The first Assyrian Church of the East (ACOE) youth conference was held in Chicago in 1985 and drew roughly 80 participants, according to Qasha Gewargis, a priest of the church and president of the National Executive Committee for its youth groups.
Thirty-seven years later, as the event returned to Chicago, that number swelled to a record 650 participants.
“After COVID, people are yearning to meet new people and for their lives to be interactive once more,” said Peter Azzo, 22, a member of the conference planning committee who has attended every conference since 2013. “As a youth, we’re becoming more organized and I think it’s having an impact at the parish level.”
The five-day gathering, held June 30-July 5, brought attendees from California, Arizona, Michigan, New York, Texas, and Canada and featured lectures on deepening one’s faith, self-evaluation workshops, and a meeting with the newly-elected patriarch.
1985: The beginnings of youth conference
Before 1985, communication between North American ACOE parishes was limited to a handful of annual meetings, said Sargon Sarkis, then president of the Mar Gewargis youth group in Chicago.
The youth conference was created by the church’s late patriarch, Mar Dinkha, and organized by Sarkis, Gewargis, and several Chicago youth leaders to connect young people across parishes.
The first conference, held at Mar Gewargis church, included an outdoor picnic, evening gatherings, and meetings on how youth could support parish projects.
“We sent letters to other youth groups to participate,” Sarkis said, noting that enthusiastic responses arrived from Chicago, New York, California, Detroit, and Canada.
Since then, the conference has been held annually. Attendance has steadily grown as the host city began rotating and as a National Executive Committee was established.
Still, Gewargis said, the mission remains unchanged: to bring young people to Christ and to strengthen their Assyrian identity through language, culture, reading, writing, and community.
Conference returns to the Windy City
Chicago had originally been slated to host the conference in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic sidelined those plans.
Organizing for the city’s event continued, however, and Chicago was selected to host this year’s gathering. Its theme, “Be Rooted,” is inspired by John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches.”
The theme reflects “a plant or a tree being rooted,” Gewargis said. One lecture explored how scripture helps believers remain rooted in the church and in Christ, while another focused on self-evaluation and understanding one’s personal relationship with the Lord.
Attendance at scheduled events was mandatory; each participant was required to attend five lectures and prayer services.
Because of the surge in turnout, lectures were split into two age groups — 21 and older, and 20 and younger. A second hotel across the street was booked to accomodate added lecture rooms.
Participants also explored the city with boat tours and, on the final day, a trip to Six Flags.
The church’s newly elected patriarch, Mar Awa Royel, who was on a U.S. tour before returning to Iraq this month, distributed medals and took photos with each attendee.
“The patriarch being with us showed another standing of him with our youth, especially in the diaspora,” Azzo added.
Royel, elected in September, is the first American-born patriarch of the church and only the ninth new patriarch since 1780. He relocated from California to Iraq last year to lead the patriarchal seat. Construction on the new headquarters is expected to finish next month.
Growing North American youth presence
The National Executive Committee oversees parish-level youth groups across the country. It includes a president, vice president, and three representatives from each of the church’s three U.S. dioceses — Eastern U.S., California, and Western/Southern U.S.
Canada returned to this year’s conference after more than a decade away, sending about 40 youth. Gewargis said representatives from the Canadian dioceses will soon join the National Executive Committee, and discussions are underway for Canada to host the conference as early as 2025.
Conference attendance is limited to active youth-group members who attend at least half of their Bible study classes and church services.
“Our goal is to strengthen and educate our youth, not just bring them once a year to a vacation,” Gewargis said. “We didn’t want them to join the youth conference and then forget about it the rest of the year. It’s like a reward for them to go to church, to go to their bible study programs, and attend Assyrian bible classes. Otherwise, it would be in vain if we just gathered once a year to have fun.”
The requirement makes the rising participation all the more striking. Last year’s conference in Los Angeles drew a then-record 450 participants. This year’s event exceeded that by 200.
Host cities are typically notified two years in advance. Next year’s conference will take place in California, with Arizona set to host in 2024. Discussions are also underway to hold an international youth conference next August in Erbil, Iraq.
“Throughout my experiences at this conference, one thing that has solidified in me is that as a unit, we work better,” Azzo said. “Those five days at the conference, you feel more connected to your faith, to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and also as Assyrians you see that if we work all together, our days look brighter and our future is much more clear.”