Kayla Wikaryasz-News Staff Writer

The part Gen Z won’t say out loud

Per my reporting duties, I had the opportunity to attend the Besser Male Chorus Christmas concert this month. This was actually the first time in my life I have ever stepped into the Trinity Episcopal Church in Alpena, and I grew up in this town.

Isn’t that weird?

I noticed that all the members of the chorus were male, obviously, and they were … older.

As I am an avid people-watcher, I observed each member of the chorus and considered why they chose to join.

Without asking each individual member, I came up with a few narratives: they liked singing; they wanted community; perhaps they felt a calling to participate in something adjacent to the church.

During my time at the concert, I had a sinking feeling that one day that chorus might cease to exist. As members age out, and time moves forward, will there be a new generation to continue the Besser Male Chorus?

This question, however, does not only apply to one group. Across the county, nonprofits are having a crisis – there are not enough volunteers to keep nonprofits afloat. A select number of ‘involved citizens’ organize events, celebrations, and fundraisers that communities expect to merely exist without any contribution of effort, time, or money.

This is my generation’s silent problem and nobody wants to talk about our complacency or entitlement.

A specific problem the Catholic church is experiencing, for example, is that there are not enough young men becoming priests and less women are choosing to become nuns. I’ve always heard that this is because ‘The Church’ is too strict, too demanding. But perhaps, my generation has applied so many boundaries that we no longer have time or interest to offer ourselves up for the greater good.

This problem concerns me more for Gen Z, of which I am an elder, than any of the social media woes or the disastrous dating culture which is dominating the cultural zeitgeist.

Will there be priests to lead my parents’ funerals or baptize my children? Where will the poor flock to for guidance or assistance? If a natural disaster strikes or war breaks out, will my generation be prepared to answer the call?

In short, my worries for my generation are that we are too selfish. We talk online about the importance of nonprofits but we never start them; if we do, they fizzle out or there is no one to support us. It seems like we only have the motivation to complete work that is directly advantageous to ourselves and our bank accounts.

Thinking back to the chorus, I also wondered how any of them learned to sing so well. Did they practice on their own? Did they attend choir in school? Surely, when they were my age they didn’t believe that they’d all become rockstars with their singing abilities (or maybe they did?).

There was also a gentleman playing the drums and a lady playing the piano at the concert. What were their dreams? Did they learn those skills only to play for a church chorus or did they start learning those skills because they generally enjoyed them and felt a calling toward music?

The pastor gave a prayer before the chorus concert began and he spoke of beauty, thanking God for giving humans the capacity to create “beautiful things.”

When the concert began it was as if the music itself complimented the beauty of the church, and I suddenly realized why humans, for centuries, have tried to create “beautiful things.”

They created beauty to form a conversation from an idea to something tangible — like a song, a painting, a story — which offered intangible guidance in times of grief, spiritual instability, or environmental chaos.

Often, these artisans and creators were poor and made little to no money from their creations. Yet, they still contributed to society without the expectation of material gain and did so out of a calling to contribute to something bigger than themselves.

Therefore, my next question is the following: Will Gen Z and I have the calling to continue this tradition or will a Mad Max dystopian be our future realities?

I sure hope the former is true.