As a young adult representative I came to the 2009 General Assembly expecting to be bored. I came thinking I would be too young among my peers and too immature to follow the content in the sederants. I came close to tears at the realization of how thick my binder was. I came afraid of my brothers and sisters. I came feeling small and intimidated by the formality of the proceedings at hand. I left the assembly with a smile on my face and teary goodbyes to my church family.
To us, General Assembly was a place to see how our faith was governed. To see how we chose what “Presbyterian” meant; and since I was able to listen and contribute to the discussions, I find I like the definition all the more. We went hoping to see the more political aspects of our faith. Our wish was granted. We came thinking this would be our chance to see the church’s inner workings; to see how things really came to be and we were not disappointed. We came to General Assembly for an opportunity to grow through the roots of Christ, and we left blooming with his love.
We went to the briefing sessions, and embraced them with undisguised relief. The overview of the portions of the binder we may have skimmed through was incredibly helpful and informative. We found out about the Women’s Mission Society and Youth in Mission. We had doors in our futures opening everywhere we turned, and for that I am truly grateful. We were exposed to topics we had not considered beforehand, and were shown the importance of all aspects of our church. We were excited to see the energy and excitement sparked by youth programs like Canada Youth, and the possibility of websites for individual churches. The briefing sessions allowed us to feel comfortable enough to vocalize our opinions in front of the Moderator and the commissioners in an articulate and often confident manner.
This being the 40th anniversary of the existence of YARs was exciting and appropriate as we were granted an advisory vote. I was thrilled when the vote was passed after some unexpected debate. The vote allowed us to voice our opinion without suppressing our thoughts because we were too afraid to stand up to the microphone and address the assembly as a whole. It was an honour to be granted the ability to show the stance of the youth without having to articulate an often complex or lengthy opinion, giving us more opportunity to stumble through our point and lose our original train of thought along the way. Once again we would like to thank the assembly for allowing us the extra voice that we craved.
All the YARs chose to go to Chedoke Church, Hamilton, Ont., for worship. The integration of traditional preaching methods with more upbeat music seemed very effective and enjoyable to us. A fellow YAR and I also decided to go to the youth program for students in high school and higher grades of elementary school. We were pleased to see how quickly it was blossoming and how interactive the other “kids” were. The neighbour churches were so hospitable and welcoming; we never entered a building without being greeted by a reassuring smile. The majority of us also chose to go to Creiff Hills as our Wednesday night activity and were thrilled to see the plans for the additions to a facility that is in such high demand. We were treated to a thorough tour, given a brief hike to the cross, and to the labyrinth constructed by youth from the last CY.
The night the moderator was chosen, he and Captain Charles Deogratias, a Canadian Forces padre, visited our common room. After the usual introductions and after the conclusion to our questions and concerns, we were immediately captivated by Charles’ story. We listened to him for hours, totally engaged and hanging on every word. He was dripping with energy and so many connections were made with him even though our life experiences were so different. Charles found a place in all of our hearts, just as he has in the hearts of the soldiers whom he guides through times of hardship. He was an inspiration and he motivated us to do something with our lives and to make something of ourselves. “It is always one person who changes the world,” he told us. Why can’t that one person be one of us? He asked us to reach for more than what we would normally reach for and encouraged us to ask questions, and to strive for better not only in our faith community, but also in our global community.
The YARs were also pleased to see how the church brought up issues that did not necessarily play a direct role in church doctrine, but were meant to better our nation as a whole through Christ. The discussion of immigrant qualifications and literacy was of particular interest, as were the stories of mission trips and the presentations made by the First Nations representatives regarding residential schools. We are pleased to see the church stepping forward to make positive changes in our society and to our country. All the YARs where also given the opportunity to attend the E.H. Johnson luncheon and found the story of Archbishop Elias Chacour enlightening and interesting as it put a face to the trials in Israel and brought the problems to a more personal level.
However informative, intriguing, and thought provoking the sederunts were, the most altering part of our trip was the fellowship we established with each other. Where I thought I would be left out as the youngest in the group, I found myself amongst other exciting energetic people with great opinions and beliefs (most of them similar to my own) and was caught up in the whirlwind of emotions and perspectives. We stayed up far too late discussing everything under the sun and were relieved to find that no one had complained about noise levels. We grew so close together, through all our differences in opinion, age, maturity level, and locations across Canada because there was one thing we did share: a relationship with each other through Christ. We share a common faith in our God and we share the trust in our church to keep us in the Lord’s good graces.
I came to assembly expecting my faith to be lessened. I expected the political aspects to overpower the spiritual aspects. I thought that, through knowledge of the inner struggles of our church, I would lose my centre and faith in our system. I came ignorant but left enlightened. We left with a faith that was rooted in our hearts and a community made stronger by our love in Christ. We left with passion and energy, and hopes of seeing each other again whenever the next opportunity presents itself at General Assemblies to come.
We would like to express our gratitude, but it is difficult to see the happiness in our eyes through typed words on paper. So you will just have to trust us, as we trust our church. Thank you again, for these amazing opportunities to learn, and to love.
With all our thanks. The YARs of 2009.
