wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Youth find reconciliation

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World Council of Churches - Feature
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 10/05/2005

YOUTH FIND RECONCILIATION THROUGH UNDERSTANDING

     By Heather Chappell (*)
     Free photos available at
     www.mission2005.org

Understanding is the first step on the road to reconciliation. This is one
of the convictions that Christian youth from diverse regions will carry
home with them following a week of conversations and reflections on the
themes of mission, reconciliation and healing.

During the week of May 3-8, 2005, one week prior to the 13th Conference on
World Mission and Evangelism, 49 participants gathered at the Agios
Andreas Recreational Centre near Athens, Greece. The event was designed as
an opportunity for young people to join in community before attending the
main conference. According to Vahagn Azizyan, a youth delegate from
Armenia, the pre-conference experience was a "marvellous opportunity to
discover Christian riches from all over the world."

Monica Coll Gonzáles from Cuba found that the diversity of participants
made for interesting discussions on key issues facing the church in the
world. "Views and opinions were certainly rich," she said. Yet, while
backgrounds, denominations and opinions varied widely, similarities were
also discovered. When discussing the problems associated with reconciliation in various political, theological and social contexts, Gonzáles
reported that many participants shared similar experiences. "It seems that
the problems are the same all over the world," she said.

Bringing the conference back home

The pre-conference also provided the young people with practical knowledge
and tools that will be useful to them once they go back to their local
communities. Bertram Granville Swarts will return to South Africa, where
he acknowledges that racism still exists despite ten years of democracy.
He found that the youth conference has challenged him to discover personal
reconciliation and healing within this context. "I will go home with a lot
of experience," he said.

Participants included both stewards and youth delegates. Half of the
stewards were Greek. Of these, some were Orthodox, some Evangelical. Greek
participant Anastasia Gkitsi discovered that by sharing their experiences,
participants were able to gain a growing understanding of one another.
Stewards and delegates travelled to a downtown Greek Orthodox church,
where they were given the opportunity to ask questions. For many, this was
their first exposure to Orthodoxy. Natalie Maxson, Youth Programme
Executive for the World Council of Churches (WCC), reports that it was an
extremely positive experience. Through learning and sharing together,
youth from widely varying backgrounds began to appreciate one another as
members of "healing and reconciling communities", in the words of the
conference theme. They also developed good relationships that will most
likely last throughout their lives.

During the pre-conference, stewards began developing ecumenical projects
that will be implemented when they return home. These projects will focus
on issues such as HIV/AIDS and globalization, and will include youth
workshops and exchanges between churches. The Greek stewards, both
Orthodox and Evangelical, are working together on one of these ecumenical
projects. They are excited and hopeful about this unprecedented partnership, and they ask for the prayers of conference participants over the coming
weeks and months.

Planting seeds

Although it is the goal of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to have 25%
youth involvement in any activity, under 10% of the main conference
delegates are young people. Maxson worries that the perspectives of youth
could be marginalized as a result. "As a young person working with youth,
I find that it is a constant battle to make space for the voices of youth
to be heard," she says. However, the strong connections and friendships
that were built at the pre-conference event will enable those attending
the conference to have a much stronger voice than if they were to attend
individually. Together, they will share in two plenaries, through drama
and art.

Maxson stresses that the stewards participating in the main conference are
not merely volunteers. They are participants in an ecumenical learning
experience. They are very much involved in their home churches, and they
are at the conference to build connections. She believes that it is "the
responsibility of older delegates to get to know these young people, and
to support them in their work."

When asked if the goals for the pre-conference event were met, Maxson
responds that she doesn't like to think in terms of "goals" when people
are involved. Rather, she sees the event as a chance to plant seeds. "You
don't necessarily see the fruit that develops immediately," she says. She
goes on to say that the connections that were made, the co-operation of
Orthodox and non-Orthodox Greek Christians, the understanding that was
achieved - all of these can be considered the fruits of this process. "It
is an ecumenical process that continues long past this conference," she
says.

The youth event was sponsored by the World Council of Churches, in
co-operation with ecumenical partners.

(*) Heather Chappell is a writer from Toronto, Ontario. She works as
Programme Assistant for The Presbyterian Church in Canada in the areas of
Stewardship and Mission Education.

Other feature stories and free photos are available at:
http://www.mission2005.org

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect WCC policy.
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author.

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.