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. The Center conducted three surveys on religious faith, questioning people of different age groups in 30 different countries. The surveys—conducted in 1991, 1998, and again in 2008—explored the range of faith experiences in these countries:

Australia, Austria, Chile, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States.

The research showed a statistically significant difference: Some 43% of people in the over-68 age group were convinced that God exists. In contrast, among people aged 27 and younger, only 23% were firm believers in God.

But here is where the researchers make an interpretive leap: They conclude that belief in God grows as mortality nears.

Researcher Tom Smith interprets the findings. “This suggests,” Smith says, “that belief in God is essentially likely to increase among the oldest groups, perhaps in response to the increasing anticipation of mortality.”

The causative relationship, in Smith’s paradigm, is:

Increased Age = Fear of Death = Increased Faith

But wait a minute! Isn’t it possible that there are other factors influencing one’s faith? How about, for example, experience and wisdom?

Isn’t it possible that as people pass through the years of their lives, they see more and more evidence of a loving Creator, as they gaze on God’s handiwork—in the birth of a child, an answered prayer, a spouse’s unyielding love, a new opportunity? What of God’s grandeur as displayed in vacation wonderlands, in crimson sunsets and storms subsiding, in starry nights and wooly caterpillars and litters of puppies? Isn’t faith enriched and nurtured by great art, music, architecture? By the steadfast witness of a mother’s love?

What I’m proposing, then, is a new paradigm that looks more like this:

Increased Age = Experience = Wisdom = Increased Faith

In my own lived experience, I faced college years when God seemed like an intellectual construct. As life hit me in the face, He became a larger and larger figure, until now, it seems absurd to consider the cosmos, or even a microcosm like my weedy old backyard, existing except by the will of an infinitely creative Mind.

Being afraid to die—sensing impending mortality—has nothing to do with it.

But tell me: What do YOU think?

Filed Under: Cemeteries, Death and Dying, Faith, Psychology 6 Comments

A Good Lie: Green Is Golfers’ Final Resting Place

June 13, 2012 By Kathy Schiffer Leave a Comment

Call it the ultimate hole-in-one.

Golfers in Washington State who dream of spending all their time on the course have a new option for the hereafter: At Sunset Hills Memorial Park’s new golf-themed burial ground, dearly departed golfers can rest in peace near the hole, on the green, in the sand trap, or in an ossuary under a bronze sculpture of a golfer.

Framed by nature, on undeveloped land near a wooded area at the back of the traditional cemetery, the new golfers’ memorial area has been likened to the “back nine.” Ashes of as many as 1,300 golf lovers can be interred at the site, and people are already lining up to reserve their spots.

The golf burial ground was the inspiration of Sunset Hills’ marketing director Arne Swanson. Swanson saw a group of golfers spreading ashes at a local golf course—probably without the permission of the golf course management—and the idea was born. The memorial park management set out to provide a place where people could go and honor the memory of their favorite golfer.

Golfers’ Prayer

“Almighty God, as we play through our 18 holes of life,
we pray that you will give us a drive that’s both long enough to reach our goals, and yet straight enough to keep us out of trouble.

“Help us avoid the traps and hazards of life; nevertheless, should we find ourselves in them, give us the tools, skills and desire to escape them with no penalty. May we always stay in bounds.”

“Help us to be willing to stand by – and not play through – those in genuine need. May we always play with honor.”

“And finally, when we’ve putted out on the 18th green, we pray that we will have
demonstrated the integrity of our character, so that you will judge us worthy enough to join your threesome and play eternally on your heavenly course.
Amen.”

Filed Under: Cemeteries Tagged With: Cemeteries, Final Resting Place, Golf Leave a Comment

Detroit's Historic Assumption Grotto, Then and Now

December 28, 2011 By Kathy Schiffer 2 Comments

On my To-Do List for a long time now: An article on Detroit’s historic Assumption Grotto Catholic Church.

Founded in 1830, the parish was in the news in November, when the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Pastoral Council submitted to the archbishop their list of recommended parish closures and consolidations. Under the proposed plan, 60 parishes would merge down to 21 and an additional seven church buildings would close. One of the parishes at risk if the proposal is accepted is Assumption Grotto: the Pastoral Council recommended that it be merged with another church and closed down in the future, if Father Perrone retires and a replacement is not found.

Assumption Grotto is an historic church—in fact, it’s the second-oldest parish in Detroit—and although I’ve moved far away, it’s always been a part of my life.

I was just two weeks old when my parents took me to Grotto to be baptized. My mother was finally well enough, after the delivery, to leave the house; and it was the custom then to baptize infants as soon as possible after birth.
As a small child of two or three, I lived for a short time with my parents and a pleasant array of aunts and uncles in my grandfather’s home on Cedargrove, just a few short blocks from the church. On sunny Sundays we’d sometimes stroll through the neighborhood, out the back gate and into the cemetery behind Grotto’s imposing facade. There we’d stop at the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and visit ancestors’ graves in the cemetery before climbing the steps to the church.
Later in elementary school, although our family was growing and we’d moved to a small bungalow in the suburbs, I went back to Assumption Grotto. At five, I accompanied my mother and aunts as they made excited plans for an aunt’s wedding. I was bored—I’ll admit it!—sitting impatiently in the pew as the women met with the pastor to finalize the arrangements. I remember the fine details of the church, though: the elaborately crafted wood choir loft, the hefty ceiling beams, the tall gold tabernacle, the communion rail, the gothic arches, the stained glass and the art.
My husband and I, when we first married, rented a home just a few blocks from Assumption Grotto; and it was there our three children were born. Our next door neighbor on Glenwood was the Director of Religious Education at the parish.
Finally, many years later, I was producing Al Kresta’s radio show and we did a live broadcast from the parish grounds on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception—broadcasting the outdoor Mass at the shrine. I spent the day in a lawn chair in the same cemetery which I’d visited so often in childhood.

In 2008, Bishop John Quinn and Fr. Frank Pavone celebrated Mass there and held a burial for the unborn, burying the remains of three children who died due to miscarriage and seven aborted fetuses.

This week, Assumption Grotto has been in the news again. That’s because pastor Fr. Eduard Perrone, a classical musician, has composed a full orchestral score for Catholic Mass. Called “Fountain of Beauty,” the work is intended for a 65-member choir and 38 instruments. Father Perrone explains that it’s dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the most beautiful of God’s creatures.

“Fountain of Beauty” was performed with a full orchestra for the first time on December 21; but there are still two opportunities to enjoy the performance this Christmas season: on January 1 and January 8. Click here for details regarding upcoming performances.

And for an excellent report (with photos) about the recent musical performance, check this article by Detroit Free Press staff writer Niraj Warikoo.

The neighborhood has certainly changed since I lived just a few blocks away, on the other side of Gratiot Avenue. The school closed long ago. Many of the parish’s members have moved to newer homes in the suburbs. It’s difficult to imagine, though, that Assumption Grotto, with its heritage in the city, its beautiful worship music, its shrine and cemetery, its devoted worshippers, and its rich Tridentine traditions, will be forced to close its doors.

God bless and keep the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, its parish staff, and its congregants who drive from throughout the metro area.