Two dozen young adults came together at Camp Squeah in Hope, B.C., for a weekend of listening, conversation, reflection and music to envision their future and that of the Anabaptist church. The June 7-9 “Young Adult Anabaptist Conference For An Active Future” involved participants from across Canada and the state of Washington, with most coming from B.C.
Retreat organizer Zachary Shields, leader of Mennonite Church B.C.’s Young Adult Task Force, said, “There is a real yearning among my peers for more tangible action to be taken by their local churches.” He said many of those peers are disenfranchised because they don’t feel the church is living up to its reputation for peacemaking.
The event opened on Friday night, with David Cramer of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary speaking on Anabaptist identity. Saturday speakers included Bridget Findlay, Indigenous Neighbours program coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee B.C., who led the group in the KAIROS Blanket Exercise; Ian Funk, pastor of Langley Mennonite Fellowship, who spoke on Christian responsibility for creation care and climate change; and Tim Kuepfer, who described new trends in affordable housing in the Vancouver neighbourhood where he pastored.
On Sunday morning, Beth Carlson-Malena, pastor of Open Way Community Church of Vancouver, spoke about including those who are marginalized in the church.
Outside the sessions, participants got acquainted with each other while exploring the campgrounds, singing around the campfire and playing games. Many described the hymn-sing prior to Sunday morning’s worship service as a highlight.
Ryan Abbott of Langley, B.C., who had left the church although not his Anabaptist faith, had been asking why young people are leaving the church and whether the only response of most Mennonites to climate change was to consider recycling. After the weekend, Abbott said, “[This] was a real strong base to build on. There’s wisdom in sitting down, looking around and having frank discussion about why things are the way they are.”
Beck Talon of New Westminster, B.C., expressed concern about how members of the LGBTQ community are treated by the church. “One primary reason people leave [the church] is because they look at Christians and all they see are hateful people. It was great to find Christians I trust who actually care.”
Ashley Rempel of Chilliwack, B.C., said: “The sessions were informative. I liked the different topics, the cross-Canada participation, the chill time around the campfire and good conversations.”
Caleb Yang of Vancouver said he would like to see broader representation of different perspectives. “It felt like there was a lot of agreement—[the question is] how do we get those who disagree in on the conversations?” asked Yang.
The group is looking at ways to continue the discussion in the future, including book studies, potlucks, murder mystery parties and online chats to discuss various issues. “We’re looking for more participatory community-building,” said Shields. “We also want to develop a presence on social media and perhaps a website. We want to spur action [and] make space for deep reflection."
Young adults gathered at B.C.'s Camp Squeah in June to discuss an active future in the church. Photo: Amy Rinner Waddell
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