Moravian Youth Convo 2005 in Calgary, Canada, a HUGE success!

“Hello Church,” were the words uttered by the Rev. Gary Marsh as a greeting during program to the over 200 of us gathered in the large, non-descript ballroom on the University of Calgary Campus. It was the last full day of Convo 2005 and looking over the room of faces – a church is what we were.

Over the days a community was cultivated, slowly at first – each group arriving and congregating in their own familiar cliques, carefully eyeing the others in the room. You could almost see the thoughts, “Will I fit in?,” “How will I get to know all of these people?,” “What will I get out of this?” By the end of the first night of soul-reviving music and fellowship at Good Shepherd Moravian Church in Calgary, some of those questions were already being answered.

The week included fun and exploration of faith in small groups arranged purposely to mix up familiar groups and to stretch the wings of the participants. Suddenly, with no real definition of when it happened, during free or off-times I noticed the cliques had changed. New friendships had formed and without any prompting people were sharing their life stories with others. This scene was humbling to me, a communication professional, who has spent her life trying to figure out how to get people to talk openly to one another. These youth, in this environment, had advanced in the beauty of communication in a way I had never experienced before.

These young people are special people – individuals wanting to do more. The group I accompanied to a nursing home on mission day astounded me so much I could barely speak. They took initiative to move about the residents the minute we walked through the door. The facility was not ready for us when we arrived but nothing stopped our youth from jumping right in. Not a singe one of them showed a sign of discomfort in this sometimes off-putting environment. Instead, when it was time to go, they begged to stay!

While I can’t speak for them, I can report what I saw. Watching the young people go through the week was like watching a flower bloom or a candle grow stronger in flame. By closing worship they were ablaze with spirit – not just any spirit, the Holy Spirit. They walked away with either a faith reaffirmed or a faith awakened. And, if I could be so bold, I would say so did many of the adults who graciously chose to come along to assist.

These are OUR youth – strong, able, and wanting to serve their Lord by serving others. They appreciate and enjoy the customs and traditions, they hold sacred the meaning of the sacraments, and they are crying out to do more, to be more, to have more opportunities in a variety of ways to BE the Church.

Hello Church! These words echo with me now, along with new songs I’ve learned and the voices of those I met at Convo. Hello CHURCH, Moravian Church in North America. Hello and please welcome this newly cultivated community of young hearts and minds – a group unified by the love of Christ and rejuvenated at Convo 2005.

Deanna Hollenbach serves as the Director of Communication for the Moravian Church in North America. She attended the Convo 2005 event as photographer and reporter for the Moravian denomination.