Global Church Youth Rep Blog: A Nuclear Methodist

Liddy, the Global Church youth rep, writes this month, with personal reflections on her role as a 3 gen youth rep and her current job with Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CCND).  (See right a picture of Liddy in her CCND role at 3generate)

Autumn so often feels like a time for new beginnings, and this autumn that definitely rang true. Meg started her degree, and due to university commitments has now stepped down from the rep role. We hope that soon we will have two new Global Church youth reps, elections for this are happening soon. (Applying to be a Rep (methodist.org.uk)) I also experienced a new beginning in September, as I started an internship with the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CCND).

My first couple of months with CCND have been a really interesting time. Before starting this role, I had always been pro-nuclear disarmament, but had never really had much opportunity to really engage with the subject. It has been really valuable to be able to explore them in so much depth, and I feel so blessed to be working for a cause that God has really put on my heart.

Something that I’ve found particularly cool about this work has been connecting with people around the world and learning about this issue on a global scale. UN initiatives such as the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) are encouraging cooperation on an international scale to make weapons of mass destruction a thing of the past. The power of Zoom has made it possible to have calls with people around the world working for nuclear disarmament. As a Global Church Youth Rep, I am unsurprisingly very interested in how we can work with our siblings around the world to build God’s kingdom and bring about peace. Nuclear weapons, which historically have had devastating effects on our fellow human beings and the natural world, categorically go against our calling to love one another and be stewards of God’s creation.

In October, as part of my work with Christian CND, I led a debate around war and peace as part of 3Generate (the Methodist Youth Assembly). I was so impressed by how respectfully the participants debated the topic, even when vehemently disagreeing with each other. I believe that our call to be peacemakers begins in our everyday lives, and these young people argued what they felt needed to be argued, but did it with hearts full of compassion for one another. We can so easily forget this aspect of our calling both as Christians and as Methodists - we become so absorbed in our own way of thinking that we forget to listen, and forget both our common humanity and our shared faith. I was really inspired by these young people, and I continue to be challenged by that Biblical calling to be a peacemaker.