YMCA can change life perspectives, says new Gen Sec

HONG KONG - The YMCA has the power to change life perspectives and build new ones, says the new General Secretary of the World Alliance of YMCAs.

Norwegian pastor Johan Vilhelm Eltvik was confirmed in his new role by the World Council of the YMCA in Hong Kong and will begin his four-year term on January 1, 2011.

For him, the YMCA today must strive to be socially relevant, make an impact wherever it is, be highly visible to the world, and be financially strong so that it can empower youth and transform communities.

It is transforming communities that lies close to Eltvik’s heart and his faith in the YMCA’s ability to do this stems from his own life journey prior to and since joining the alliance.

Delivering his acceptance speech at the end of the YMCA World Council on Monday, Eltvik cast his mind back to the night of December 13, 1981, and what came to pass for four very different men whose lives would later come to be intertwined with one another.

That was the night that Poland launched a military crackdown on its people. Sasha Artushenko, a bomber pilot in East Germany, was awaiting an order to fly over Poland with the possibility of dropping bombs on Polish cities; Misha Guskov was a Soviet captain based in Estonia and awaiting orders to march in Poland; Michal Szymanczak was a member of the independent trade union Solidarity who, with his companions, was hiding from the secret police; Eltvik was a lieutenant under NATO stationed at a military camp in Norway.

In the end, there were no orders to drop bombs on Polish cities or march into the country.

Today, Eltvik is the General Secretary of YMCA Europe; Michal Szymanczak is Deputy Secretary General of YMCA Europe; Sasha Artushenko is the National General Secretary of YMCA in Belarus; Misha Guskov is the Executive Secretary of the Russian branch of YMCA Europe.

“I have walked through the ruins of a fallen empire (the Soviet Union), and I walked together with former enemies, now my closet friends, and we started to build YMCAs together,” Eltvik said.

“These crucial experiences have made me believe in the power of friendship, believe in the power of the YMCA to change life perspectives and build new ones,” he told the Council - which was attended by more than 1,200 members from 85 countries.

“It has made me believe in hope against walls and friendship, against iron curtains, and made me believe more than ever in the weaponless armies of the YMCA when they go fight for love against hate.”

Eltvik has served as a staff member of the YMCA since 1986. He was ordained for to ministry in the Church of Norway in 1981 and holds a degree in Theology and Ministry as well as Practical Theology. His early career was that of a teacher, army chaplain, and minister in the Church of Norway.