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Global youth gathering breaks down barriers

A Franciscan friar, an Orthodox priest, a Presbyterian minister and a Southern Baptist walked into a room… It sounds like the opening line of a bad joke, but it’s actually a true story! In January this year I found myself in St Louis, Missouri, sharing stories and learning from 50 diverse young leaders from around the world at a “ Consultation for Emerging Leaders”  organised by the Institute for World Christianity. The week-long conference aimed to encourage collaboration and unity across the many cultures and denominations of the Christian Church.

We had come from all corners of the earth, and from all sorts of Christian traditions. I was the only person from Oceania, but others had come from as far as Zambia, Serbia, Myanmar and India, representing nations as powerful as the United States and as tiny as Moldova. There were Presbyterians, Catholics, Pentecostals and Orthodox – and everything in between (the most obscure church was undoubtedly the Transylvanian Hungarian Church of Romania!). There were students, professors, ministers, community workers and leaders of various organisations, aged from 20 to 50-something. Each person had a unique and amazing story to tell of their life and work, and I spent much of my time just sitting listening.

Joining in prayer and worship with Christians from so many different traditions was amazing – we shared in everything from a formal liturgical service led by a Franciscan friar, to First Nations (Native American) drum songs, to a lively Pentecostal prayer meeting. For some people it was the first time they had ever seen or participated in forms of worship different to their own tradition, so it was a learning experience that required plenty of graciousness! The experience was significant for all of us, as we saw that although there was extreme diversity in the forms of worship we shared, we were all worshiping the same God who is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ – and we are all part of the same body of Christ.

We had speakers come and share on different topics that were really interesting, but for me the most significant part of the week was hearing stories from around the world, both in personal conversations and also as part of the programme as each person had a chance to share. A profound and humbling experience for me was listening to people from many nations tell how Western countries have exploited their people and their resources for centuries, and have refused to listen to and respect the indigenous people of these lands. In many cases Christians have played a major role in this problem. This information itself wasn’t new to me – I’ve read books, seen films, listened to lecturers and written essays dealing with these very issues. Yet somehow it hit home in a new way when I was sitting across the table from a new friend, hearing about how these theoretical issues affected their lives, their families, communities and churches.

Through these discussions two major messages stood out to me – firstly, that wealthy countries (such as our own) need to stop exploiting others for our own gain; and secondly, that we must engage with “developing” countries on their own terms, and not on ours. It seems that Westerners have a bad habit of assuming we know what is best for other communities – even when we’re actually trying to help, such as through development programmes and missionary work. When I asked some of my new friends how New Zealanders who want to be involved overseas can help appropriately, the response was this: “Come. Visit. Be our friends. Get to know our community. Learn about our culture. Let us teach you about the issues our community is facing and what we need to deal with them. Then, maybe you can use your unique skills and resources to join with us in helping our communities.”

Of course, going overseas often isn’t practical or necessary, and it seems that there’s heaps we can do from our own contexts in New Zealand. When I asked Nelson, a missionary leader from Zambia, how young people from New Zealand could help make a difference in the face of global issues that are so overwhelming, he responded, “simply do what you can, where you are, with what you have”. Regardless of who we are or what our situation is, we all have something to give, we are all in a community of some sort, and so we can all be involved in bringing about change, even if our contribution is small.  By Jo Ryan