the Outlook Blog

In Erin Dunigan's article "Youth reach out to the church", you may have learned about a youth group from Central Presbyterian Church (Atlanta, GA) who wanted to help volunteer at GA but were told they were too young. The current age limit is 18 years old, and many of the students from Central were under 18. Together with their session, they created Commissioners' Resolution 17-01 which encourages the General Assembly "to celebrate youth and affirm their unique gifts and talents by welcoming and encouraging their full participation at each General Assembly, including service as volunteers."

This resolution was disapproved by the Youth Committee (49-1) and was presented last night to the General Assembly. I was shocked to see that it had been disapproved in the committee, and it didn't make much sense to me. Also, I felt bad for the students who came all the way here from Atlanta, just to get voted down by such a huge margin. Unfortunately, it didn't go over any better with the Assembly. It was also voted to be disapproved by a vote of 605 to 77. This didn't seem like a very good vote for a denomination that is trying to say that they're trying to get the youth more involved in the church.

When the committee was asked why it was disapproved, the only reason that was given to the assembly was that there were insurance, liability and legal reasons that inhibited such inclusion for youth under the age of 18. They didn't seem like very good reasons, but I'm guessing there is a lot more behind the scenes that is going on I don't know about.

The students were visibly upset about the vote last night; as I walked out of the plenary hall, I saw them all watching from the television outside. They didn't really understand why the vote went the way it did. 14 year old Wes wondered how his youth group is "able to travel to Mexico, build houses, put in water purification systems, and then they don't think we can volunteer here, and their main concerns are liability?" 12 year old Anna said, "I can handle it - pressing a button as people walk in."

One of their advisors, Andrew, said "before the vote came up, they talked about the importance of reaching youth...they thought they could do that through a DVD. But the reality is that the best way to find a way a way for youth to be involved is to let them do it in real life."

While it was disappointing for the youth from Central Presbyterian Church to have their resolution voted down, they have gotten the chance to volunteer, unofficially, in some capacities this week, and they have been enjoying the week. Olivia said, "Even though they disapproved our resolution - still, coming out here and trying to get it approved was a great experience for everyone. Maybe we can get them to support it some day - maybe a new generation will come in."