Youth ministry at the margins and/or centre as space of the other: Reflections on the resolutions of the Anglican dioceses in the Western Cape 2017

Abstract

Youth within the context of faith-based organisations carry with them certain power relations and misconstrued connotations. These power relations and connotations can contribute to alienation and marginalisation. The resolutions taken at the recent synods of the three dioceses within the Western Cape reflect and identify the areas - both liturgical and governance - of marginalisation of youth within the Anglican Church in southern Africa. The resolutions also call on the church governing bodies and the leaders to create safe spaces for the youth to be a central part of the mission of the church. Areas such as liturgy, training and formation, contemporary worship and nurturing relationships are identified within the resolutions. Theological notions of personhood within the Anglican tradition are to be investigated as possible motivations for more acceptable power relations of the youth and leaders and governance structures. What implications do such theological formulations have for the space that the youth occupy within the margins of the church? A critical reflection of the synod resolutions answers such questions and points to some contours for sense making of the youth within the margins of the church from a faith-based organisational perspective.