Tune My Heart: Psalm 100

at Purdue University

Psalm 100I’ve wanted to write about the Triennium experience. Scratch that; I need to write about it. The coordinator for Albany Presbytery asked if I’d recovered, as it took her a day or two. I recover when I offload it from my head.

Each day at Triennium had a theme. Day 1 was TUNE MY HEART and the Scripture was PSALM 100, “come before the LORD with joyful songs.” You know, someone could read that at my funeral.

I suppose I should back up. We had a bus of twelve 14- to 18-year-olds. One of them is related to me. There were others scheduled to attend, but the father of a couple of them had died in the previous month, which made one of their friends decide to forgo the trip as well.

One of the two male chaperones was a pastor in a rural church. I got to really get to like Jerry over the week. The two women were from my church, so I knew them. Also, 23-year-old twin brothers who would work behind the scenes at the conference traveled with us.

After a brief commissioning service at a local Albany church, we started off at about 8 p.m. on Monday, July 15, my wife’s birthday. The present from my daughter and me was our absence.

Early on, we watched the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, most of which I actually understood. We switched drivers somewhere between Rochester and Buffalo.

I cannot sleep on a bus. Maybe I could as a child, but certainly not now. I may have nodded off somewhere around Toledo, OH, though not for long. So I was quite tired when we got into West Lafayette around 8:30 a.m., much earlier than we had anticipated, even with a couple of pit stops.

We ate at some nice dinner with ANOTHER group of about 20. It didn’t take as long to be served as we were told. That, BTW, is a key to good customer service: under-promise and over-deliver.

We disembark at Hawkins Hall at Purdue University. We each had one bag we carried onto the bus and one underneath the vehicle. After an orientation meeting, we got our room assignments and two keys. One is actually a swiper card you need to get to a floor other than the main lobby, and the other is a traditional key.

I go to my room on the 8th floor and I find one of the male teens from Albany. If I hadn’t had all that training, I might have said, “Ah, that’s weird. Whatever.” Instead, I left my stuff there, and went down to the lobby and told the folks, who recognized it as an issue.

They gave me a key to a 3rd-floor room. I went to the 8th floor, got my stuff, then went to the 3rd floor. All I saw were young women. In some dorms I’ve been in, they have males on one winge and females on the other. This was NOT the case here.

Back to the lobby. My luggage and I got a ride in a golf cart to some other dorm to talk with someone who’s supposed to fix these things. But my guide was told it should be worked out within the building.

Back to Hawkins, where I was given a key to a single room on the 6th floor. When I opened the door, someone else’s luggage was there. Back downstairs; the coordinator already knew the problem. She led me to the 7th floor, single room, unoccupied, on a floor with only males. Settled at last.

I had time to nap, but by then, I was too wound up to do so. The group walked to Earhart Hall to eat supper, then to the worship service, which was a good introduction to the week.

Triennium Protection Policy Training

Two-adult rule

protectionWhen I agreed to be a chaperone for the 2019 Presbyterian Youth Triennium, I was not fully aware of the scope of the training that would be involved. “As required through approval by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), all adults who participate at the Triennium must complete the Protection Policy Training.”

I got an online link to participate in the training and take various quizzes. There are a handful of videos and several bullet pages to review before the six question test, which I aced, thank you very much.

It is, I imagine, developed as a function of the culture where people, including in faith communities, have failed youth and children. As the training document put it, “It is the call of the Church to be a life-giving entity of Christ’s healing and hope for community and individuals, not an entity that brings harm and hurt.”

As someone who doesn’t spend a great deal of time with young people save for my own child, it was brutally enlightening to see what regulations were necessarily put in place to protect children, youth (persons between the ages of 12–17), and vulnerable adults (persons “eighteen-years-old or older without the developmental or cognitive capacity to consent.”)

To that end “the sponsoring council or entity of the General Assembly shall ensure that the following measures be in place and actions are taken for each event or activity involving children and youth,” with exceptions only for true emergency situation. This goes on for 11 pages; these are only highlights.

