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Mission possible even at General Assembly!

10Kia Ora KoutouThis is what I got out of General Assembly 06 and what I perceived it to be. First of all it was pretty humbling and also provided a great sense of wider Church community and Whanau. I want to send a Big Shout Out to the PYM focus group for looking after all us so well at youth assembly and also assembly itself, they provided a really good home away from home for all the youth delegates. On the subject of youth there were not a lot of us at this thing (and I am including myself even though I’m 30!). I would also like to extend my aroha to Te Aka Puaho for making me feel welcome and included.

This was my first General Assembly and it really is quite inspiring to see a school hall packed out with people all interested in the life of our Church.

OK so I’ve got about one and a half paragraphs through without mentioning the whole sexuality in leadership decision thingee but I guess there’s no escaping it, I am going to have to mention it.

Some people were saying the assembly was not just about the leadership issue and that there were other important matters discussed and there were - the Book of Order rewrite, the Focal Identity statement, Ministers Stipend Reviews and Assembly Levies. But having said all that, observing the emotional and somber mood of the assembly after the decision had been made is what really sticks out in my mind. It is sad to see our Church divided on serious issues but it is encouraging to see that there is a robust system that handles these matters and allows our Church to function and move on in light of a big decision. It was really heartening to see the youth delegates speak at assembly on this and other issues and even though we may have held different opinions that did not stop us respecting each others point of view.

I met some pretty amazing people at Assembly and heard some really inspiring stories - one in particular was about Yams. This left me thinking that here in our Presbyterian Church Family we have a lot of people that care passionately about how we function and present the message of Christ. It follows that where you have a lot of passionate people you are bound to have disagreements from time to time, in fact some debates may be ongoing BUT the big thing is that we have a system that allows for the people and the spirit to be heard and then lets us decide. This system helps to preserve our Church unity and that is an important factor in the life of any community.

So GA06 was an awesome positive experience that really gave me a feel for how our national Church Whanau works and I appreciate being a part of such a passionate and caring community. Bring on GA08 in Wellington!Ryhan PrasadRyhan is a Project Manager at BGI in Wellington and has also taken on the role of Convener this year for JYMC, the regional youth ministry committee.