When I served as a commissioner to the 209th General Assembly in 1997, I was seated next to a young woman in the committee on which we served. She was a “YAAD” – a Young Adult Advisory Delegate. Every presbytery is invited to send a YAAD to the Assembly meeting. These young people have voice and vote in committee meetings. In plenary sessions they have voice, but only an advisory vote.
I remember being quite impressed by the seriousness with which my neighbor approached her task. She was a student at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, and was considering the prospect of attending seminary. She was a lifelong Presbyterian, and was eager to play her part in leading the PC(USA) into the future.
The YAADs at this year’s Assembly are likewise quite in evidence and quite committed to their responsibilities. Their presence is bringing a freshness and welcome infusion of energy into the deliberations. The plenary sessions (so far) have all been opened with prelude music from local praise bands. A short time ago, during an electronic voting “glitch break,” a group of YAADs got up on stage and led the assembly in a dance interpretation of the song “Istanbul” by the group They Might Be Giants. It was quite wonderful to see so many commissioners, young and old, moving around with their arms in the air, letting out whoops at appropriate times in the song, with great smiles on their faces.
Maybe we as a denomination can learn to dance and whoop more as we celebrate God’s joyful work in our midst. Perhaps one day other Christians in our country will look at us and say, “Those Presbyterians… they’re giants in the love of Christ!”
