Page 13 - Presbyterian Connection Fall 2025

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ConnectionP R E S B Y T E R I A N
Jay McDonald-Lee addresses the
Assembly.
By Jay McDonald-Lee, Camp Kintail
in Goderich, Ont.
This year, I had the honour of
representing the Presbytery of
Huron-Perth at the 150th Gen-
eral Assembly. The Young Adult
Representatives (YARs) arrived a
day early. Going in, I was not quite
sure what to expect. Arriving a
day early allowed me to settle in
and get a chance to meet the oth-
er YARs in a less formal setting
than the sederunt would prove
to be. It also provided us with a
chance to receive instruction on
what we would actually be doing
during the meetings.
Opening worship was a joy to
attend. It was a delightful way to
start off the event. The moment
we all started to sing the first
hymn, and we filled that space,
The YAR Experience:
My Voice Had an Impact
is a moment I will remember for
a long time. Often, when I hear
people discuss the Presbyterian
church, it is not positive—it’s
about how we are shrinking and
dying. In that moment, though,
I knew we were and are alive. It
was beautiful.
In the following days and
across three sederunts, I spoke
to Assembly five times—three
times towards an amendment
I would put forward, once in fa-
vour of an LMA motion, and then
in the YAR report. After reading
the summarized reports to com-
missioners, I knew I wanted to
make an amendment. The YAR
Coordinator, Jessica Foy, helped
me through the process. I, and
many of the other young adults,
had positive experiences at Pres-
byterian camping and conference
centres and felt it was important
for the church to prioritize all
those spaces. The conversation
my amendment generated was
both anxiety-inducing and made
me confident. Part of what made
the experience of the amendment
so special was the number of
people afterwards who came to
thank me, offered to help, or said
that they appreciated the spirit of
it. It made me feel more sure of
my actions. Surprisingly, I was
not anxious going up to speak at
the microphone. In the moment, I
do not think I would have said the
Holy Spirit moved me, but looking
back it is a description that fits.
All the guest speakers and
opening worships were a needed
and thoughtful reprieve from leg-
islation, and they helped ground
me over the course of what felt
like a whirlwind of discussion.
The type of discussion that oc-
curred was also striking. People
disagreed with each other, but
kindly. It did not feel like people
were working against each oth-
er, but instead like we were one
church trying to discern the best
decision possible. It felt like we
were Team Presbyterian Church
of Canada.
Going in, I knew the YARs had
an advisory vote but was unsure
if it would feel important or like a
token effort to include us. It felt
important. There was something
immensely powerful about the
whole Assembly—people with
decades more experience with
the church and in life, looking to-
wards us to see what we thought.
It truly felt like my voice and vote
had an impact.
Finally, I cannot talk about Gen-
eral Assembly without talking
about the amazing young adults
that I met. Although we did not
always agree on everything, and
it was hard to manage in the mo-
ment, I believe that the disagree-
ment made the group stronger
and more representative of our
church. It meant we had advisory
votes on the things I knew nothing
about, but learned through their
passion.
I enjoyed my time at General
Assembly; it is an experience I
am grateful to have taken part in.
An evening gathering of YARs during General Assembly.
Young Adult Representatives:
Half a Century in the Making
Young Adult Observers gather at the 1977 General Assembly.
By Ian McKechnie, St. Andrew’s
Presbyterian Church in Lindsay,
Ont.
There they sit, assembled to-
gether at the gathering of com-
missioners for the sederunt—a
dozen or so young people, talking
quietly among themselves about
the proceedings unfolding. Some
of them bear expressions of wry
amusement. Others scratch their
heads, puzzled about all the
seemingly arcane procedure play-
ing out. And still others might look
concerned—about the church
and their place in it. (Most of the
people in the room are, after all,
more than twice their age.)
It comes time to vote on a
recommendation, or perhaps
on any number of amendments
to amendments. But before that
happens, the Moderator casts a
glance across the room and po-
litely acknowledges the contingent
of teens and twenty-somethings.
They want to let the commission-
ers know what they think about the
matter before them. A flurry of blue
cards appears across the horizon
of the Assembly hall. The young
people have spoken via their
much-heralded “advisory vote.”
And later that evening, perhaps
making merry over pizza and pop,
wings or watermelon, these same
young people will be concocting a
presentation for the final sederunt
that will surely entertain while si-
multaneously speaking boldly and
unashamedly to this, the highest
court of their church.
These are the Young Adult Rep-
resentatives—known colloquially
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