Youth Synod in Action Fosters Justice and Community

One delegate summed up this year’s Youth Synod in Action event like this; “Seeing a new generation of people passionate about the church, and social justice gives me hope for the future. Not just for the future of our church, but for the future of Canada as well.”

Su McLeod, diocesan program consultant, added that the only thing that could bring anything more to this statement would be "to be there and to witness these impassioned young people engage and participate in their immersion experiences." Three such experiences were offered in the community, highlighting social justice issues related to Youth Mental Health, Gender Based Violence, and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Youth Synod in Action is an annual event for youth and young adults that takes place on the first full weekend of May. This year the event returned to St. Jude's, Oakville, where it began in 1989.  Delegates both debate motions and participate in immersion justice experiences with the intention of advocating for a world that reflects God's vision. 

On Friday evening, the Reverend Martha Tatarnic made a presentation about the Aboriginal community of Pikangikum in Northern Ontario. Her moving talk included stark statistics like the fact that 430 of the 450 homes in the community do not have water or waste water services. At the same time she wove the baptismal covenant throughout the presentation as a way of inspiring delegates to see how they might put their faith into action. This community is the focus of the National Youth Projects Right to Water Campaign,

This year's immersion experiences, which take place during the better part of Saturday, spoke directly to the delegates and their context, asking some very real questions and creating space for deep sharing, encouragement and affirmation. Afterwards, delegates debriefed what they heard and what they had learned and used that to inform the motions they would bring forward to the Youth Synod in Action proper session.

These motions included:

• calls for delegates to educate themselves on fair trade, and petition retailers to stock fair trade options.
• calls for delegates to actively one positive thought for every negative thought, for positive affirmations to be shared daily at diocesan gatherings. 
• calls for delegates to seek out knowledge about victim blaming and help victims find support.
• calls for the Diocesan Program Consultant for Children, Youth and Family Ministry provide information and education at programs about the proper use of gender pronouns .

During the proper session a forum for conversation and shared learning’s about the days immersion experiences is created. Delegates are also invited to share knowledge and personal experience as they consider faithful responses to the stories shared in the community.

The weekend also saw Siobhan Bennett, from St. Paul's Fort, Erie, being nominated by her peers and appointed by Bishop Michael as our diocesan youth representative for General Synod in 2016.