wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Stepping up

[PCUSA NEWS <PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org>]

Note #7855 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Stepping up
03304
July 31, 2003

Stepping up

Racial-ethnic youngsters at Assembly intend to make a difference

by Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE - If church statistics hold - given that the Presbyterian Church
(USA) is 94 percent white - only about 50 of the young adults attending this
week's third triennial Presbyterian Youth Connection Assembly (PYCA) here are
people of color.

	Acknowledging that daunting reality, PYCA organizers held a
pre-Assembly event for racial-ethnic youth on July 28 and 29. And a rousing
success it was.

	"This event really helped me get ready for the Connection Assembly by
making us a family," said Jason Monn, of Greencastle, PA. "It's great to know
we're not on our own in this huge crowd, and that there are so many different
nationalities in the PC(USA)."

	Nearly 700 Presbyterian high-schoolers	registered for the event.

	Multiculturalism was the theme of the pre-Assembly gathering. "I have
already met people from all around the world," said Amanda Cheromiah, a
Native American from Laguna, NM. "And when you sit down and listen, you learn
so much."

	"This is so multicultural, it's like a full taste of heaven," said
Phuc Dai Nguyen, a Vietnamese student who lives in Claremont, CA.

	Participants were run through a rigorous agenda of worship, Bible
study, small group sharing and workshops designed to provide a preparatory
"crash course" for the more formal PYCA proceedings. They learned about
Presbyterian history and beliefs, polity and parliamentary procedure.

	Theology took a decidedly practical bent, emphasizing Biblical
concepts of hospitality and welcoming of strangers. The participants shared
their own experiences of adapting to life in the United States, relating them
to Jesus's interactions with the outcasts of his day.

	"I learned that the world is a lot bigger than I thought," Cheromiah
said, "with lots of issues I didn't even know about."

	Nguyen said the workshops "gave me a much better sense of how the
church works."

	"I look much more forward to facing the big issues of the church
now," said Monn. "This has given me more encouragement to take bigger roles
in my church - to step outside my 'comfort zone.'"

	Many participants said they intend to take more active roles in their
local churches after the pre-Assembly conference and the PYCA.

	"I'm going to do a lot of this when I get back to Vietnam," Nguyen
said. "The Vietnamese community doesn't feel enough connection to the larger
church, and there are so many good ideas here."

	Cheromiah agreed. "I've seen so much more of the good now," she said.
"I can't duplicate this conference back home, but I want to go home and try
harder to do more."

	Lizzie Diaz, of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, felt much the same. "I expect
I'll be more in action from now on," she said.

*** For instructions on using this system (including how to UNJOIN this
meeting), send e-mail to mailrequests@ecunet.org

To subscribe or unsubscribe, please send an email to
pcusanews-subscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org or
pcusanews-unsubscribe-request@halak.pcusa.org

To contact the owner of the list, please send an email to
pcusanews-request@halak.pcusa.org