Youth at Diocesan Synod

This past weekend at the Italian Cultural Centre, delegates from all 70 parishes in the Diocese met for our annual Synod gathering. Each parish is encouraged to send a youth delegate to Synod; Sarah Stephens has served diligently as St Philip's youth delegate for the past 3 years. In addition to participating in Synod along with other delegates, the youth delegates are invited to several special events organized by Diocesan Youth Coordinator Phil Colvin and others from the Diocesan Youth Movement including a sleepover and a lunch with the Bishop.

This year's sleepover took place at St Margaret's Cedar Cottage. The sleepover offers youth delegates a chance to get to know one another and to hear more specifically about some of the ministries going on in other parts of the Church. This year, they also participated in conversations and activities concerning the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Residential Schools which will be coming to Vancouver in September. We heard from Vivian Seegers, about how she was affected by Residential Schools as most of her family members were forced to attend. The youth also heard from the Revs. Laurel Dykstra and Michael Batten about some of the events related to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in September. After these conversations, the youth had a chance to worship together and do some reflective activities related to the TRC and Residential Schools. Afterwards there was free time for fellowship and fun with the other youth delegates.

The next day, the youth and youth leaders at Synod, were invited to have lunch with both Bishop Michael Ingham and Bishop James Tengatenga, the guest speaker for this year's Synod, Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Malawi and chair of the Anglican Consultative Council. There was informal conversation as well as a time for more directed questions and answers with the two Bishops.

The youth delegates to this Synod will also be delegates to the Synod to elect the next Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster. The process for this election was reviewed as a part of Synod. Each youth delegate to Synod will bring their own voice and experience to this process as full members of the Church and of Synod. In addition, these young people help to connect those in their parishes with the Diocese and other parishes therein. By encouraging the participation of young people in Synod, we as a Diocese are ensuring that the voices and concerns of this group of people are taken seriously. It is my hope that in the future, more young people will have the opportunity to serve the Church in this way.

In addition to having youth delegates to Synod, there are also youth members on Diocesan Council and our delegation to this year's Joint Assembly in July in Ottawa. Anne Kessler and Cameron Gutjahr are youth members of Diocesan Council and Alex Starr will be this Diocese's youth delegate to Joint Assembly. All three are a part of the Diocesan Youth Movement which brings together those working in youth ministry from across the Diocese to organize training events for those who work with youth, contribute to youth events and programmes around the Diocese and to help organize several large youth gatherings throughout the year. For more information on the Diocesan Youth Movement, visit their website or contact Phil Colvin.