Awakening a Sleeping Giant

Our 'Super Special' Feature

How often do you get to turn a parking lot into a sacred space? How often do you get a chance to influence the course that the United church is taking? How often do you get to be involved in something so new and different that it can change the way that youth and young adults influence not only the church, but the entire world? I had the opportunity to do all three in the space of a single night this past summer at General Council.
It was late Wednesday afternoon and most of us were returning from local outings in the Thunder Bay area. As I returned to the dorms where we were staying, I was pulled into a room with the words “Matt we need your opinions and advice.” I joined three other people, Adam, Jesse, and Thom, who pulled me in front of a computer and showed me a proposal they had written for a national youth and young adult leader.
I was stunned. I’d never even thought that something like this could happen. I mean, I’d wanted it to happen, but I never thought it would. I grew up in the United Church, and I love it dearly, but it breaks my heart to see how many people simply disappear from the United Church after the age of 14 or 15 because we’re not meeting the need for passions that they know God should be about. I was one of those people. I left the United Church and saw what it was like elsewhere, but God called me back to minister to my friends in the United Church.
Over the next few hours we slowly tested the waters out, seeing what people thought about the proposal. At the time, the position was labelled a “Youth Moderator,” But in the scope was more of a spiritual leader. Eventually, we had filled in most of the rest of the group, and after supper, a group of 20 of us sat down in a room to talk about the proposal and what we liked and didn’t like. Little did we knew, that conversation would last until about 2am the next morning.
With the capable help of some Conference staff from London and Bay of Quinte conferences, we all got our ideas out. We went around the room and heard from each of the people there. One of the really cool things about listening, is that you don't feel the need to talk much. Each of us spoke, and each of us really listened to one another.
We heard what it was like to be the only person under 50 in a pastoral charge, or in a 50km radius for that matter. We heard what it was like to be at a University and not know that there was a United Church campus ministry there. We heard what it was like to be part of a vibrant and lively conference where the number of events you could go to was only limited by the distance you wanted to drive. We heard youth and young adults from all across the country tell us their experience, and what they desired for themselves and for the rest of the people in their area.
Finally, shortly after 2 am, when most people went to bed, a small group of us took what we had heard and went to Tim Hortons, where we continued the work for another three hours. We took what we had heard, and out of that came the carefully crafted proposal that you see now. Each
of those items that you see on the page come from the deepest part of someone's heart. They truly desire to know those things and see them happen in their home communities and churches.
At 5:30am...as we finally decided that we had what we wanted, a couple of us went to find someplace we could print what we'd written (we never did find anyplace...apparently Thunder Bay has no 24-hr printing and photocopying place), but before we left to do that we did something I'd never done before. As we left Tim Hortons, we stopped in the parking lot, and we prayed. We thanked God for the energy that we'd been given, we asked for energy to get us through the coming day, and we praised and gave thanks for the ideas and the passion that had been so obvious during our whole conversation throughout the past 18 hours.
What we've written is merely our innermost desires and longings for the church. Some people who have seen it don't share these same desires, but we think that most people do. We want to hear what you think. Our proposal wasn't dealt with at General Council, but the Executive of the General Council dealt with it at their meeting in November. It is going on for more work, and will be coming back to the Executive in May. We want your input, your comments, your criticisms. Please e-mail us at ucyayanetwork@gmail.com and let us know what you think!

-Matt Woodall

Awakening A Sleeping Giant:

A Tranformative Vision for Youth and Young Adult Ministries in the Third Generation of the United Church of Canada

“We have the resources [in the United Church of Canada] that we need.” – Right Rev. Dr. Peter Short, Aug. 13, 2006 (Moderator, 39th General Council)

Whereas we have been called in this place and in this time to discern the future direction of the UnitedChurch of Canada for its third generation; and

Whereas the youth and young adult movement in the United Church of Canada is growing in community and a group of commissioners to the 39th General Council 2006, 30 years and under, have engaged in meaningful dialogue over the life of this meeting; and

Whereas we believe the youth and young adult movement in the United Church of Canada would benefit from a spiritual leader at the national level; and

Whereas we feel called as members of the Church to reach out to our youth and young adults whether they be pursuing a secondary or post-secondary education, starting a career, beginning a family, or working in another vocation; and

Whereas the United Church of Canada has an opportunity to be a leader in youth and young adult ministry; and

Whereas the United Church of Canada recognizes that God’s call is not dependent upon age and also recognizes the call of leadership in youth and young adults and further trusts the call to leadership in these people; and

Whereas youth and young adults are engaged in both paid and unpaid ministry at all levels of the United Church of Canada; and

Whereas approximately 20% of the people within the bounds of this court are 14 – 30 years of age and that this presence should be taken as a sign of commitment to the United Church of Canada and to this work; and

Whereas we recognize that good and faithful work is being done within and without of the United Church of Canada and we strive to work with our partners in a positive manner and there is a desire amongst the youth and young adult leaders within the church to connect, build, and sustain relationships with others across the country.

Therefore, it is proposed that the 39th General Council 2006:

Set aside resources for the creation and maintenance of a national youth and young adult network.

