Thirty-three years ago in 1986 when I was in my first call as Associate Pastor in Boise, Idaho, I had the privilege of serving as an adult chaperone for a presbytery-wide youth delegation attending the Third Presbyterian Youth Triennium. Even though I was 29 years old and long past anything that qualified as "youth" it was a life-changing experience.

Among the attenders at the event was a black South African young man named Timaka Mashele. This was at the height of the civil unrest in South Africa over Apartheid, and it was uncertain if Mashele would be able to attend. The Apartheid regime did not permit black South Africans to travel internationally to tell their stories of oppression.

But Mashele told his story. He described the strict segregation of the races in his homeland. He told how the state police violently suppressed any form of protest, under the guise of anti-Communism. He told his own story of interrogation by the police, which included his interrogators suspending by his feet from an upper story window. And he said that because he has told us those things, he would almost certainly face imprisonment upon his return to South Africa.

Mashele wasn't a Communist, but he was a Christian. He helped us to understand that Apartheid was an evil corruption of Christian faith which invoked the name of God to justify racial oppression. He helped us to understand that the God of Jesus is a God who brings good news to the poor and sets at liberty those who are oppressed.

It was a display of courage and faith that I have never forgotten. I have often wondered what happened to him. I found an online record of a Timaka Docket Mashele born in 1962 (that would be about right), who married a woman named Elizabeth, and for whom a death record has been entered (no date, no circumstance). I don't know if he was married before his visit to the States, or if his death was at all related to his courageous act of witness. But here was a young man - younger than I was at the time - whose act of witness and protest, grounded in his faith, made the politics of Apartheid personal.

Not every participant at Triennium has that kind of experience, but everyone has their faith stretched and their vision of Christ's church and its mission expanded.

And now, thirty-three years later, Presbyterian Youth Triennium is still changing lives. The 14th Presbyterian Youth Triennium will meet at Purdue University in Indiana July 16-20. Three thousand Presbyterian youth from around the country (and internationally, too) gather for fun, faith building, community, leadership training and celebration. Our Presbytery is providing heavily subsidized registration and transportation for youth from our congregations. All high school age youth (entering 9th grade through 2019 graduates) are eligible to attend.

The cost per participant is only $350 which includes registration, transportation, housing, meals during the event, a delegation t-shirt, and items for swapping with other delegations. Sessions are encouraged to assist youth and their families in the registration fee. Registration at this price is available only through MARCH 31. See the information page links on our presbytery website ( www.presbylh.org). We are hoping to commission a contingent of 20-25 youth for this life-changing event. Questions may be directed to our Triennium Registrars, Rev. Philomena Ofori-Nipaah ( [email protected]) or Nikelle Johnson ( [email protected]). A flyer with information may be found here.