Triennium Adventure 2025

Dreams are something we all experience, some are simple while others are complex. Last week, fourteen of us from our own Missouri Union Presbytery spent four days in Louisville, Kentucky at the 2025 Presbyterian Youth Triennium. Finally, after six long years, PYT made its long-awaited return with the theme “As If We Were Dreaming”.

Our trip began Monday morning at First Presbyterian Church in Mexico, Missouri. Ten youth and four adults loaded two vans with luggage, mission project donations, snacks and other special items ready for the almost 6-hour trip to Louisville. Less than an hour outside of Mexico, our trip took an unexpected twist. One of our two vans came to a sudden stop on the side of Interstate 70. Luckily, the second van was able to circle back and pick up the youth who had been riding on the now inoperable van. After carefully loading up these youth, the twelve of us headed towards Kentucky. Unfortunately, this left the second van and our other two adults on the side of I-70 waiting for the van to be repaired, which luckily was up and running in less than two hours thanks to a local mechanic.  With the first van more crowded, confused and a little more stressed, we drove on towards Louisville and arrived just in time to check in at the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC) before heading straight to our first dinner.

Following the evening meal, our group had time to gain our bearings, take in our new surroundings and meet the other two Presbyteries from Missouri, Giddings-Lovejoy and John Calvin, who we were paired up with to form one larger Community Group. Our daily Community Group time provided the opportunity to look deeper into the Bible verses and themes for each day, build new friendships and work on individual “security blankets”.

The first evening’s worship service was kicked off by singing “Come as You Are”. Being part of more than 2,000 voices began worship in an impressive fashion. Opening greetings were brought by Co-moderators of the 226th PC(USA) General Assembly, Rev. Tony Larson and Rev. CeCe Armstrong. They were the perfect pair to welcome 2025 young people to Triennium. Their use of visual aids (greeting cards & red toy cars) captured the attention of all involved. This Pentecost themed service helped us feel the Holy Spirit as we prepared for the days ahead. Rev. Armstrong shared Acts 2:1-21 and challenged us to “make some noise”, but not just while in this special place. We were tasked with taking this spirit of noisemaking out into our hurting world.

At the conclusion of worship our delegation was able to walk a few blocks to our hotel, the Galt House, and get checked in. Before getting settled in for the evening each of us had to retrieve our belongings, receive our room assignments and discuss morning meeting instructions. Luckily this process went smoothly so we headed to our rooms to rest up for the first full day of Triennium events and get to know our roommates.

The following days offered countless opportunities for participants to learn, fellowship, have fun and of course enjoy meals together. Hearing inspired and passionate messages during worship from amazing pastors, Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, Rev. Dr. Peggy Jean Craig, and Rev. Dr. Jerry Cannon brought this year’s theme, “As If We Were Dreaming”, to life in ways that participants of all ages were able to relate to. Having such gifted and dynamic worship leaders at each service makes it hard for me to point out a singular favorite, but Rev. Dr. Cannon’s message reminded us that “the prickly things in life are setups for a comeback.” These words hit home with the crowd so well that he repeated it multiple times. This phrase certainly resonated with me, and I believe the entire group of participants, both youth and adults. When we come across rough times in life, we are encouraged to look at them as an opportunity to keep pushing forward towards our goals while knowing that the Lord is there with us.

The MUP Delegation to the 2025 Presbyterian Youth Triennium is incredibly grateful for the support that allowed us to attend. We will remember these friendships, lessons and the entire experience for years to come. We pray that you continue the work of helping us spread the word about what an amazing experience Triennium is. I know that we can build a larger delegation for the next PYT in the summer of 2028 and help another group of participants build new friendships and develop a deeper love for our Lord God.

Blessings,

Audra West, Moderator

MUP Youth Ministry Committee