I was pleased to be able to spend a week with 18 new friends at General Assembly. YARs we were called – Young Adult Representatives. Our days were full of activities. Starting Sunday morning with a buffet breakfast with anything you wanted then heading straight to St. Andrew's, a truly beautiful church. Sederunt One began that evening in Knox, another beautiful church.
There was an extraordinary banquet at the Museum of Civilization. I was incredibly impressed by the local arrangements committee for putting together such a grand function for us with fabulous food, great entertainment and a wonderful atmosphere.

The theme of the week, To Seek Justice, spoke to me about the truth of residential schools and how this generation can make a difference by learning from the mistakes of the past. I agree with what my friend and fellow YAR Paul Dick said during his speech at our presentation “Many of us see the Aboriginal population in our cities suffering and impoverished and want to change this. We want to see a Canada where Aboriginal people can thrive and feel proud to express their culture, traditions, and spirituality. As the future leaders of Canada it is our responsibility to begin by starting a new chapter in the history books of Canada, which speaks of healing and reconciliation and the creation of a unified relationship of all who live in the nation so many call home.”
On Wednesday night the YARs were given challenge. YAR Anne Maclean paints the picture: “We were dropped off in the Byward market with $5 each, and were told we had a half hour to buy food for a picnic supper. This involved working together, pooling our money to get certain things, and organizing who bought what. This proved to be quite tricky – there are many strong leaders in our group with different opinions. We figured out quickly that we could not please everyone. However, we all came back with something, and although it was a pretty random supper, everyone had enough and managed to find something that they liked.”
There were a few topics that really touched home for me and I'm sure a number of other YARs: youth ministry, camping ministries and the involvement of young people in the church today and at General Assembly. The generational gap is quite prevalent in our church. As a youth director I understand the challenges. It's not easy to relate to each other and never will be, but I encourage adults and mentors and elders to encourage young people in any way you can. If a kid is interested in helping with Sunday school or youth ministry, then please do everything you can to help them feel appreciated and let them know their work is valuable to the body of Christ.
One of the most frustrating things faced by today's youth and young adults is that they are treated as though they must reach a certain age before they are mature enough in their faith to give back in a meaningful way. It's the Sunday schools, youth groups, young adult groups and summer camps that are the frontlines of this Church as far as evangelism and spiritual growth are concerned. Those are just some areas that I have seen young people excel at. Do whatever you can to give them the education, spiritual support and the tools necessary to work for the cause of Christ in today's Church.
