November 11, 2004, St. Louis -- Twelve young adults from across the United States were in St. Louis, Mo., the week of Nov. 7 on a very special assignment as stewards for the annual General Assembly (Nov. 9-11) of the National Council of Churches and Church World Service, the humanitarian agency. 

After orientation Nov. 7 and a daylong Young Adult Pre-Event Nov. 8, they got to work “serving in the background and observing up close the deliberative work of ecumenism.”

The General Assembly brings together some 250 delegates from 36 Protestant, Orthodox, African American, Living Peace and Anglican churches (denominations) for business and fellowship, small-group discussion of current issues, daily worship and Bible study.  The NCC and CWS are ministries of those churches, which in turn comprise 45 million members in more than 100,000 local congregations nationwide.

The stewards’ work - assisting with hospitality, registration, audio-visual and technology, communications, and other General Assembly functions - was complemented by their interactions with national church leaders and their experience of an Assembly’s rich interdenominational and multicultural environment.

"So often in society or even within our own communion, we dwell on what divides us," commented steward the Rev. Dee Dee Azhikakath, associate minister at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Tucson, Ariz., in her post-Assembly reflections.  "It was so refreshing to partake in an assembly whose common goal was to focus on what unites us as Christians.  We could celebrate together in remembering how far we have come as the NCC - - from racism and segregation in the USA.   As well as challenge each other with how far we need to go together in the future - - overcoming poverty and achieving peace."

Reflected steward David Reese, a religion major at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, "I saw the things I have studied in my classes being played out in a very real, relevant environment."  He expressed particular appreciation for the way the NCC and CWS transcend "wedge issues," focusing on peace, poverty, and the protection of the environment. 

That is "a valuable strategy to do the work of God in the world," he said. "NCC does not say that other issues are unimportant, but it does create a venue in which churches that disagree on many things can get together and work on the issues and calls on which they do agree. I plan to use similar strategies to try to bridge some of the gaps in the Christian communities of my town and campus."

Continued Reese, who is affiliated with the United Methodist, American Baptist and Alliance of Baptists churches, "Part of the joy of the experience came from my interactions with the other Young Adult Stewards. The twelve stewards were diverse in communion, geography, ethnicity, and theology....We soon came to realize that the only thing we had in common was Jesus, and that it was enough. Enough to build meaningful relationships in a short time, enough to support each other to difficult moments, and enough to learn so much from each other."

Evan Jones and Stephanie Templin, who had served as stewards at the 2003 General Assembly, returned to the 2004 Assembly as "senior stewards," and came up with the idea of each steward supplying his or her own often outlandishly creative hat, which enabled Assembly delegates and staff quickly to identify them or assistance with anything from obtaining a document to locating a person to getting directions in the hotel.

The Stewards Program, initiated last year, is a recent addition to a wider NCC program of support for young adult leadership in the ecumenical movement. The activities of the NCC’s longstanding Ecumenical Young Adult Ministries Team include a biennial "Come to the Feast" conference, which draws 300-plus participants. 

The NCC Constitution specifies that at least one in eight of each member denomination’s delegates to the Assembly should be age 18 to 30.  A Young Adult Caucus was formed at the 2002 Assembly.

The 2004 Young Adult Stewards were: Dee Dee Azhikakath, United Methodist, Tucson, Ariz.; Sara Critchfield, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Wadsworth, Ohio; Tynisha Drennon, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Ga.; Shelly Fayette, Episcopal Church, Seattle, Wash.; Jefferson Furtado, United Methodist, Oxford, Miss.; Bianca Robinson, National Baptist, Washington, D.C.

Also, Nicholas Gordon, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Ryan Henderson, United Church of Christ, Lansdale, Pa.; Matthew Nickel, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., and David Reese, United Methodist/American Baptist/Alliance of Baptists, Oberlin, Ohio.  2003 General Assembly Stewards Stephanie Templin, United Church of Christ, Reading, Pa., and Evan Jones, United Methodist, San Antonio, Texas, returned to the 2004 General Assembly as Senior Stewards.

Pictured:

Top: Tynisha Drennon, Dee Dee Azhikakath, Nicholas Gordon and Stephanie Templin.  Photo by Patrice Rosner.
Middle: Bianca Robinson, Tynisha Drennon, Stephanie Templin and Matthew Nickel preparing delegates' badges.  Photo by Kathleen Cameron.
Bottom: Tynisha Drennon, General Assembly President Thomas Hoyt, Shelly Fayette and Sara Critchfield, reporting on the Young Adult Pre-Event.  Photo by Kathleen Cameron.

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