A youth worker’s view of Synod

by Alicia Armstrong

During Synod, we had the opportunity to hear from a few different people who were all working within the Anglican Church to support the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

One speaker who really stood out to me was the Reconciliation Animator, Melanie Delva. She said if you can read to the end of the 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and not find something to do, then you need to go back and re-read them!

As a youth worker this particularly resonated with me.

The Calls to Action is not something I have shared or reviewed with the youth. One misguided reason was the belief that the topic was too broad and too painful to really be tackled successfully. I didn’t want to present a painful problem, and then be unable to help them develop a plan of action or a way to help.

I connected this to the gospel parable of the talents and the idea that people have lots of talents. Sometimes we have to stretch ourselves in order to discover those talents.

For me, the connection was less about recognizing the way we use talents currently, but more of a promise to provide the opportunity for the youth to learn about and discuss these problems.

As a group, we can read about the 94 Calls to Action and identify the opportunities to help, and then give the youth the chance to tackle topics with responsibility and demonstrate their talents.

Alicia Armstrong is the Youth Worker at St. Cuthbert’s Oakville.