DSC participates in Global Young People's Convocation
By Glen Simpson, Young Adult Chair
Four young adults (Melissa Rynders, Ryne Brinks, Marcy Ellis, Glen Simpson) and two youth (Sam Grainger, Kayla Flannery) have just returned from the Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly, GYPCLA, that took place in Berlin, Germany, July 21-26th. In the coming months we will share with you our experiences of UNITY, the central theme of GYPC. Together we were one with each other, one with the world, and one with Christ. We hope that you will follow us along on this journey and even be willing to respond to some of the questions we might pose. We thank everyone for their prayers and support in getting us to Berlin, and the continued support as we took part in a momentous occasion in the life of the church. You can visit www.relevanceonline.com/gypc and view some of the footage that Ryne Brinks and Glen Simpson produced for the General Board of Discipleship (GBOD).
During the convocation, 144 young people and adults attending as voting delegates convened a Legislative Assembly, which is designed to give young people a voice in the church through the legislative process.
Two young United Methodist leaders, from the Philippines and the United States, convened the assembly. Earlie Pasion, 24, former national president of the United Methodist Youth Fellowship in the Philippines, is now Publishing Coordinator of Discipleship Resources-Philippines for the Philippines Central Conference of the United Methodist Church, and attends Central United Methodist Church in Manila. Will Green, 22, a Master's of Divinity student at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, is a licensed local pastor at Granville Avenue UMC in Chicago.
United Methodist young people from throughout the world submitted legislative proposals to be discussed and debated at the Legislative Assembly. Legislation adopted by the assembly may be referred to the Young People's Ministries Division and sent directly to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church in 2012, carrying the name "United Methodist Young People's Legislative Assembly."
Speakers at the convocation include:
- Bishop Linda Lee from the Wisconsin Annual Conference in the United States
- Rev. Sidney A. Cooper, chaplain and lecturer at Sierra Leone Theological College and Church Training Centre in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa
- Reto Nägelin, a musician and leader of a youth service at Takano Fachstelle EMK (Evangelical Methodist Church) in Olten, Switzerland
- April Gonzaga-Mercado, a part-time graphics designer, event planner, and video editor in Manila who has been active in the youth and young adult ministries of the Philippines Annual Conference for years. (Her great-grandfather was the first Methodist convert in her hometown of Taytay, Rizal.)
- Rev. Pavel Serdyukov, a graduate of the Russia United Methodist Theological Seminary and pastor of Perovo United Methodist Church in Moscow
The call to worship was used to open GYPC and was submitted by the DSC's own, Melissa Rynders. The call to worship was the beginning of the many shared experiences and stories of GYPC, and follows:
Compassionate and loving God, we know that at times in our lives we stroll along paths that lead us to nowhere. We often get started and then stop because something better comes along. Help us, O God, to pour ourselves out in acts of love, noticing differences and mending fences.
Help us, O God, to be the body of Christ.
Gracious God, we know that all that we have and experience is because of you. In you we have one faith, one baptism and one God. We also know that while we are one in you, we are also uniquely made, with varying gifts and abilities to share.
Help us, O God, to be the body of Christ.
Creator God, we know that you created us to love and follow Christ, the one who keeps us in step with one another. Help us to follow your way and not the way of the crowd. Help us to know God and stay in touch with the reality of the world.
Help us, O God, to be the body of Christ.
We give you thanks, awesome God, for giving us a new life in you. A life created in your image, a life renewed from the inside, a life lived connected as the body of Christ.
Help us, O God, to be the body of Christ.
Merciful God, may we know of your presence with us this day and always. May we never take for granted the gifts you have given us. May we always remember to be gentle with one another, forgiving as quickly as God in Christ forgives us.
Help us, O God, to be the body of Christ.
Loving God, allow every word we say and every action we take be a gift from you to those around us. Allow your Spirit to work within us that we may be one body, one Spirit and one people in you. We pray all of this as the body of Christ. Amen.
Editor's note: This is the first of several articles that will cover and follow-up on the GYPC. Parts of this article were covered by the GBOD. To learn more visit gbod.org.
Left: Young people from around the world gathered for the Global Young People's Convocation and Legislative Assembly in Berlin Germany, July 21-26.
Right: Melissa Rynders (left), Glen Simpson, and Marcy Ellis were three of the young people representing the DSC at the GYPC. Not pictured are Ryne Brinks, Sam Grainger, and Kayla Flannery. (Photos courtesy Glen Simpson)