Page 3 - Moravian Messenger March 2019

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Over the past weekend (18th - 20th January), I attended the URC Youth Assembly in Staffordshire at the Whitemoor Lakes Activity Centre. Over the course of the weekend I took part in a number of workshops, activities and worships. The theme of this year's assembly was 'One body', the idea that we as part of the church are all important in some way. We explored this theme throughout the weekend.
When I arrived on Friday afternoon, I was greeted by a group of warm and welcoming synod representatives and group leaders including Ruben, who handed me my information pack and showed me to my room, where I met my lovely room-mate Emily from Newcastle Upon Tyne. It was also her first time at the assembly, so we were both slightly nervous. Soon the nerves went away when we met up in our small groups for worship and quizzes.
During this first session we competed in different quizzes including: One world, One voice and One mind. Unfortunately, after some issues involving a map and with geography not being our strong suit, we lost. Not only did this session spark conversation in our group, but also gave us a great insight into what was to come over the next two days.
After meeting in our small groups, we went into synod time. Not only was it the first time I met all these people, some who live fairly close to me, it was the first time I heard about all the youth groups, festivals and events that were happening right on my door step. The North Western synod representative was kind enough to invite me along to these events.
I had booked onto three workshops over the weekend, the first workshop was called 'Rubbish Ramble', which turned out to be really good, we walked around the grounds of the centre for an hour and picked up all the rubbish we could find. My group started to discuss how we had only been walking and picking for five minutes and our bags were half full and this led to a discussion on waste and packaging. This workshop was also a great tie into the worship given by the charity A Rocha UK (Caring for God's Earth).
The second workshop I attended was called 'Hostile environment' which I found really engaging as it's something I am really interested in. We read articles about how refugees are being treated in England, and how churches across the country are helping by running food drives and inviting refugees into the church for hot food and drink. I feel that the steps that the United Reformed Churches are taking are very positive. One of the themes of the assembly, 'One world', the idea that we must help one another in our world. Finally, I attended bible study, which was led by one of the key note speakers from the
© URC Youth Assembly
charity Beacon. In this session we tried to reinterpret how the re-wording of selected bible verses could be changed so as not to offend certain sections of the community.
There were many interesting and inspiring key note speakers from the various charities represented. A Rocha UK was the first one we attended who gave us some alarming statistics about global warming, food production, mass migration, rising sea levels and greenhouse gas emissions. They then went on to tell us what A Rocha UK are doing as a charity with the involvement of churches, such as planting gardens and getting rid of using single use plastic containers. This topic then helped develop the 'One Body theme' of the Synod, because if just one church helps the environment by stopping the use of single plastic then imagine what several churches working together could achieve. I spoke to the A Rocha UK team over breakfast and they really inspired me to make more of an effort in my life to change the environment.
The next key note address was given by the charity Beacon who are helping LGBTQ+ youth, especially in the church. This has made me think about how we can become more tolerant to differences in the Moravian Church.
We then moved on to the voting process, over the weekend we debated on several issues. I found it really refreshing that we all had a voice and that everyone's opinion was listened to. The motions that were passed felt like great steps forward for the United Reformed Church. Some actions passed were for large projects such as to carry out a research project on how the church can help with youth mental illness. Whilst some smaller actions were passed to make the life of the church easier for everyone in it, such as installing Wi-Fi to churches around the country so as to aid communication between churches. Finally, a motion to make sure the youth voice in the church would be heard, such as sending a youth representative to elders/equivalent meetings to put forward ideas on how to improve the church.
In conclusion I would like to thank PYCC for giving me the chance to attend and take part in a really enjoyable experience that has shown me that I can get involved and make a difference in my church.
Sr Sydney Williams-Howe
Fairfield
My weekend at the URC Youth Assembly