As I write this the 2018 National Youth Assembly of the Church of Scotland is getting under way at Gartmore House in Stirlingshire. This is the annual meeting of youth representatives from the Kirk focused around three carefully chosen issues each year. The topics are discussed, deliberated on and in a discernment process like the General Assembly itself, recommendations are reached. But the process does not stop there. These recommendations are taken seriously by the larger church and form the basis of the NYA report to next year’s General Assembly. The topics for this year are:

• End of life issues
• Ecumenism
• Social Media

The meeting begins this evening and runs through 5 pm local time on Monday 20 August. There is an online guide to the event.

The event has not been live streamed for several years now so following on social media is probably the best way to follow along. The Twitter hashtag is #NYA2018 and there is also Facebook and Instagram.

The Twitter game from the NYA leadership on their feed @cofs_nya has not been very good over the last couple years, but the NYA Moderator feed @nyamoderator has been well maintained. And so, as the new Moderator, Tamsin Dingwall, takes over we can anticipate her putting her own style on the account. And over the past year the previous moderator, Robin Downie, has done a good job of communicating through that account and I hope to continue to see his activity on his personal feed.

I am not seeing very much early tweeting by delegates yet, but there are a number of the feeds on which we can expect to see some updates. First, the Moderator of the General Assembly regularly makes an appearance so watch for the Rt. Rev. Susan Brown’s comments on @churchmoderator. In addition, the main church news feed and Twitter feed @churchscotland as well as the Kirk’s official publication Life and Work will probably have some news @cofslifeandwork. The NYA has also developed a strong partnership with the Church of Scotland Guild so keep an eye on @cofsguild.

In addition, I see some activity from individuals in advisory or resource roles for the Assembly, so keep your eye out for updates from Liz Crumlish (@eacbug) and RevShuna (@shunad). In the realm of church and state, the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office (@SCPO_) has said they will be participating and keep an eye our for Ross Greer (@ross_greer) as well – he has previosly been an NYA delegate and may be again this year. He is also the youngest member of the Scottish Parliament.

I would also note at this point that the third discussion topic, Social Media, does have some immediate application in the wider church as the Church of Scotland has just launched some resources regarding digital media to equip churches.

So there you have the basic preview of this Assembly. I will update as appropriate and I just might get a profile of the new moderator and clerk posted. Congratulations to Tamsin and Seonaid as they take up these positions. And our prayers are with all the delegates as they begin this weekend.

[Ed. note – Just adding a personal note and apology for a fairly quiet blog. I have a whole lot of information and reflection to post about the General Assembly season in general and the wonderful time I had at the GA’s in Scotland in May. Over the last couple of months I have been navigating a job transition which I hope will provide me more time to write and get caught up.]