The 2009 General Assembly looked like this from a SPUD perspective:

HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED!

IT'S OFFICIAL! SPUD is a success!

And what a success it has been. It all began back on the 24h January in Antrim when 260 SPUD delegates gathered to find out what SPUD actually was. After an intense day of group discussions, 30 delegates brought the discussions to the Mash-Up where they spent a weekend exploring the issues in detail before creating a total of 14 resolutions. These 14 resolutions were presented and approved by the Boards to be taken before the General Assembly. Here’s a brief run down of how SPUD’s week unfolded:

Tuesday
In the top floor of Church House a small group of SPUDers gathered together in “the SPUD room”, ready to take the General Assembly by storm. They collected their Blue Book and registered as official delegates of the General Assembly 2009, before taking up their seats in what will surely become known as “the SPUD corner” of the General Assembly.

SPUD is almost the very first item of business at this years Assembly. It started at 10am, and by 10.05 SPUD was on the podium with Laura Hutcheson and Neal Wilkinson (SPUD working group co-chairs) giving a brief report to the Business Board about the progress of the pilot and plans for next year. This included a funky 1 minute promotional video of footage from this years SPUD to the soundtrack of All-Star United’s “We are the Future”. There was always a lot of tension about Tuesday as the Presbyterian Mutual Society was on the agenda, but SPUD got the Assembly off to a bright and positive start.

Next up was Nathan Surgenor (Mash-Up delegate) who spoke to SPUD resolutions in the Board of Mission Overseas. Poor Nathan had to speak to a full house as everyone gather for the PMS debate, but Mr Surgenor knows no nerves and spoke brilliantly. The Assembly approved all 3 resolutions.

Wednesday
Amy McNaugher (SPUD working group) and Andrew Downey (Mash-Up Delegate) were interviewed as part of the Youth and Children’s Boards’ very creative and challenging report. They answered questions about the world in which young people live, how the Church can support them and involve them in everything that the Church does.

Rebecca McKinty (Mash-Up Delegate) spoke very powerfully in support of our resolutions concerning Youth Culture, with very challenging words to the Assembly. Alice Webb (Mash-Up Delegate) also spoke strongly to support the Peacemaking resolutions, with Neal Wilkinson and a number of other Assembly members moving to support them also. Nathan Surgenor then took to the podium again to speak on Bridging the Gap, again with numerous Assembly members speaking to support our resolutions. 

Neal Wilkinson asked during a Peacemaking debate if it would be appropriate that a young person be appointed to the Peacemaking Panel which will be exploring how Peacemaking can be implemented into the mainstream of the Church, to which the Clerk asked if he could have 2 young people rather than 1. Laura Hutcheson asked the organising committee of the 2010 Special Assembly how the proposed to incorporate young people into their plans, to which they responded that they would be glad to welcome some young people on to their organising committee and that there will be places made available to the Special Assembly. The Special Assembly is a major event for PCI to be helped in Coleraine University on 16th-19th August 2010.

Wednesday afternoon proved to be a hugely encouraging day with many Assembly members speaking enthusiastically in support of SPUD and the resolutions which we had brought to the house, as well as achieving new partnerships with 2 organising committees. SPUD had very much been given its’ stamp of approval.

On the downside, poor Nicola Morrison (SPUD working group) waited for over an hour to speak to a SPUD resolution while a debate took place on another issue, only for the Assembly to run out of time and she had to wait until Thursday!

Thursday
Nicola’s resolution finally came up in the Board of Mission in Ireland on Thursday morning. Unfortunately she could not be present and Laura Hutcheson spoke in her place.

Nicola finally got to speak on Thursday afternoon at the Board of Social Witness, with Emma Morrow (Mash-Up Delegate) and Neal Wilkinson also speaking to resolutions. Nicola and Emma both spoke excellently.

After a long wait for a private session to finish, the number of SPUDers who had waited until the very end of the Assembly to hear whether or not SPUD would be continued in the coming year. At approximately 6:45pm the General Assembly approved that SPUD be continued, making all our hard work worthwhile.

Resolutions
Of the 14 resolutions presented, ALL 14 were received and approved by the General Assembly!

The General Assembly Experience
Most of us would perceive the General Assembly as boring. Certainly most of us did. But the general atmosphere among the SPUDers who made it to the General Assembly was extremely positive. We actually had a really enjoyable 3 days. Some of what happens in General Assembly is really interesting and there are some really positive decisions made. An awful lot happens in the General Assembly that we don’t know about until we actually go and are helped to understand it. We found it a really enjoyable and educational experience.

The support and reception we received was really inspiring. We had dozens of people thanking and encouraging us for what we were doing. Mr Downey and Mr Wilkinson took to the stage in shorts and sandals without even feeling concerned in the slightest. The Clerk, the Moderator, and the Boards were all very welcoming and helpful.

Honestly, we could hardly have felt more at home in the Assembly, and in many senses the success is not that all our resolutions were approved, but that SPUD integrated so well into the Assembly.

Thank you
We want to thank all of the guys who spoke and congratulate them for speaking so well. Thank you for the time you took to be there and for the time you took to prepare and work with us in the middle of exams. Thanks to the guys who took time to be there at any stage throughout the week, and in particular to those who stayed for 2 or 3 full days. We really appreciated your company and sharing the experience with you. Thanks also to anyone who kept up to date by watching online or using Twitter.

So it’s all over? My friends... it’s only just begun. Bring on General Assembly 2010!!!