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LWF Pre-Assembly Youth Conference (PAYC)
12-18 July 2003 in Guelph (near Toronto), Ontario, Canada

 

Nearly 90 youth delegates and stewards from 54 countries gathered July 12-18 in Guelph (near Toronto), Ontario, Canada for the last of seven preparatory conferences prior to the 2003 Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Discussions in the week-long Pre-Assembly Youth Conference (PAYC) focused on economic globalization, overcoming violence, justice and healing for families, as well as preparations for the July 21-31 LWF Tenth Assembly. > Click here for Message of the Pre-Assembly Youth Conference. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

Preparing for Winnipeg

	Youth delegates discussing in "village groups"

During the Pre-Assembly Youth Conference, the youth delegates and stewards prepared the Bible study for presentation during the Assembly, and focused on specific contributions from the young people’s perspective for study in the ten Village Groups in which the Assembly theme, "For the Healing of the World" would be discussed. 

Participants from the Asia region sharing in Cultural Night

Besides studies, the PAYC also had the goal of getting the youth delegates and stewards from the LWF member churches into conversations with one another, in which they could make friends and experience solidarity. In addition, the youth had the job of defining anew the global and regional themes for the LWF’s youth work at the beginning of the 21st century.

American Journalist Krystal Greene Calls for Fight Against Injustice

	Krystel Greene

The issue of human rights and access to medical care should be taken up, and more attention paid to social and political topics, in order to promote a more just and peaceful society, United States journalist Krystal Greene told young adults participating in the LWF Pre-Assembly Youth Conference in Guelph.

In her presentation Greene called on the churches not to tolerate any injustice like poverty, human rights violations, exclusion based on ethnicity, gender or class. Without dialogue healing could not begin. In an age in which poverty is growing at an alarming pace and HIV/AIDS is claiming millions of lives each year, the task ahead is to struggle for respect for human rights and against divisions in the church and society. More...

Please click for the keynote speech on "Healing in Society - Healing the Creation" by Krystal Greene (ELCA). (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

Rev. Dr David Pfrimmer: The Healing of the Church is about 
Justice and Inclusion

Rev. Dr David Pfrimmer

Canadian theologian Dr David Pfrimmer has urged Lutheran churches to welcome and promote diversity, to make efforts to discern the "signs of the times" and to involve themselves even more in diaconia, in social ministry to their neighbors. A watchful, awake and open church must be a "3-D church" - one that makes diversity, discernment and diaconia its standards, pastor Pfrimmer emphasized in his keynote speech entitled "For the Healing of the Church - Remembering Who We Are", at the LWF Pre-Assembly Youth Conference in Guelph. More...

Please click for the keynote speech on "Healing in the Church" by Rev. Dr David Pfrimmer (ELCIC). (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.)

LWF Pre-Assembly Youth Conference Begins in Guelph

A worship service on July 12 marked the opening of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Pre-Assembly Youth Conference (PAYC) in Guelph, near Toronto, Canada. In the sermon, Sonia Skupch of Argentina called upon conference participants to hold on to their ability to dream, saying that dreams are dangerous for the "powers that be" in the world, because they lead to change. Approximately 90 youth delegates and stewards from 54 countries are participating in the conference July 12-18 in preparation for the LWF Tenth Assembly that will take place July 21-31 in Winnipeg, Canada. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) will be hosting the Tenth Assembly.

	Sonia Skupch

Skupch emphasized that if there were no more dreams there would be neither opportunities to transform societies nor visions to sow the seeds of change. The 27-year-old theology student from the Evangelical Church of the River Plate, Argentina, went on to say that God's dream could serve as a guide on the path to a renewed society and a renewed church. She said that rather than being empty promises, the prospects for a fulfilled life and a world in which justice and security reign are God's absolute certainties. Referring to the theme of the LWF Tenth Assembly, "For the Healing of the World", the pastor-in-training pointed out that it is not just communities, but also the economy, churches and families that are in need of healing. 

Rev. Dr Péri Rasolondraibe

Rev. Dr Péri Rasolondraibe, director of the LWF Department for Mission and Development (DMD), stated in his welcoming address that the PAYC is the last in a series of seven meetings in the run-up to the LWF Tenth Assembly. After meetings held for women and the LWF regions to discuss the Assembly theme and agenda, now the Lutheran youth have the opportunity to formulate their specific expectations for the Tenth Assembly. Rasolondraibe said the main objective of the youth conference was to prepare the youth delegates "to participate actively in all aspects of the Assembly and to make their contribution to the Assembly". He said that this was critical for the Assembly's success, since roughly two-thirds of the participants were participating in an Assembly for the first time. DMD is responsible for coordinating all the preparatory consultations.

	Rev. Tita Valeriano

The PAYC coordinator, Rev. Tita Valeriano, the LWF/DMD secretary for Youth in Church and Society (YICAS) stated that the youth conference's work will focus on preparing the Bible study for which the youth delegates are responsible at the Assembly, and on developing specific contributions, based on the youth delegates' and stewards' point of view, for thematic work in the ten Village Groups in which the Assembly theme will be discussed in Winnipeg. She said that their work also included setting the YICAS agenda for the coming years. More...

> Please click for more information about the Pre-Assembly Youth Conference (PAYC) in Guelph.

> Please click for photos from the PAYC.

> Please click for more information about youth participation in the LWF.

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