Photography by Alex Luyckx
This is our last year in Presbyterian Young People's Society. And now we are approaching the edge of a void with some trepidation. Behind us is a veritable army of friends, memories, laughter, prayer and passion for peer-oriented ministry. Somewhere in our distant church future may be session meetings, budgets, and AGMs. And the void we approach as we leave a decade of peer service in the Synod of Central, Northeastern Ontario and Bermuda PYPS is where our church loses many of its 20- and 30-somethings.
For the past decade we have both been greatly involved in the ministry of our synod-wide youth organization. We have run events, planned worships, retreats, budgeted, organized finances, marketed and advertised our ministry and have grown and learned from others we have worked with. We consider ourselves to be qualified, experienced individuals with a strong background in peer ministry and event planning and organization. Our home church, like many Presbyterian churches, doesn't seem to have a place for us. We are approaching the void.
We are career starters, we are young adults, we are university graduates, newly married couples, and future-oriented individuals. We are motivated, dedicated and passionate. And there does not seem to be a place for us in our churches. Churches are focused on maintaining the large, influential groups. Young adults often feel dismissed — whether that be the intention or not — at least for a few years, until we have aged sufficiently to be taken seriously, or until we have children in the Sunday school and have a “right” to speak to church issues. We find ourselves feeling frustrated, voiceless and oftentimes ignored.
It sometimes seems that years of attending, planning, organizing and leading a synod-wide ministry count for nothing when we return to our home churches. The frustration of starting all over, of having to prove ourselves forces many of us to simply leave the church. and with the change in family planning, the focus on “career first,” and the pressure of the outside world and workplace, the time between leaving the church after youth group and coming back with small children is ever widening.
A college and careers group was attempted within our home congregation. It went well at first, but quietly faded into fewer meetings, and fewer members. We wondered if it was the group itself. The consensus was that it was not, but that many of us didn't feel comfortable being a part of that group while not feeling a part of the congregation. So what are we doing wrong?
As youth and young adults we need to take responsibility for the lack of our peers in our congregations! Many young adults, ourselves included, have spent a long time putting the responsibility on our churches, on our elders, or the ministries available. As we leave PYPS and youth group and approach the void, we realize that we are the only ones who are truly responsible for filling that void. We've just spent a decade in peer-for-peer ministry, and now we're faced with starting all over. But at least this time, with PYPS behind us, we're equipped. We're prepared. We have the skills, the passion, and we recognize the need. So let's step up, young adults, let's make our voice known, and create a place by ourselves, for ourselves. and maybe — if we do it right — our peers will follow.
