Youth triennium participants to lead local church service

In an effort to bring home the message of how youth can be spiritual role models, local teens Shaunna Cuthbertson and Amanda Cotterill, together with a delegation of 13 others from Thunder Bay, will have their “day” in church when they lead services at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church here Oct. 18.
The 15 teenagers plan to present the congregation with an uplifting and spiritual look at what they experienced as participants in the Presbyterian Youth Triennium held in LaFayette, Ind. in mid-July.
“I’m really excited,” enthused Cotterill, 15, noting her anticipation in meeting up with the Thunder Bay group once again.
“We spent a whole week together and became really good friends,” she added.
Cotterill and Cuthbertson both expect to convey some important messages of acknowledgment and hope to the church congregation, including the youth on hand for the service.
“We want to share some new ways of presenting [spirituality] to younger people so they can understand it better,” explained Cotterill.
“I think our main message to them is a bunch of little things . . . like we had a blast and we learned so much about working together,” added Cuthbertson of the Triennium experience.
“We were with people our own age who also followed God. We have a big thank you for the congregation for supporting us and getting us there,” she added.
Rev. Mary Whitson issued an open invitation to all area youth to come and see something different at St. Andrew’s that Sunday, suggesting it will be an exciting experience.
“The kids themselves decided they wanted to share [the event] with people,” she said last week. “This kind of enthusiasm in a church is amazing.”