Canadian Mennonite
Volume 11, No. 16
August 20, 2007
Youth assembly was ‘smurftastic’
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All youth conferences need one ingredient above all others—youths—and so our group from Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Abbotsford happily joined others from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, and other parts of B.C. The youth assembly was held at Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford, where we spent the majority of our time.
Youth worship sessions were held in the secondary school gym, and it was a thrill to hear the singing of hundreds upon hundreds of youths from all over the country mixed together to praise God. Our theme was “Built to last,” symbolized by a giant Styrofoam Inukshuk, which I had the privilege of helping put together the day before the assembly. At every session we would have a new topic within the “Built to last” theme, including “Built on Christ,” “Built in love,” and “Built through community.”
We would also get a new speaker at each of the evening worship times, and they would share stories and experiences with us. One of the speakers that stood out the most for me was Dann Pantoja, who told us the story of Haron Al-Rasheed-Baraguir and Elwyn Neri—a Muslim and a Christian, respectively—who were put on a boat for three days together to talk to each other about their beliefs. Through that experience, and afterwards, they learned that they shared more beliefs than they originally thought and they learned to work together. I found it to be very uplifting.
Besides the worship sessions, there were service projects. Along with a few of the youths from my group and others from all over Canada, I went to the Fraser Valley Gleaners one afternoon to help cut up potatoes and tomatoes. Creating soup mix to feed people in Third World countries from rejected food is a brilliant idea, and we were proud to help a little in that effort.
Seminars were also offered to us in a wide variety of topics, from becoming a global church and honouring Scripture to disaster preparedness and biblical sex education. Kyle and Ashley Penner’s talk on sex didn’t pull any punches or beat around any bushes; they were straightforward, frank, and spoke from the heart. A group from Ontario said they found the talk “stretching.” I would definitely agree; my comfort zone got pushed around.
A personal highlight of the conference was the Starfield concert. A Christian group (and mostly Mennonite), they had an awesome lineup of songs, both originals and choruses that I knew from church or youth group. I had a great time there, and others felt the same way. “The Starfield concert was an awesome way to break out and praise God with dancing,” some youths from Ontario told me. Who says Mennonites don’t dance?
Sadly, though, the conference only lasted a few days, and when it was over we had to say our goodbyes and go home—which for us was all of a 10-minute drive.
Darren Goertzen of Delta, B.C., summed up Abbotsford 2007 the best, when he said, “It was smurftastic!”
Youths seek ‘fun’ in Abbotsford
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Why did some young Mennonites come all the way from the Stouffville area of Ontario to attend the youth assembly?
“To have fun, learn, meet new people, learn about God and our beautiful country. We went to the U.S. last year. We can meet new Canadians [here],” said Allison Turman of Community Mennonite Church, Stouffville.
“Why go to San Jose?” asked Ben Reesor, from the same church. “It’s for Americans. Just because it is bigger doesn’t mean it’s better.”
For Ellen Reesor of Hagerman Mennonite Church in Markham, Ont., coming to B.C. meant her first trip on an airplane. “It was really interesting to fly above the clouds. The advice I got was, don’t be nervous and chew gum.” Asked what her expectations for the assembly were, she said, “A whole lot of fun, and to grow closer to God.”
She also added that she hoped to meet “new friends that aren’t related to me.” Asking further about that, it turns out that, of the 14 young people she came with, 10 have “Reesor” as, or in, their last name!
Standing room only for ‘sex talk’
Venturing bravely into territory that many parents, pastors and youth sponsors have difficulty navigating with their youths, Kyle Penner, youth pastor at Springfield Heights Mennonite Church in Winnipeg, and his wife Ashley entitled their presentation at the Abbotsford 2007 youth assembly, “SEX!!!” The room was packed both times the presentation was offered.
The Penners began with a description of sex as a beautiful part of God’s creation and plan for the human experience, present before the Fall. That led to the question, “If sex and sexuality is so great, why wait?”
They explained that Scripture teaches that full sexual expression is intended for a man and a woman who have pledged their lives to each other in marriage. They acknowledged that, although the Bible does not specifically give reasons, there are benefits from following this teaching. Apart from the obvious concerns about pregnancy, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, sex is the most “intimate thing that you can do with another human being,” they said. It makes participants vulnerable, and creates “spiritual and physical unity so powerful” that people get hurt when it is experienced outside of the marriage relationship.
As young adults themselves, the Penners are well aware of the practical challenges that Christian teens face in trying to follow this teaching in Canada’s sex-saturated culture. They discussed issues such as:
• Deciding “how far to go” in expressing physical affection in dating relationships;
• Masturbation (when is it a “problem?”);
• The dangers of pornography—especially now that it is available on home computers; and,
• How to form accountability relationships with other Christians to deal with these temptations.
Other topics were covered, including a holistic description of what a healthy love relationship involves, and the high value that Scripture places on those who choose to be single in order to serve God more freely.
During small group time, one young man said, “It is the first time anyone in the church has talked to us about pornography.” Many seemed grateful to have these issues brought into the open.
BikeMovement releases DVD at MC Canada and U.S.A. assemblies
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BikeMovement the Documentary: A Young Adult Perspective on Church was simultaneously released on DVD at the Mennonite Church Canada and MC U.S.A. assemblies last month. The documentary follows BikeMovement, a group of young adults who rode bicycles across the U.S. for two months last summer as an initiative to engage in open conversation about the church. It summarizes conversations that took place both within the BikeMovement group and with more than 20 church communities the cyclists visited along the way.
A common question asked in many of these church conversations was, “Why are many young adults who grew up in the church not returning?” The BikeMovement group discovered that there is no single answer to this question, but the documentary attempts to identify common threads and offer suggestions to create safe places where generations can come together and better understand each other.
Topics covered in the documentary include: examining what it means to live in a tight-knit community while inviting people in, and exploring ways to create intergenerational dialogue despite language and generational differences. The documentary also includes a study guide with activities and questions to help groups work through the various issues together.
To order, visit mennonitechurch.ca and follow the “Resource Centre” link.
To help continue this conversation on a global level, all proceeds from the sale of the documentary will go to Amigos, the Mennonite World Conference’s Global Community of Young Anabaptists, in assisting young adults from all over the world attend the next Mennonite World Conference assembly in Paraguay in 2009.
—BikeMovement release