Youth Committee at General Assembly

As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm in San Jose, CA for the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). From Sunday evening through yesterday evening (or in some cases, this morning), the business of the Assembly was discussed and acted on in various committees. Right now, as I type this post, the Assembly is meeting as a whole to discuss and vote on the issues that the committees worked on earlier in the week.

This year the General Assembly added a new committee on youth. This was a slightly different committee because it didn't have overtures or other business to consider. It was intended to be more creative and generative. It was a discussion among GA commissioners about issues related to youth and youth ministry. After their work, the committee was given the option to propose business for the Assembly to consider (which is actually happening right now).

I observed some of those discussions and spoke at an open hearing on "What Youth Believe" about my desire for a national conversation about confirmation. Throughout these meetings and conversations they watched a documentary called Soul Searching, based on a book of the same name by the National Study of Youth & Religion (I have this film and will probably be using it with youth leaders and the Youth Ministry Committee sometime soon).

For the most part, what I saw was a good conversation about youth and youth ministry in our church. There are some things I would have liked to come out of this discussion that didn't, and I was a little dubious about randomly assigned commissioners that may or may not know much about youth ministry talking about something so important to me. But overall, I appreciate their work. And I think it is awesome that the Assembly is talking about youth ministry on the floor right now...with many young voices participating in that discussion.

Since the Youth Committee recommendations are currently being discussed and voted on as I write, I'll wait until tomorrow to report on what the committed suggested and what the Assembly approves.

At the General Assembly

Hello friends of Fourth Church Youth! I've been crazy busy and doing a lot of travelling in the past month and have gotten way behind in keeping up this blog. I'll try to catch up some this week. Even now, though, I'm two time zones away from Chicago in San Jose, California for the 218th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The General Assembly (GA) is the national gathering of our denomination. It used to meet every year, but now only meets every two years. At this meeting, commissioners from across the country make decisions about the work, mission, and policies of the church. It is kind of like the church version of Congress. The Assembly will be making some important decisions and statements about various issues like the ordination of gays and lesbians, our relations with other religions, and social justice.

This is my first GA and I'm pretty excited about being here. I'm not a commissioner, so I don't have much of a voice and definitely no vote, but it's great to see how this gathering operates and to be a part of it from the sidelines.

Though I haven't had a chance to catch up with him yet, I'm very excited that one our youth, Jeremy Lewis, is the Youth Advisory Delegate (YAD) from the Presbytery of Chicago. YADs are young people between the ages of 17 and 23 that do not have an official vote at GA, but do make their voices heard by casting advisory votes on all the issues the Assembly considers. They also participate fully in the committee work of the Assembly and do have a vote there. I'm hoping that I can get Jeremy to share some comments and reflections about his experience as a YAD.

I'll post some thoughts and reports from time to time during this week. Of note so far, the new Moderator of the General Assembly was elected last night: Bruce Reyes-Chow. Bruce is a very forward thinking pastor with his thumb on the pulse of the church and the new directions our younger generations are heading. I've very excited about his election and what this means for the future of our church. Check out the press conference here.

I've discovered that there is a GA Youth Committee that will be discussing youth related issues in our church. I'll be observing this committee with interest, and may even contribute my voice. I'll keep you posted as I learn more.

Keep the General Assembly in your thoughts and prayers this week. There is much work to be done.