Last month, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) unveiled a new brand strategy to address America’s needs, as well as a name change to “the Y.” After surveying “a cross section of Americans to learn more about the most pressing issues and challenges facing their communities today,” the Y had found that only 51% of Americans were optimistic about the future while 49% were not.
“This is a very important, exciting time for the Y,” said Neil Nicoll, president and CEO of YMCA of the USA. “For 160 years, we’ve focused on changing lives for the better”¦ . People are concerned about the problems facing their communities. Like the Y, they understand that lasting change will only come about if we work together to improve our health, strengthen our families and support our neighbors. Our hope is that more people will choose to engage with the Y.”
Problems? Change? Hope? This “new brand strategy” is a puzzle. While the Y’s written mission still declares putting, “Christian principles into practice through programs,” the newly rolled-out strategy does not mention the change and hope found in Christ.
The greatest single need in America today is that of developping an effective relationship with the Creator of the Universe through his Christ. The crushing majority of social pathologies arise out of a disconnexion from the Divine and the concomitant desire to establish one’s self as the centre of all things.
That people of “The Y” would fail to recognise this fundamental characteristic of modern life in the over-educated, over-fed West is evidence enough that they have, indeed, “lost [their] salt.”
Bart,
I take issue with your descriptive use of the term “over-educated” in your comment.
A better term would be “politically indoctrinated.” This better descrtibes the “knee-jerk” reactions and “party-line” statements that come from most progressive-revisionists.
I guess this ruins it for the Village People.
#2, I would deem it “indoctrinated in political correctness”
Wasn’t the YMCA founded as an essentially evangelical ministry?
The YMCA Press had an important role in assisting Russian immigrants in Paris, including the publishing of Orthodox theological materials. A fascinating story: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a919266425~db=all~jumptype=rss