Set aside resources to fund youth and young adult ministries at the pastoral charge and presbytery levels over the next three years and investigate the creation of a national retreat for youth and young adults engaged in the Church to be held on the year in which neither KAIROS nor General Council are held.

Investigate the possibility of creating an elected position for a spiritual leader for youth and young adults and that the results of this investigation be reported to the General Council Executive no later than the fall executive meeting of 2008, so that the first election may take place at the 40th General Council 2009.

-R. McNally/M. Sawyer

Random Con-nec-tions

Life and Economics Class


In my Economics class, we spent a lot of time talking about this concept called “opportunity cost”. It explains the full cost of buying, or doing something. For example, if you were talking about the opportunity cost of a college degree, not only do you have to count tuition, but you also have to factor in the money that you could have been making if you had gotten a job rather than going to college. Or the opportunity cost of buying an orange is not only the money spent on the orange, but the time it takes to go to the grocery store and get the orange, as well as the fact that now you can’t buy an apple or a bag of Skittles with the money you spent on the orange.
It’s one of my favourite concepts, because it relates to back to real life so perfectly. For every choice you make, you have to give up making another choice. Whether it’s a choice to go to class rather than skip and go to your favourite band’s concert, or if it is to go to Church Sunday morning rather than stay up all night Saturday. Every choice has a consequence.
Even if you don’t understand economics and you don’t understand my explanation, I want to
you think about this: when you’re making choices, what the consequences of your decision? Are you giving up more than you’re receiving? What’s going to be a better choice in the long run? For a moment stop focussing about what great fun it will be at the time and think about how you’ll feel after the fact. What will you think of yourself after? Are the costs greater than the benefits? I know this is something we hear all the time, but I want you to really think about it for a second. How many times have you made a bad choice that could have been avoided if you had just thought about it?

-Kathleen Kerr

God's Plan

In the world that we live in, there are many problems that we are urged to lend a helping hand towards. Especially from the church. The issues range from helping each other, to homelessness, to government policies, and everything in between. There definitely is a long to-do list in this world of things that need to be done. There are a lot of people who might just need our help, who may need that helpful little nudge towards a better life. Sometimes, though, I can’t help and wonder why, if God is all powerful, does he not do something about it? Why doesn’t he just snap his fingers and make it all right?
I came by a quote recently that I believe holds the answer to this question…at least to some extent. “Passed the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them... he cried, ‘Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?” God said, "I did do something. I made you.” ~Author Unknown
I found that to be a powerful statement. “I made you”. Maybe that message alone is something we all knew already. However, it seems that he made us for more than just the fun of it. Or maybe this is all part of one big experiment by a higher being that we’ve taken to calling God. Who really knows? But maybe, just maybe, the reason that we are each here on this earth is to help one another.
Maybe, as the seeker was made to help the crippled, the beggar, and the beaten, we are made to help each other. What if God has made each and every one of us just for that purpose? Albert Pike once said, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.” There’s something to that statement.
Nobody will ever remember what we have done for ourselves. The only one who will ever remember that is ourselves, and we won’t last forever. What we do and have done for others has an impact on them and on the world for ages to come. One need only speak a few kind words to someone who needs them, or lend a helping hand to someone who needs it and the course of the future has already been set in motion. That kind gesture can make a world of difference and we may not even realize it at the time.
There are some who say that God sends angels to help us. I don’t know if I believe that totally, to be completely honest with you. It could be true, I’m just not sure. But there’s a song I know that really speaks to how I feel about that. The song is called Baptism, sung by Randy Travis and Kenny Chesney. “…I didn’t see no angels, just a few saints on the shore; but I felt like a brand new baby, cradled up in the arms of the Lord.” I believe that I have seen those saints on the shores of life, as I am sure many of us have.
So maybe God does help us. Maybe He has created us to help one another. “I made you,” He said. He made me, He made you, He made us all. He created us to help each other, to grow and share in love and kindness. To help. And at times when we wonder what God has planned for us and the world… just remember, He made us.

-Nico Anderson

Life Isn't Perfect

Life isn’t perfect. Ever since Eve took a bite out of that forbidden fruit, humans have struggled with tears, broken hearts, and unfulfilled dreams. We’ve been hurt, broken, and crushed. But for some reason humanity continues on its quest to find the perfect life.
But the point is that we all hurt, and that we have all felt broken at one point in our lives. I’ve spent hours in my room crying by myself, believing that no one cares. I’ve been hurt and bitter and believed that everyone had turned their back on me. I’ve had my heart ripped into a million pieces and been forced to face the world alone.
And so not only are we hurt, but we’re lonely. Because there isn’t always someone watching us, everyone has their own lives, their own problems, their own hurts, and their own broken hearts to try and fix. There isn’t enough time to watch over everyone else’s hearts as well as your
own.
I mean, yeah, I know that I’m supposed to believe that God is up there, watching over me, helping me on my way. But I mean, really as much as I may want to, its not like I can just go cry on God’s shoulder when I need a hug.
The real problems for me though, start when not only can I not cry on God’s shoulder, in the moments when I can’t make myself believe that God is even up there. It’s not like God is just up there yelling down to me “I am here.” No, I’m expected just to know, some how, that even though there are no signs, and there are no thunderclaps during my prayers, and God has never spoken to me, I’m still expected to believe that he is going to fix all my problems. Right.
Maybe part of this whole “believing” thing is to wonder. To not always know if God is actually up there. Maybe we all just have to live for the moments when we know that there has got to be something more to life, the moments when it all seems worth it, those few moments of absolute certainty.
This article was supposed to be all about crying, and God being up there watching us anyways, about how God is supposed to be watching over us, knowing all about every single tear we have ever cried. Then it turned into me wondering what happens when a person begins to doubt, when they don’t always know that God is up there. What is it now? I don’t know. I’ve been writing this for five months, and the truth is I still don’t know.
I think that the point at this moment though, is that even though sometimes we’re all alone, and crying on a corner, or under our beds, and we don’t always know that God is up there counting our tears, and we aren’t even sure God is up there in the first place, that we’ll get through it. The moment only lasts so long. If its ten minutes or ten days, or ten months, eventually the moment will pass. Awful moments end.