RULES
  1. Two-adult rule: Two non-related adults must always be present in groups of children and youth.
  2. Ratios: The adult to child ratio for all child-related events/activities is 2:10. The adult to youth ratio for all youth-related events/activities is 2:17. There shall also be one adult of each gender when there are one or more minors of each gender in a group.
  3. View Windows and Open Doors: When minors and adult workers or volunteers are in a room, if
    the door is closed, the door must have a view window installed. If no view window is installed in the door, the door must remain open at all times.
  4. Adult workers/caregivers should respect the privacy of the children to whom they provide care. Responsible use of digital devices and cell phones is required in all situations.
  5. Age appropriate training to children and youth should be provided regarding behavior that
    should be reported to caregiver or leader of the event…
  6. All volunteers and employees at any General Assembly entity sponsored events must also abide by a code of conduct… Some of these prohibited behaviors include but are not restricted to:
    a. Display of sexual affection toward a child.
    b. Use of profanity or off-color jokes.
    c. Discussion of sexual encounters with or around children or in any way involving children in personal problems or issues.
    d. Dating or becoming “romantically” involved with children (under the age of eighteen).
    e. Using or being under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs in the presence of children.
    f. Possessing sexually oriented materials—including printed or online pornography—on church
    property or property being utilized for a church event.
    g. Having secrets with youth/children.
    h. Staring at or commenting on children’s bodies.
    i. Engaging in inappropriate or unapproved electronic communication with children.
    j. Working one-on-one with children in a private setting.
    k. Abusing youth/children in any way, including (but not limited to) the following:
    • Physical abuse: hit, spank, shake, slap, unnecessarily restraint.
    • Verbal abuse: degrade, threaten, or curse.
    • Sexual abuse: inappropriately touch, expose oneself, or engage in sexually oriented
    conversations.
    • Mental abuse: shame, humiliate, act cruelly.
    • Neglect: withhold food, water, shelter.
    • Permit children or youth to engage in the following: hazing, bullying, derogatory name-calling, ridicule, humiliation, or sexual activity.

“The staff of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Churches desire to serve God among young people in all endeavors, but especially at the Presbyterian Youth Triennium with excellence, vigilance, and faithfulness. We appreciate all you do to make this happen.”

I should note that my congregation has a similar, though less detailed, policy in dealing with minors. I’m torn between feeling sad that such policies are necessary and being pleased that the powers that be are wise and sensitive enough to enact them.

What the heck is a Triennium?

‘Here’s My Heart’

Triennium“The Presbyterian Youth Triennium is a gathering for high school age youth from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church that occurs every three years. The 2019 event is July 16-20, 2019 at Purdue University. The theme for the 2019 event is ‘Here’s My Heart.'”

Here’s the thing: my daughter and I just got back. Or we will have just returned since I’m writing this BEFORE we departed. Talk about your time warp. I’ve been one of four chaperones for the Albany Presbytery.

“Five days of CONVERSATION, RECREATION, LEARNING, WORSHIP, AND FUN! Drawing from the rich and diverse theology, history and education of the Presbyterian tradition – the Triennium experience is packed with the information students long to explore!”

Moreover, it will have taken about 17 hours on a bus to get to Lafayette, IN and another 3/4 of a day to get back. Our departure was scheduled for 8 p.m. on July 15. That was my wife’s birthday, which was our present to her! Our return ETA was July 21 at 8 a.m., by which time she will have had time to miss us.

If I had still been working, I almost certainly would never have agreed to go. A week away from the job meant taking two days just to catch up. That’s been the nature of the beast. Also, if my daughter didn’t want me to go, I surely would not have done so.

“Digging into faith through a variety of activities and experiences – all focused around the theme ‘Here’s My Heart’ (Recognize the line yet? Hint: It’s a lyric from a classic tune/hymn we sing!) participants at the Triennium will re-enter their lives with a fresh sense of inspiration grounded in the context of personal and communal worship!”

One other thing, I will have been without anything to write on electronically for a week, a curse when you have a daily blog. I will have a cellphone but no laptop. So, if I haven’t visited your website, or approved your comments, or commented on Facebook, it will have been a combination of busyness and inaccessibility.

One other selling point of the trip that can check Indiana off my list of states. That will be #31. I had been through there back in 1998 on a train, but I did not actually DO anything for it to count. Sooner or later, I may actually write about the experience.

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