Matthew Bader, Dakotas Conference provides insights and reflections as a participant in the Global Young People's Convocation & Legislative Assembly.

MANILA, Philippines July 20, 2014/GBOD – United Methodist youth from around the world have urged leaders of the denomination to “seek solutions that promote our global unity” and not be divided by issues such as homosexuality. The Global Young People's Convocation & Legislative Assembly, attended by more than 300 youth and observers, adopted the unity statement the night before ending its quadrennial gathering with a worship service Sunday, July 20, at Central United Methodist Church in Manila.

Reflections and insights from Matthew Bader

What can happen when 400 United Methodist youth, young adults, and adults from across the United States and all over the world representing 23 countries gather together for a week a workshops, learning, discussion, worship, legislation and cross-cultural experiences? This past week, Amy Atkins, Matt Bader, and Jen Tyler (see photo) had the chance to experience that in the Philippines at the United Methodist Global Young People’s Convocation and Legislative Assembly (GYPCLA) as we represented the Dakotas Conference and the North Central Jurisdiction.

Greeted by a typhoon

I, along with Jen and Amy arrived in Manila on the 15th, and was greeted by Glenda right away.  In case you didn’t know, Glenda was a typhoon. When we arrived, it was raining but nothing unlike we experience here so our bus went up to Tagaytay, which is about an hour away from Manila. In that time, Typhoon Glenda made landfall, and hit Tagaytay directly. The first groups of people were able to get into their cabins, but the last group, which I was a part of, was told to go to the lodge and we could get into our cabins in a few hours. By the way, this was about 2:00 a.m., and we had not slept in 20 hours.

In the lodge, there were about 15 people. After about 2 hours and the rain and wind not letting up, we realized that we were not going to get into our cabins so we should try to get as much sleep as we could. None of us had our luggage so all I had was my backpack and we all found a place on the stage, which was the only dry spot. Despite being so tired, I did not get any sleep because of the wind, rain, and crashes on the roof. At this time, I still thought it was a category 1 typhoon.

When I got up as others started coming in the lodge, I learned that we had endured a category 3 typhoon. As it became light, it was still too dangerous to go outside, but I was able to see the damage. The entire roof and side of the building next to us was gone and there was more debris on the ground. 

It became clear that we would be unable to stay in Tagaytay because they had no power, or safe sleeping spaces. As we waited for the leaders to find a new space for us to meet, we prayed, sang songs, played games, were able to get to know others, and for those who were still suffering extreme jet lag, sleep on the stage.

In our time of prayer, I realized God was present as we endured the typhoon and were all kept safe. For me that became a very calming feeling. That afternoon, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, Raleigh Area, led us in a time of visioning about holy conferencing in order to “build wells not walls.”

Convocation begins at a new site

That night, we were able to move into a place near Manila that could hold 400 of us on short notice. At Island Cove, I was finally able to get some sleep after being awake for two days.

The next morning, convocation was officially opened with a Filipino worship including songs and dance, and Bishop Pedro M. Torino Jr. , Baguio Area, preaching.  We were able to go to a variety of workshops, participate in small groups with people of all ages, and discuss the legislation in large groups.

One of the things that many people wanted to do after experiencing the typhoon was to assist other Filipinos who were affected by the typhoon. However, it was still too dangerous to be in the areas that received the most damage. Instead, we were able to pack over 600 meals for UMCOR that would be distributed to people in the area.

Legislation is debated

On Saturday, we began with the commissioning of 72 global mission fellows. After that, the legislative assembly opened with Bishop Warner Brown, San Francisco Area, and Bishop Eduard Khegay, Moscow Area, presiding along with members of the Division on Young People’s Ministries.

There were ten pieces of legislation that dealt with everything from climate control to divesting investments to homosexuality. All of the legislation was hotly debated with people from all over giving passionate speeches for what they believed.

At one point, the conferencing quit becoming about discussing and listening, but instead about personal beliefs and not accepting that others may believe differently. Unfortunately, that night I saw the church at its worst and I went to bed that night almost ashamed to be a United Methodist young person.

Convocation continues with worship

As difficult as the night was before, the next morning everyone went to church in Manila. No matter what happened the night before, we were all welcome to come into worship to praise God. That was another special moment for me to remember that despite our differences, we are ALL God’s children. I worshiped at Central UMC in Manila, and was able to enjoy lunch with members of the youth fellowship of the Philippines.

That night, we were able to enjoy the banquet, and at one point, almost everybody was dancing and sharing a bit of their culture. Later that evening, Bishop Elaine Stanovsky, Mountain Sky Area, led everyone in closing worship. Before worship, the legislative portion of the convocation was reopened and the young people approved a statement of unity regarding the future of the United Methodist Church.

Here is the entire statement:  “There has been increasing talk of schism of the United Methodist Church in recent months. Many say that the issue of homosexuality is so contentious that it will inevitably split our Church. We, as the young people of The United Methodist Church, would like to say that we do not desire a divided Church.  “The Church that we have taken our places in is called to a ministry that includes so much more than this one issue. There are genuine, passionate perspectives on all sides of the issue and though we disagree, we have committed ourselves to loving, faithful discussion on this subject. Part of the beauty of our Church is that there has always been room at the table for a wide range of theological diversity within our connectional church family. As Wesley said, ‘May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion'. “We urge everyone to seek solutions that promote our global unity as the United Methodist Church of Jesus Christ, rather than focus only on the issues that divide us, so that we may faithfully live out our mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.”

So what do I think?

I don't think the whole experience has sunk in yet. I am blessed to have met so many great Methodist young people from all over the world.

I'm in disbelief that we went through a category 3 typhoon I cannot express how blessed I am to have had the experience that I had in the Philippines. At times through out my stay in the Philippines I was scared (typhoon), disappointed, happy, excited, exhausted, blessed, annoyed, and a million other feelings.

At one point, I was not proud to be a young person of the UMC but after the statement of unity was released, I could say that I am surely proud to be a young person of the UMC. As a young person of the UMC we are not only the future, we are the present too!

We are united in Christ!

Matthew Bader