What is your yuróra?

By Tilly South

Posted Dec  7, 2016 in Culture

The National Christian Youth Convention (NCYC) is an important event in the life of the Uniting Church in Australia – it provides a place for young people aged between 16 and 25 to gather alongside leaders and experience Christian community.

The next NCYC will be held in Sydney from Sunday 8 to Thursday 12 January, 2017. The 2017 event is titled Yuróra, meaning “passion” in Dharug, the traditional language of the Darug and Eora peoples in the region of Sydney. Yuróra was also the theme of the previous NCYC, which was held in New South Wales in January 2014.

In this article, Tilly South shares her reflections on NCYC: Yuróra 2014. The 2017 event will provide another opportunity for young people to explore faith and engage in diverse Christian community.

“Faith is a practical thing,” preached Julian Hamilton, of the Methodist Church of Ireland, on the third day of the 2014 National Christian Youth Convention. “We must perform the text, and when we do God turns up.”

With a week full of worship, song, dance and social justice, mixed in with a healthy dose of yuróra (passion), how could we not be performing the word of God?

As over 1000 delegates and volunteers pulled up outside the Centre for Ministry in Parramatta, it was clear their yuróra was calling them. It was with this passion that the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery and the NCYC committee brought together a diversity that members of the church rarely see in their day-to-day lives.

There was a wide range of speakers and events on topics from ‘How Green is your God?’ to ‘The face of poverty: why God cares and you should too’ and ‘Honouring Australia’s First Peoples’.

Delegates attended worship sessions held by different community leaders from around the Church including the United Aboriginal and Islander Christian Congress, theological colleges and a multitude of multicultural congregations.

An exciting sight was the Indigenous presence on Burramatagal land was a particularly exciting aspect of this year’s NCYC. From the thousand delegates registered, 150 were Indigenous attendees, coming from locations as far flung as Port Augusta (South Australia) and Elcho Island (Arnhem Land).

Bradon French, NCYC chairperson, believes that this diversity was an integral part of the theological basis for Yuróra.

“The Uniting Church’s Basis of Union tells us that we should seek to be inclusive – of men and women, young and old and of all our different gifts and skills,” he said.

“It’s this inclusion that has driven the yuróra spirit; bringing together people of different cultural, theological and linguistic backgrounds to worship and praise God together. It’s amazing to see, and a humbling privilege to be part of.”

For young people from Indigenous backgrounds, the vibrant mix of cultures and languages was particularly exciting.

“I’ve really enjoyed meeting new people,” said Dre Ngatokoruo, a delegate from Port Augusta, “especially meeting a range of people from different cultures and backgrounds.”

For Dre, it wasn’t just his own learning that was so important to him.

“I will try and take back the things I’ve learned here to all the kids that weren’t able to come, so I can teach them the same things.”

A public rally on the final night of the conference affirmed the multiculturalism and insistence for the common good that are such vital aspects of the Uniting Church in Australia.

Heartfelt speeches from young Pacific Islanders demonstrated their willingness to use the church and their community to keep young people out of trouble and on a path to purposeful life through their program PI Ignite. This initiative works to give Pacific Islander young people the courage to maximise their education, to keep their brothers and sisters out of juvenile correction, and to celebrate and serve God together.

It wasn’t just the formalities that brought people together at NCYC – a game of volleyball, football on the oval and coffee at Café Commons saw delegates and volunteers from all walks of life telling stories, sharing experiences and exchanging details.

If Yuróra is the future of our church, then it looks to be one that is multicultural, inclusive and diverse.

To read reflections from young South Australians who attended NCYC: Yuróra 2014, please see pages 10-12 in the February 2014 edition of New Times available online here.

Registrations for NCYC: Yuróra 2017 close on Friday 16 December. For more information or to register, please visit the Yuróra website here or contact Mike Wardrop via email at Turn on Javascript!

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