Movement magazine issue 154

NEWS
NEW MEMBERS
ELECTED TO
SCM’S GENERAL
COUNCIL
New General Council members
were elected at SCM’s AGM on
Saturday 11 June, with six new
members elected to trustee and
portfolio positions. SCM members
also re-elected Emma Temple as
a trustee. The new GC members
join Dan Barnes-Davies and Taylor
Driggers, who are serving current
terms as Access and Inclusion
portfolio and International Students’
Representative respectively.
Freddie Alexander, who recently
graduated from the University of
Edinburgh, was elected as a new
trustee. ‘After helping to run SCM
Edinburgh, and being involved with
many SCM events nationally, I am
excited to be able to support and
help with the continued growth of
SCM,’ he said.
Caitlin Wakefield, a postgraduate
student at the University of
Glasgow, was also elected
as a trustee and LGBTQI+
Representative. ‘I am excited to
represent LGBTQI+ students on
GC and to raise topics of concern
for LGBTQI+ Christians and their
allies,’ she said. ‘I believe we should
represent within SCM the values
that we want to see in the wider
world, which means being visible
and making people welcome.’
The current members of General
Council are:
Freddie Alexander, Trustee
Dan Barnes-Davies, Trustee and
Access and Inclusion portfolio
Sarah Derbyshire, Trustee and
Events portfolio
Taylor Driggers, International
Students’ Representative
Ross Jesmont, Trustee
Gemma King, Trustee
Simone Ramacci, Science and
Religion portfolio
Emma Temple, Trustee and
Campaigns portfolio
Caitlin Wakefield, Trustee and
LGBTQI+ Representative
You can find out more about GC
and their roles at www.movement.
org.uk/general-council
SHARING STORIES
OF FAITH & HOPE
AT SCM’S SUMMER
GATHERING 2016
Students were refreshed and
challenged during our summer
event, ‘Stories of Faith’, held on 11
June 2016. The day event featured
workshops from Dr Richard
Goode and the Esther Collective,
and SCM’s AGM, which included
General Council elections and our
annual awards.
Participants heard from Professor
David Ford, who gave an ‘honest,
challenging, funny and very
intelligent’ talk about deepening
our approach to faith. ‘A wiser
faith and wiser understanding of
faith – that’s the aim of theology.
Intense study and discussion of
religious texts within the Christian
faith is important and healthy,’ he
said, to an audience of students
from a range of backgrounds and
denominations.
‘David Ford was excellent, with
many profound insights, and I came
away with lots of new ways to read
scripture,’ said one participant.
The day also included a Love Feast,
or agape lunch, led by Rachel
Allison from Birmingham Methodist
Society. Students, SCM members,
chaplains and staff all participated
in the celebration meal, which
was full of encouraging stories.
We heard about people’s journeys
into Christian activism through the
Catholic Worker Movement, and
the valuable role played by people
in supporting a journey into spiritual
discernment. We were led in a
closing prayer and worship session
by Soo Tian, a PhD student based
in Oxford. Huge thanks to Rachel
and Soo Tian for leading beautiful
services.
Thank you to everyone who made
this event possible, from those who
volunteered in the kitchen to those
who helped lead sessions and
organise different parts of the day.
You can view photos from the event
on our Facebook page.
SCM LAUNCHES
NEW ONLINE
PLATFORM
CONNECTING
STUDENTS TO
CHURCHES AND
GROUPS AT
UNIVERSITY
SCM Connect is here – a new
online directory where students can
search for, and connect to, local
churches and student groups in
their university city or town.
We launched the platform over the
summer and people can now join
up by going to www.movement.org.
uk/scmconnect. Churches can sign
up to become Link Churches, which
will automatically list their contact
details in the directory. Students
can register to search the directory,
connecting to Link Churches,
student groups and chaplaincies.
SCM Connect publicity materials
are also available to distribute to
young people, with a scannable QR
code that will direct people to the
platform via mobile devices such
as phones or tablets. If you would
like to connect people going to
university to SCM Link Churches
and groups, you can order SCM
Connect cards by emailing admin@
movement.org.uk.
SCM TO
ESTABLISH NEW
STUDENT HUB IN
MANCHESTER
SCM is pleased to announce
that a new student hub will be
established in Manchester this
September, helping to support and
resource students, groups and
local churches across the North
West of England. Our new Regional
Development Worker, Rach Collins,
will coordinate the hub’s work, and
will be based at St Peter’s House
Church and Chaplaincy.
‘We are thrilled to be able to grow
our work in the North West, which
means more students can find
places of welcome, support and
community this year,’ said Hilary
Topp, SCM’s National Coordinator.
‘We are enormously grateful for all
the generous support from friends
and donors who have helped to
make this new hub a reality. We
look forward to starting the work
in September, and welcome Rachel
Collins to the staff team to support
and train more student leaders and
groups.’
As part of the hub’s outreach, we
will work with more local churches
in the region to grow their mission
to students, and connect more
young people coming to university
for the first time to inclusive
Christian communities. In March
2017, the hub will host an SCM
Gathering with guest speaker
Timothy Radcliffe O.P., a Catholic
priest, theologian and Consulter for
the Pontifical Council of Justice and
Peace.
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MOVEMENT Issue 154
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