Honestly, going in I was pretty sure I was going to need to amuse myself during the sessions. Accordingly, I went armed with gum, highlighters, a water bottle, a pad of paper and lots of pencils for doodling. It's not a surprise that I filled nearly 25 pages of my notebook, but no one is more surprised than I that it is full of notes, not drawings. There are a total of two doodles, each about one centimetre in diameter, in the entire thing. This is a big deal. In order for me not to be doodling I have to be very interested in what's going on. Somehow, the highest court of The Presbyterian Church in Canada held my attention as its commissioners debated and voted throughout the week. Because of the support of the commissioners, I even found the courage to go to the microphone and speak to an issue that was being discussed.
For me, the highlight of the week was the Young Adult Representative presentation on Friday morning. Thursday night, we stayed up late planning a skit that was to portray our impressions of the week. It was so much fun. We chose to portray the many specific procedures and guidelines that allow GA to proceed smoothly. In a 20-minute skit, the YARs managed to break (or exaggerate) nearly every rule, procedure, and guideline in the book. The presentation, needless to say, had everyone in the court laughing and joining in as we yelled “Name!” to everyone who came up to speak (inside joke).
I am so grateful to my home presbytery of Algoma-North Bay for sending me. My experiences at GA have helped me gain a greater understanding of the Presbyterian Church and I hope to attend again as a full commissioner someday. – Bethany Woods is from Corbeil, Ont., in the Presbytery of Algoma and North Bay.
When I first got off the plane in Hamilton, Ont., I was, to say the least, scared. I didn't know what was to come ahead in the following week. To make things worse I was the only member that came from my presbytery of Pictou, N.S.
However, while waiting for my bags I ran into someone holding a sign that said General Assembly. I started to calm down when I saw his welcoming smile.
Once we arrived at Brock University, St. Catharines, everyone was extremely hospitable. It made the stay away from home seem like home away from home. Once I got settled I started to meet some of the other young adult representatives. There weren't very many of us so we had to stick together, 16 in total out of the 300 plus who attended.
On Sunday we had our opening worship and first sederunt. Near the end of that night I thought to myself, “This isn't going to be that bad.” It seemed to go by quickly; little did I know that was only the commissioner's warm up for the week. As the week went along, I started to learn so much more about the work of our church. I didn't realize the amount of support that is provided to Presbyterians of Canada but also to Presbyterians and other denominations all over the world.
The thing that struck me most was the words of the guest speakers. They were so passionate. When I listened to them I could hear the emotion in their voices. Ms. Karuna Roy when she spoke about HIV and AIDS, Dr. Deborah Tezlo when she spoke about the Presbyterian work expanding in the Bhil region, and many others. The passion and dedication they have towards their work was so inspiring for me.
On a lighter note I also learned that Presbyterians know how to have a good laugh, love to eat amazing meals and snacks and also love to clap. It just goes to show that we appreciate the larger things in life but also the smaller ones that usually go unmentioned. – Alyson Graham is from Scotsburn, N.S., in the Presbytery of Pictou.
