Anglican youths take the stand
Members of the Anglican Church Tikanga Toru youth ministry during the General Synod yesterday at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi. Photo: JESSAN DOTON
By JESSAN DOTON
Anglican Church elders have been told by the church’s young members they need to invest in the youth ministry, if greater things were expected from them.
These were the sentiments shared at the Anglican General Synod yesterday by youth members of the Christian denomination at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi.
The youths, representing the three Tikanga in the Anglican Church in New Zealand and Polynesia, put forward their views on how best the church could maintain an active and dynamic youth ministry, and address the matter of decreasing youth numbers in churches.
“The church needs to have a good and solid foundation to allow it the flexibility to permit change in certain areas,” Tikanga Toru Youth Commissioner Michael Tamihere said.
“If you expect a certain standard from the youth ministry then the church needs to be able to make an investment that is commensurate with that expectation,” Mr Tamihere said.
“It needs to be equipped for change and to live with change. How things are done and how people think today is not the same as they used to be years or decades ago.”
The youths, standing before the delegation wearing slogan-bound Tee-shirts, presented three basic steps they felt could be steps towards youth becoming more fundamental components of the church.
The ministry pointed out that a way to engage youth was not by more church services, or camps, but through one on one mentoring.
The delegation was also urged to make time for the younger people now; to let them take the reins and give their contributions to an accepting community at the present time.
The synod continues throughout this week, discussing matters pertinent to the Anglican Church in New Zealand and Polynesia.
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