Young Methodists fired up for second Youth Assembly

The annual Methodist Youth Assembly is set to empower youngpeople in fresh, new ways when it meets at the PGL Liddington sitenear Swindon this November.

Around 200 young Methodists will gather at the centre from Friday19th to Sunday 21st November where they will make key decisionsaffecting the life of the Church. Education, sex and relationshipsand peace in Israel and Palestine are expected to be on the agenda.They will also vote for next year's Youth President and for otheryoung people to represent them on the Methodist Council, WorldMethodist Council, and various key decision-making bodies of theChurch.

Following last year's success, Youth Assembly has been redesignedto enhance participation among young people in the Church. Theevent is a place for young people to listen to one another and talkabout the issues which really matter to them. It also provides timeand space for young people to worship together. At Youth Assemblyyoung people engage in the process of thinking, talking and beingdisciples. Outcomes of the Assembly may be passed to the MethodistConference, which meets in the summer. Discussions often continueon the Methodist Generouswebsite.

Methodist Youth President, Christy-Anna Errington, said: "I amlooking forward to the opportunity young people will have to talkabout what's really important to them. I think that is the point ofYouth Assembly; for young people's voices to be heard.

"We are constantly working towards increasing youth participationso that young people are a part of the decision-making process.Every year we are learning more about how to do this better. Thisis the second Youth Assembly so people have had a chance to look atwhat happened last year and see how things can be improved. I thinkit will be even better than last year!"

The event is planned by young people from across Britain whovolunteer to be facilitators of the business of Youth Assembly andare assisted by members of the Children and Youth Team.

Jude Levermore, Participation Development Officer, said:"Participation is a two way street and this year's Youth Assemblywill demonstrate that. All aspects of the programme have beendesigned as a partnership between young people and adults. Forexample, the event programme guide has been written and designed bya team ranging from 14 - 40 years old who were all equals in theprocess."

Check out the Methodist Youth President's blog here.