Five young leaders attend AEYA-2026
Five young leaders of the UCA have travelled to Chiang Mai, in Thailand this week to participate in the Fifth Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly.
April 17, 2026
Five young leaders from the Uniting Church in Australia have travelled to Thailand this week to participate in the Fifth Asian Ecumenical Youth Assembly (AEYA-2026), a significant regional gathering of emerging Christian leaders.
Hosted by the Christian Conference of Asia, AEYA-2026 started earlier today and is being held under the theme “Break Every Yoke” (Isaiah 58:6).
The delegates are representing not only the Uniting Church in Australia but also the National Council of Churches in Australia and the Victorian Council of Churches, reflecting the breadth of Australia’s ecumenical partnerships. The group includes Amelia Lavaki and Meki Senituli from the Queensland Synod; David Toogood and Christian Conol from the Synod of NSW and ACT; and Sione Hehepoto from the Synod of Victoria and Tasmania.
Investing in young leaders is central to who we are becoming as a Church. Our Assembly Strategy calls us to nurture national and international discipleship opportunities that build young leaders, and to accompany the global Church with purpose.
AEYA-2026 is that vision in motion: deepening relationships across Asia and the Pacific, listening to one another across cultures, and contributing as an active ecumenical partner to a region wrestling with shared questions of climate, migration, justice and faith. Through this gathering, participants have the opportunity to deepen relationships, share experiences and contribute to a collective ecumenical witness.
As a Church, we have joy and confidence in the role our delegation will play. We invite you and your church to hold them in prayer, asking God that they would listen deeply, speak honestly, build lasting friendships, and return home with stories that will shape our common witness.
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