with Rev Dr  Chris Walker

NCYC is the National Christian Youth Convention which has been held approximately every two years since 1955. It was initiated by my father, Sir Alan Walker, when he led a national program for the then Methodist Church called “Mission to the Nation”. NCYC has been a very important youth event for the Methodist and then Uniting Church as it brings together young people from across t he nation and also has some people come from partner churches, such as Pacific Islanders. This year’s NCYC had a particular emphasis on indigenous young people.

– Chris Walker (National Consultant Christian Unity, Doctrine & Worship) –

What is Your Yurora?

“Faith is a practical thing,” preached Julian Hamilton, of the Methodist Church of Ireland on the third day of Yuróra, the 2014 National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC).

“We must perform the text, and when we do God turns up.”

With a week full of worship, song, dance and social justice, mixed in with a healthy dose of yuróra, how could we not be performing the word of God?

Yuróra was the theme for the 2014 NCYC, a biannual event held by a presbytery or synod of the Uniting Church, and means ‘passion’ in the Dharug language.

As over 1000 delegates and volunteers pulled up outside the Centre for Ministry, Parramatta, it was clear their yuróra was calling them.

And it was with this passion that the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery and the NCYC committee brought together a diversity that members of the church rarely seen in their day to day life.

There was a wide range of speakers and events with delegates bustling about the Centre for Ministry and Tara School attending events from ‘How Green is your God?’ to ‘The face of poverty: why God cares and you should too’ to ‘Honouring Australia’s First Peoples’.

Delegates attended worship held by different community leaders from around the Church including from the United Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, theological colleges and with the many multicultural congregations represented.

But what was most exciting was the indigenous presence on Burramatagal land.

From the thousand delegates registered, 150 of them were indigenous, coming from as far flung locations as Port Augusta (South Australia) and Elcho Island (Arnhem Land).

Bradon French, NCYC chairperson, said that this diversity was an integral part of the theological basis for Yuróra.

“The Uniting Church’s Basis of Union tells us that we should seek to be inclusive – of men and women, young and old and of all our different gifts and skills.”

“It’s this inclusion that has driven the yuróra spirit; bringing together people of different cultural, theological and linguistic backgrounds to worship and praise God together.”

“It’s amazing to see, and a humbling privilege to be part of.”

For young people from indigenous backgrounds, the vibrant mix of cultures and languages was just as exciting for them as it was for the NCYC organising team.

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting new people,” said Dre Ngatokoruo of Port Augusta, “especially meeting a range of people from different cultures and backgrounds.”

For Dre, it wasn’t just his own learning that was so important to him.

“I will try and take back the things I’ve learned here to all the kids that weren’t able to come, so I can teach them the same things.”

A public rally on the final night of the conference affirmed this multiculturalism and insistence for the common good that is so ingrained in the Uniting Church psyche.

Heartfelt speeches from young Pacific Islanders demonstrated their willingness to use the church and their community to keep young people out of trouble and on a path to purposeful life through their program PI Ignite.

PI Ignite, a program supported by Uniting Church Pacific Islander congregations, the Sydney Alliance and Youth Action, is using the multicultural church as an organising and community base for the common good.

The program is working to give Pacific Islander young people the courage to maximise their education, to keep their brothers and sisters out of juvenile correction and to celebrate and serve God together.

But it wasn’t just the formalities that brought people together. A game of volleyball, football on the oval and coffee at Café Commons saw delegates and volunteers from all walks of life telling stories, sharing experiences and exchanging details.

If Yuróra is the future of our church, then it looks to be one that is multicultural, inclusive and diverse.

by Tilly South(Communications Unit of the Assembly)