wfn.org | Teens rock at 8th Presbyterian Youth Triennium

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

1-August-2001
01258

Teens rock at 8th Youth Triennium

6,000 young, spirit-filled Presbyterians party on Purdue campus

by Evan Silverstein

WEST LAFAYETTE, IN - Sixteen-year-old Kelsy Brown had been looking forward
to the 2001 Presbyterian Youth Triennium all summer.
	The Utah teen-ager, who says she doesn't get to mingle with as many
Presbyterians as she'd like, saw the six-day youth program as an exciting
opportunity to bond with thousands of young people like herself from around
the world. The resident of Brigham City, Utah, deep in Mormon country,
would not be disappointed.
	"It's really amazing, and so exciting, because there's so many
other people here that are like us, all Presbyterians," Brown said during
the Triennium, which concluded last weekend at Purdue University. "There's
so much to praise and worship for, and all together just to have fun and
stuff."
	Brown joined more than 6,000 Presbyterian teen-agers and more than
100 international participants from about 40 countries in "throwing down"
during the high-octane spiritual fest that resonated with rock 'n'
roll-driven worship, prehistoric-themed recreational events, passionate
sermons, riveting discussion sessions called "quarry groups," and more
boulders than the Flintstones' Stone Age city of Bedrock.
	"It's just a big experience that no one can get anywhere else,"
said Brown, who worships at Community Presbyterian, a Presbyterian Church
(USA) congregation in Brigham City. "We're not the minority (at Triennium);
we're the majority. And you can't get that a lot of other places. It's
great."
  	The high-voltage event, whose theme was "Even the Stones Will
Shout," (Luke 19:29-40), invited Presbyterians between the ages of 15 and
19 to explore and share their faith, taking them on a faith-infused,
multimedia spiritual trip accompanied by Christian rock bands and flashing
MTV-style (if not MTV-substance) video footage.
	The hugely popular Triennium events have been held every three
years since 1980, co-sponsored by the PC(USA), the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church in America. The gatherings always attract thousands of teenagers,
most of them affiliated with the PC(USA).
	"It's pretty cool," said Kwasi Sekyere, a 15-year-old member of
Braeburn Presbyterian Church in Houston, TX. "It's nice. It's tight."
  	The eighth Presbyterian Youth Triennium kicked off - uh, blasted
off - with a furious injection of "energizers" and worship, singing and
skits. Purdue's jam-packed, 6,000-seat Elliott Hall of Music was a sea of
teenagers clapping hands, stamping feet, shouting and dancing, as worship
entertainers burst onto a stage lined with rocks and boulders that
resembled a set from an Indiana Jones movie more than a worship platform.
	Images from a simultaneous opening event across campus at the Loeb
Theater were beamed onto large screens at Elliott Hall. The energy level
spiked when the Rev. Hugh Donnelly and Deb Guess, the recreational leaders,
led dance and song-filled energizers at Elliott Hall, and the Rev. Carl
Horton and Raymond Sala grooved to the music at the Loeb.
	Then the stage at Elliot Hall was taken by the official worship
band "Hematitans," belting out anthems such as "Lord, I Lift Your Name On
High." The band rocked on with a nod to the triennium theme, singing about
"stones shouting, praising God," concluding, "Jesus is the Rock."
	The energy-charged worship even impressed the adults on hand,
including Amy Zais, a 33-year-old high school teacher from Wausau, WI, one
of five youth advisers accompanying a group from the Presbytery of
Winnebago.
	"It's very neat to see that the kids are getting into something so
much," said Zais, who worships at First Presbyterian Church in Marshfield,
WI. "They seem to truly believe in this, and they give themselves totally
over to it.  I teach high school, and I wish my kids could see how into
this these kids are. It's very refreshing."
	Zais said she's doesn't get such energetic worship at her home
church, but she hopes that will change.
	"It's not how I was brought up to worship," she said. "I've always
been a Presbyterian, but this is so much freer, and you're allowed to
express yourself so much more. I think that's a great direction that the
Presbyterian Church should continue going in. I think it's just wonderful.
The energy is unbelievable."
	The Triennium was created by denominational staff of the former
United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church and the Presbyterian Church in Canada, as a leadership-development
program. The first was held in 1980 at Indiana University in Bloomington.
The event moved to Purdue in 1983.
	"If you mess with people praising God, you're going to get talking
rocks," said the Rev. Anna Carter Florence, an assistant professor of
preaching at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, referring to the
Triennium theme.
	Standing behind a podium disguised as a rock, Florence preached
during opening worship from the 19th chapter of Luke, in which Jesus is
greeted by palm-waving believers, then reprimanded by the Pharisees for
attracting a rowdy crowd. Florence told the teen-agers to be ready to shout
"for yourself and for someone else who may need you to shout for them."
	After opening worship, Triennium participants poured onto the
Purdue campus for "Rock the Block," a carnival-style bash with food,
fire-eating jugglers, musical groups, inflatable rides, and a climbing
wall. Scheduled events included "Rockin' Rec," "Boulder Dash H2O Olympics"
and the "Rockin' the Planet Global Cabaret."
	One teen-ager said the spiritual experience of Triennium helped
bring her Presbyterian background into clearer perspective.
	"It just makes you feel more connected to Presbyterians," said
Samantha Casne, 18, of Seattle, WA, who was attending her first Triennium.
"Part of my dad's family is Catholic, so I know a lot about Catholicism. I
know that there's been (pressure on me) to kind of choose which faith. So
now, it's easier for me to know (that) I want to be on the Presbyterian
side."
	Organizers said about 5,000 of the approximately 6,200 participants
were from the PC(USA), while 720 were from the Presbyterian Church in
Canada and 270 from the two Cumberland Presbyterian denominations. The
crowd also included 146 international delegates from PC(USA) partner
churches in 42 countries.
	"It's really, like, mind-boggling, the amount of people here," said
Colleen Holloway, 17, a Presbyterian from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. "You
are completely surrounded by everybody who's here for the same reason and
the same purpose. It's awesome. It's a real great opportunity."
	Global Partner Forums allowed international delegates to share
their cultures and talk about global issues. Many said they particularly
appreciated the event's international flavor.
	"I think it's really cool," said Ben Ferraro, 16, of Red Bluff, CA,
who worships at a PC(USA)-related congregation. "I come from a really,
really small town, and you're either white or you're Hispanic. We don't
have very many different people of different races. It's really cool (at
Triennium), people from all over the world. Just, like, hang out and see
what people do in other places, and it's a lot of fun. It's nice to meet
people from all over the world."
------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send an 'unsubscribe' request to

pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org