Father Stephen Noll, Boomer Priest Bridges Digital Divide to Guide Millennial Faith

Father Stephen Noll, a self-proclaimed “digital dinosaur,” never imagined his reluctance to embrace technology would become a barrier in his ministry. As a lifelong Pittsburgh Pirates fan, he was disheartened when he realized that attending a baseball game now required a smartphone app.

But his real challenge came when, at age 74, he became interim pastor at Redeemer Anglican Church in Franklin, Pennsylvania.

Faced with a congregation of Millennials, Noll quickly found that his traditional methods of communication—phone calls and voice messages—were no longer effective. “I am fundamentally app-horrent,” he confessed in his book, Millennial People, Boomer Priest.

He reluctantly learned to text to connect with his young parishioners, admitting that it was a necessary adaptation since “no one answers voice messages—or even the phone at all!”

Noll’s journey began on May 1, 2021, a time when many young adults were grappling with anxiety, loneliness, and the aftermath of the pandemic. The 2022 American Religious Benchmark Survey revealed a decline in church attendance, with 33% of Americans not attending services. Yet, amid this trend, Noll noticed a surprising shift: young adults were drawn to the traditions of the Anglican Church.

These newcomers, raised in various backgrounds—some in conservative Christian homes, others exposed to classical education—sought depth and continuity in their faith. They weren’t interested in the ongoing divisions within the Anglican and Episcopal churches. Instead, they were drawn to liturgical worship, traditional prayers, and sacraments.

“They liked what they had seen and heard. They wanted more,” Noll said. Some departed, feeling that the church was becoming too formal, but most were eager to dive deeper into their faith.

Noll, now part of the Anglican Church in North America, observed that many of these young adults had rejected the notion of joining nondenominational evangelical churches, instead choosing a path rooted in historical tradition.

“I don’t think most of these young people even know what an Episcopalian is these days,” Noll remarked. For them, the focus was not on denominational labels but on finding a spiritual home that resonated with their yearning for something more profound.