Youth triennium door of opportunity for local teens

Shaunna Cuthbertson is still riding on cloud nine after returning from the Presbyterian Youth Triennium in Indiana with fellow teen Amanda Cotterill.
The local teenagers, both youth members of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here, travelled with a teen delegation from Thunder Bay to a one-week conference in LaFayette mid-July.
The triennium opened a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the girls as they joined teens from around the world to learn more about the aspects of Christianity.
“It was awesome! There is no other word to describe it,” Cuthbertson, 16, enthused Monday morning.
“The next [triennium] is three years away and Amanda and I are already packed,” she chuckled.
The theme was “Arise, Shine, For Your Light Has Come” and as Cuthbertson explained, the educational aspects were built around that spiritual expression.
She also praised the efforts of the conference’s organizers for making things run so smoothly on such a large scale.
Besides participating in daily worship, Bible reading, and craft work, the 6,500-plus crowd was divided into small groups for discussion each day.
“The schedule was packed with so much fun stuff. It was really easy to get into it,” Cuthbertson said, noting talks revolved around the comparisons of lighthouses to the role of Christians in society.
“Our groups were called ‘lighthouse groups’ and we talked about how a lighthouse has significant [qualities],” she explained.
“It was so relaxing and the people were totally amazing,” she added.
Cuthbertson also said the triennium’s large teen attendance helped she and Cotterill realize they were not alone in youth presbyterian leadership.
“With our youth group here it seemed like it was just Amanda and I. Sometimes we felt like there was no one else,” she explained. “At the triennium everybody was the same. It showed us what is out there.”
The local teens, along with the delegation from Thunder Bay, will be making a presentation to the congregation of St. Andrew’s in the near future.
Cotterill could not be reached for comment.