Canadian Youth Attend Global Summit

An interview with Laura Rodriguez-Reyes



Laura Rodriguez-Reyes didn’t consider herself a Mennonite until she was 21. Eight years later, this May, Rodriguez-Reyes was the Mennonite Church Canada Young Anabaptist delegate for the Mennonite World Conference in Zurich, Switzerland, held May 24–29. Afterwards, she joined the Global Youth Summit (GYS) in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, as a representative of Mennonite Church Eastern Canada. 

Rodriguez-Reyes was born in Columbia in a community where the church was predominantly Catholic. When she was seven, her family came to Canada, and her mother began to look for a church. Eventually, she found First Mennonite church in Kitchener, Ontario.

“What my mom loved about the church were the values of peace and justice and helping your neighbour,” says Rodriguez-Reyes. “Sometimes growing up in the church can be about practice or traditions, like making sure you go to church on Sunday and pray to Mary. But it’s also about action.”

Rodriguez-Reyes holds a master’s degree in Geography with a focus on sustainable and resilient food systems. She works as a program lead for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). She has been involved in Pastors in Exile, a Kitchener-based young adult faith group, and is passionate about young adults in the church.

In preparation for attending the conference in Germany, Rodriguez-Reyes worked with the other Canadian youth representatives. Together they surveyed 33 young adults from across Canada, collecting data to answer the question: why are young adults leaving the church?

They learned that church participation declines as young adults move away from home to go to school or work.

“Young people are leaving the church, and the reason they’re leaving is primarily because of theology,” Rodriguez-Reyes said, adding that many of the more conservative or traditional theologies don’t tend to attract young adults, whereas more progressive theologies and more LGBTQ–affirming churches are attracting younger Mennonites.

But she theorizes that there may be cultural differences when it comes to young adult retention, noting that this exodus is largely among “Caucasian Mennonites, because non-Caucasian Mennonite churches in Canada are growing, and those churches tend to have more conservative views and theology.”

Although she did not investigate the topic of race as part of the research, she has some initial theories based on personal experience.

“That’s when I can bring my own newcomer perspective along. We have to look at how colonization has influenced culture in Latin America. There is a tendency to be more traditional, whereas Caucasian culture is more individualistic.” With Caucasian young adults tending to leave the family home earlier, this may result in distance from home church congregations.

In the context of the global church, Rodriguez-Reyes is curious about the differences in how young people find community. “When I look at my cousins in Latin America, the way that they find community and friends is through church. But that wasn’t for me, and now not being a student, building community can become really hard. So then it’s asking that question: Why are churches here not growing? Many churches in Latin America are growing, with a ton of young adults. I’m curious why that is happening.” When asked what gives her hope for young adults in the church, she says, “Change is slow so I know that slowly change will happen. What gives me hope for young adults is that no matter where they go or what happens, God will be there. At the end of the day, God is there, and his presence is there amongst these young adults, so I find peace in that.”



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