Boomer women already depending on the church (in this case “nuns”) offer not only words, but entire psalms of caution in terms of how this fantasy may actually be playing out in real life.

Before I share the sobering reality with you, the good news for marketers is that boomer women of all faiths, not all of them nuns, have already begun investing in religious organizational life, keeping the churches and temples going for the benefit of all the generations. Some put donation money the church’s way. But the majority offer time, passion and cakes for the bake sale. Most churches wouldn’t last one day without the free labor of middle-aged and above women, who lick stamps, answer phones, tidy up, welcome the newcomers, arrange flowers, assist with the liturgy, interview and hire clergy, keep the books, play the organ and so on and on.

They are also, in most churches, the ones who populate the pews, serve and attend church suppers and “influence” their husbands, adult children, grandchildren and parents to show up.

In other words, for marketers looking for venues where groups of boomer women can be located, communicated with and influenced, church communities should be high up on the list.

Some pharmaceutical companies have had good luck with this approach, for instance offering seminars to churches whose population has high incidents of whatever illness their drug addresses. The company name is soft-pedaled and it’s all about good-will, but makes for good marketing with otherwise hard-to-reach consumers, as well.

But back to the fantasy. Even boomer women in the heat of high-powered secular careers, if pressed hard enough, will admit to harboring a secret Plan B of living the life of a nun “someday.” They imagine spending long hours in meditation, living in group homes with other like-minded women in pastoral settings, and finally giving up the stresses and strains of everyday life to walk with God.

Think again. Many nuns today, in addition to the good deeds they do in and sponsored by their church communities, (think Mother Theresa) have to supplement their stipends and grants that support their work by becoming entrepreneurial. We’re not talking here about needing spare change to buy prosciutto and manicures, by the way. We’re talking about things like helping to keep their partially-funded retreat center open that supports an assisted living facility for the elderly nuns who can no longer work. (Unless there’s been a major illness somewhere in the picture, these “resting” nuns are not boomers. The boomer nuns are not only running the center, they’re running side-enterprises like giving massages and acupuncture treatments to outsiders, the money going back into the communal till.)

Even as the system is already breaking down under the weight of rising costs, there’s an additional issue. The sad fact is that the population of sisters is aging, even more so than the general population. While boomer nuns stretch and hustle to give their older sisters a blessed old age, where are the younger nuns who will take care of them? The answer is: they’re not becoming nuns in nearly large enough numbers, at least not in the U.S.

In addition to keeping all the existing plates twirling at once, these sisters are also having to do a lot of saving—of pennies as well as souls, that is-- to ensure that they will be able to fund assisted living facilities for themselves with hired help down the road. Will they succeed? Let’s hope that they at least have a prayer.

Carol Orsborn