A strong desire to grow ecumenical relationships and understanding was a recurring theme throughout this year’s United Reformed Church Youth Assembly, held in Northampton.
Taking the theme ‘Wise Words – Wise Actions’ as their starting point, around one hundred 14-25-year-olds enjoyed a weekend of business, worship, and a wide range of activities – from prayer walks and karaoke to marshmallow toasting and ceilidh dancing.
Wide-ranging discussions and debates were joined by delegates from different Christian denominations in the UK and Germany, including the Methodist Church and the Society of Friends (Quakers), and representatives from the Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz. This year’s interns from the ecumenical Joint Public Issues Team were also in attendance.
Incoming Youth Moderator Kacie Hodgson has made ‘expanding our horizons through our ecumenical relations’ one of the platforms of her year in office. She said, “By building bridges, we don’t just share resources; we gain new perspectives on faith and mission.” A good example arose from one workshop, in which a URC delegate noted that “often, young people assume that only modern styles of worship are Spirit-led, but hearing perspectives from different traditions – including silence in Quaker worship – was eye-opening. The weekend reminded me that the Spirit moves in diverse ways, and that learning from one another across traditions can deepen our faith and community.”
Not only are ecumenical guests fully voting members of the URC’s Youth Assembly; it was also notable that the invitation to make a reciprocal visit to the youth assembly of the Evangelische Jugend der Pfalz received considerable uptake.
This year, Alex Clements was elected to be the Youth Moderator-Elect. In his pitch to delegates, he said we wanted to focus on “the ecumenical side of the church … I think everyone needs to recognise that everyone else is also doing great stuff, and that we should attempt to embrace more of the good things we see around us.” He went on to suggest that where URC churches are located at some distance from one another, “we need to support young people to feel more confident in getting to know young people of other church denominations”.
For Lindsey Brown, the URC’s Head of Ecumenical Relations and Evangelism, this was her first experience of Youth Assembly. Not only was she struck by the commitment and passion of those present; she says she was particularly impressed by “their enthusiasm for evangelism, for articulating how they felt about their faith and for asking challenging questions about it, and for their interest in engaging with Christians of other traditions, both in the UK and abroad.”
Lindsey says she came away “full of optimism and excitement about the future of the URC”. For the new Youth Moderator, Kacie Hodgson, that future includes discovering “how we can work in unity for the common good, proving that our differences are a source of strength rather than a barrier to our witness in the world.”
Photos: Copyright Children, Youth & Intergenerational, United Reformed Church, used with permission.