-Kathleen Kerr

No You Can't Borrow My Book

Random Obsessions with Peter Short

Have you ever read a book that you loved so much that you wanted everyone to read it, because, well, it was just that amazing? So then, someone asks you to borrow the book… but you realize that you couldn’t possibly part from it long enough to let anyone else read it.
This is exactly how I feel about Peter Short’s book Outside Eden: Essays of Encouragement. Rarely do I go a week without opening it for some reason. Posted all over my wall are sticky notes with my favourite quotes from the book, written in random neon highlighter. Even my friends and I find a way to bring it into almost every conversation we ever have.
But why is it so great? For me it’s not just a book of essays, the type you have to read for school all the time. Peter Short shares his ideas, inspiration, and insight on both faith and life. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re at in life, he manages to make you feel as though he is speaking directly to you.
This book has seen me through the thick and the thin. When I attended General Council this summer, it was the most amazing spiritual, life-changing event I had ever been to. Returning home to life (which although I’d changed, home hadn’t), it was a bit of a culture shock of sorts. I missed the feeling of General Council and when I needed my spiritual fulfillment of the day, Peter Short’s book filled the hole growing inside me, lifting me up and helping me adjust to my not-so-perfect life. And when I finished it, it made me sad. Actually, I cried. Somehow Peter Short managed to write exactly what I wanted to hear. He has the words to write what I sometimes feel but can’t express.
And then began my obsession with Peter Short. I’m not a stalker, but I have perhaps gotten closer to the line than I am willing to admit. I googled “Peter Short,” looking for anything at all that he may have written. Upon running out of anything new, I began re-reading and re-reading and reading again the stories I had. And then in me grew a mad, desperate hope that Peter Short would write another book… which became a mad, desperate plan of moving to Fredericton, just to attend the church where Peter Short is a minister.
Basically, I would recommend this book to everyone and everybody, as you probably all want some Peter Short in your life. (Although you’ll have to buy your own copy because you can’t borrow my copy… not to be selfish, you’ll love it too much to return it.) Or check out Peter Short’s writing for yourself— www.united-church.ca/moderator/short/. You know you’re excited.

-Kathleen Kerr, with help from Charley Switzer

A Story About W.H.Y.

A tale of how W.H.Y. came to be (for those of you who haven't heard!)...
Once upon a time, in a far, far away land... or well, last summer, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Charley and Kathleen were at the 39th General Council of the United Church of Canada... This
meant that they went to Ontario so that they could sit through a week long meeting. (Which was their idea of fun!)
Throughout this event, both Kathleen and Charley felt very moved, and were worried about what it would be like when they went home and this new feeling was left behind. They wished that there could be a way to bring this feeling home with them. Later, Charley sent Kathleen a note mentioning that she wanted to start a newsletter for youth. Kathleen thought it was a fantastic idea, sent a note back to Charley saying that she was "so totally in!”
A few days after getting home, Kathleen started thinking about the newsletter idea again. She emailed Charley, saying that she thought that they should do "the whole newsletter thing," and after a rather long phone call, WHY was born.
The morale of this story is to keep dreaming and know that YOU can make your dreams a reality!

From the Editor's Desk!

Somehow in our formatting and writing, we ended up doing the intro last. Perhaps because it’s the hardest. By this point all the articles are written, and all we have to do is plunk them into their places. Though this is more work than we first thought, it is still easier than writing something thoughtful to get everyone all excited to read the issue.
Make sure to check out some of our fantastic articles. We are excited to have two articles by new writers— “Awakening the Sleeping Giant” and “God’s Plan.” Be sure to check them out!
In other important news, we were interviewed by the Observer last month– which was fabulously exciting, even if it did mean that we had to get up ridiculously early! So be sure to watch for us in an upcoming issue of the Observer.
We can’t express enough how much we appreciate, love, and NEED your feedback. If you want W.H.Y. to keep arriving in your inbox, it won’t take money, but we do need encouragement.
(Otherwise, we might accidentally assume nobody is reading it!)
All in all, we are thrilled to bring you this issue. Enjoy!!

-Kathleen & Charley