This weekend was the United Reformed Church’s Synod of Scotland meeting. For the last few of years Youth Forum for 12-16 year-olds has met alongside Synod. This year, following FURY Assembly’s plea to highlight the plight of the Invisible Children of Uganda, Youth Forum spent the weekend considering how we could tell the story of children who are abducted and forced to fight.
Every night hundreds of children gather in towns because staying at home in the countryside at night is too dangerous. The Lord’s Resistance Army abduct children, kill their families and force them to become child soldiers.
The issue, highlighted by Invisible Children, is one which shocked and moved us. We were delighted that following the young people’s presentation Synod discussed and debated how they could help.
The Synod of Scotland resolves to encourage churches to investigate the issue of child soldiers, to raise awareness of their plight, campaign for an end to this inhuman practice and to pray regularly for these children, their families and their communities…. to make these invisible children visible.
We also heard a report that the project we highlighted last year, a leprosy colony in Malawi, has been successful in achieving some of it’s ambitions, a process kick-started by the Youth Forum highlighting the needs of the project to Synod.
It’s easy to think that the problems of the world are too big, too far away, and that we are too small to affect change.
This weekend has been a reminder that we can make change. It reminded us that we can shine light into dark places.