PELITA - The Methodist Church Newsletter
Listed below are articles abstracted from past issues of PELITA
The Minister of Youth and Sports
Visits the Methodist HQ
On 20 September the Minister of Youth and Sports, YB Dato’ Seri Azalina Dato’ Othman Said paid a visit to the Methodist HQ. This was part of her programme to dialogue with youth organizations, including the Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Brigade at a later date.
Bishop Hwa Yung and the General Conference Youth Council (GCYC) members were at hand to welcome them. Bishop Hwa Yung welcomed the 15-20 members of top senior officers from the Ministry who accompanied Dato’ Seri Azalina, and offered a prayer for the country.
Rev. Chan Thiam Hee, Chairman of the GCYC, expressed on behalf of the Council members their delight and thanks for the time and effort taken to visit the organization. He welcomed the opportunity for dialogue with the Ministry. A short slide presentation was given on the structure and programmes of the youth in the Methodist Church.
YB Dato’ Seri Azalina shared about her desire to see a greater synergy and interaction with the various youth organizations in the country, hence her visits to them. She voiced her concern at the lack of studies and research on youths in the country, for example, the impact of globalization and Information & Computer Technology (ICT) on them.
Dato’ Seri Azalina also encouraged our youths to participate more in the programmes of the Ministry, and expressed her willingness to attend Methodist youth events if invited. In this way, besides just providing funding, a greater synergy can be forged between the goals of the Ministry and the Methodist youth programmes, for example, environmental issues, national unity & integration, and the like.
It was an encouragement to see the Minister of Youth take an interest in the youth organizations of the Methodist Church. This can be one avenue through which Methodist youths can contribute to the wider task of nation building.