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by Jesse Knust
KNOXVILLE, TN (08/01/2008) -- This July, over 61 Connecticut United Church of Christ youth from churches in Farmington, Naugatuck, Prospect, Windsor, Wolcott, Woodstock, Simsbury and Amistad in Hartford traveled to the National Youth Event at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The event was held from July 24th to 28th, and featured worship, workshops, speakers, parties, and other fun activities.
Many of the youth and their chaperones traveled with the Rev. Da Vita “Day” McCallister on a Constitution Bus, enduring an 18-hour ride, but finally arriving at the destination with great triumph.
Over 61 youth and chaperones attended the event from the Connecticut Conference, but the event had over 2,800 participants in total. UCC Youth groups from Texas to Hawaii came to show their spirit and support of the role of the youth in the UCC. Many of the churches made banners, and there was a processional march across the stage to show which churches were being represented. As many youth and young adults as there were, there were ample opportunities to meet the other participants from across the country. There was even a contest to obtain a signature from a member of each of the 38 conferences present.
This year’s theme for NYE was “Living the Life.” Each day was jam-packed with gatherings and activities.
After breakfast, all the conferences met in the arena for worship with an NYE News Report from Rajee Aerie, a scripture study from our own Valerie Tutson, a performance from the Christian rock band Lost and Found, as well as a lecture from one of our plenary speakers.
Addressing Friday’s theme, Living Love, we heard from Eboo Patel, the founder and director of Interfaith Youth Core, a non-profit located in Chicago, IL, dedicated to inspiring youth to develop interfaith groups in their own communities, and encouraging service work within the interfaith movement.
Addressing Saturday’s theme, Living Green, we heard from Julia Butterfly Hill, the founder of the non-profit organization Circle of Life, who is best known for her brave act of living in a Redwood tree for over two years to protest Redwood deforestation.
Addressing Sunday’s theme, Living Peace, we heard from the Rev. John H. Thomas, the General Minister and President of the UCC, who spoke about the youth’s responsibility to be planters of hope.
We also heard a sermon from Kathleen Stuck, who told an inspiring faith story about her life in and out of foster homes, as well as Cesar de Paz, an attendee of the Hispanic Community Church of Boston, who spoke about maintaining inner peace with God.
The first night was filled with celebration of the spirit of our youth. There was a concert with the Canadian Christian rock band, Starfield, and a very empowering speech from Krista Johnson, a young woman serving as a Global Mission Intern with the UCC in Jerusalem, who told her first-hand account of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The youth and chaperones all picked from a variety of workshops when they registered, addressing everything from global mission work, to discrimination and racism, to biblical allusions within the Harry Potter series. Each participant attended five 1 ½ hour workshops. There were also some larger forums, one featuring the plenary speaker Eboo Patel. Some workshops were service projects, and some were dance groups who performed their routines at the evening worship service.
And when the participants did get some free time, it could be spent in a number of ways. The pool and some sports complexes were open for use, as well as an area for billiards and bowling. One of the buildings contained the exhibition hall, where various branches of the UCC and UCC-related seminaries had informational booths, and most importantly, free promotional goods. At night there were dances, group meetings, and open mics.
There was also a hunger labyrinth located in the building, constructed out of dry and canned products that would later be donated. Needless to say, there was never a reason to be bored.
Finally, every evening concluded with conference meetings, a time to look back on the day with your group, share stories and make announcements. In our own conference meetings, we had guest speakers such as Obediah, a member of CYYAM (Council for Youth and Young Adult Ministries), Timothy Brown, Youth and Young Adult Coordinator of the UCC Coalition LGBT concerns, and collegium member, M. Linda Jaramillo.
Overall, the event was a great success. The attendees of the 2008 National Youth Event generated and were immersed in a spirit which they will take home to their churches, continuing their own collective ministry of keeping the youth an integral part of the overall operation of the United Church of Christ.
Jesse Knust is Intern for Young Adult Ministries for the Connecticut Conference, United Church of Christ.
