Like many Americans in this recession, my family is planning a “stay-cation” this summer. That means enjoy an area we rarely have time to explore during busy work weeks, take small adventures, and avoid the multi-whammy of high gasoline prices, rising air fares, absurd hotel rates and relentless congestion. We have tickets to minor-league baseball games on Staten Island and at Coney Island and to a concert at Town Hall in Manhattan. This recession might be more than a temporary correction. People seem to be discovering what they do and don’t value. I see this every Sunday in church, as newcomers arrive, many of them young adults, looking for true value, such as connection, friendship and meaning-pursuits that don’t just materialize on Sunday morning. Gilded Ages don’t last, not only because money runs out, but because they are revealed as shallow, vain, demeaning and dull.
(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project, http://www.churchwellness.com. His Web site is http://www.morningwalkmedia.com.)