Sharing Our Song of Faith

I'm back from Pembroke and our three-day annual meeting of Conference. These events tend to involve the good the bad and the ugly. Bay of Quinte stretches from Pickering in the southwest to Arnprior in the northeast. When we come together we deliberate about decisions that affect more than 100 pastoral charges. Some of it is dead boring, while other aspects are enlightening. Our theme was Sharing Our Song of Faith based on the most recent statement of faith for our United Church. http://www.united-church.ca/beliefs/statements/songfaith

This year seven of the St. Paul's teens were part of the youth at conference. There were 56 young people in total, and about 40% came from just three congregations. I am convinced that we had such a high number because our Rev. Cathy and her husband John encouraged, cajoled, and shepherded them to attend. Cathy and John spent their first anniversary with this fun-loving group of young people. That's dedication, or insanity!

The good news is that while they joined the larger court for periods of time, they had their own program as well. Alexandra, Chris, Jacob, Krysten, Amanda, Kathryn, and Jonathan told me that they were having a great time during our fleeting moments of connection. In the court we had an emotionally charged discussion of the budget that went on for a long time. I was sure that these young people were ready to run for the hills, but one of them told me afterward that he loved the debate: "that was intense!" he commented enthusiastically.

They gave me permission to include photographs as long as I included the goofiest one I snapped.