2016 presbyterian youth triennium

For one youth, messages have lasting value

In an age when fleeting social media messages saturate the lives of teens, Kylie Carlson treasures the lasting impact of some powerful words scrawled on tiny slips of paper.

Youth transform slur-covered wall into something holy

Jen Evans could not stop the tears when she saw a year’s worth of work come to completion at the 2016 Presbyterian Youth Triennium, a gathering of thousands of Presbyterian youth that takes place every three years at Purdue University. As one of the recreation leaders, she was responsible for creating a Hate to Hope Wall experience that was part spiritual reflection, part prophecy, and part art installation. A year in the making, the wall project encouraged youth to write notes of hope on cloth ribbons to cover hateful words and phrases that had been spray painted onto a wall built of pallets.