Movement Magazine Issue 156

WELCOMING STUDENTS TO YOUR
CHURCH – SCM PUBLISHES NEW
RESOURCE
Students prioritise friendship
and community over theology
or denomination when finding a
church at university, according to
a new resource published by SCM.
Churches can provide a steadying
influence, which is often needed in
a time of great change.
The research is part of a new
resource booklet for churches,
called ‘Welcoming Students to Your
Church’. It is a 44-page booklet
packed with case studies from
students and church ministers,
top tips and advice on a range
of issues, and practical ideas for
building a vibrant student ministry
that’s welcoming and relevant.
You can access the booklet as a
free PDF download by visiting
www.movement.org.uk/welcomingstudents.
Print copies are also
available to order at a suggested
donation of £3 per booklet.
SCM TO BE
ASSOCIATE
PARTNER OF
CENTRE FOR
THEOLOGY AND
JUSTICE
SCM is teaming up with the
Centre for Theology and Justice,
a new collaborative initiative that
will resource justice work and
theological connections between
organisations across Britain.
The project has four main partners
– Luther King House, Christian
Aid, Church Action on Poverty
and Churches Together in Britain
and Ireland. SCM will be the first
associate partner of the project,
which was launched on 10 May at
Luther King House in Manchester.
The project will enable theological
reflection and bring together
different people to share resources,
ideas and actions.
“As a student movement seeking
to put our faith into action, we look
forward to working more closely
with the Centre for Theology and
Justice,” said Rach Collins, SCM’s
North West Development Worker,
who attended the event. “The
Christian call to serve the poor and
end injustice is a challenge to the
whole church. We are excited to
work together with partners to find
more ways to inspire students in
this mission.”
GROUP NEWS
WARWICK CHRISTIAN FOCUS GLASGOW SCM
2017 has been busy for Warwick Christian Focus!
The highlight of the Spring term was a weekend away
in Worcestershire. We spent a day in Malvern on the
Saturday, climbing the Worcestershire Beacon. In keeping
with Focus’ longstanding love of tea, we stopped at a
historic café on the way up, then, fuelled by cake, we
made our way to the summit. The view was fantastic,
even with the gloomy weather conditions. On the Sunday,
we spent some time in the pretty and historic St. Mary’s
Church in the village of Hanley Castle, where we also
stopped for a pint at the most quintessentially English
pub I have ever seen. We then headed homeward, for an
evening church service in Warwick’s Chaplaincy.
In the Summer term, we welcomed two visitors from the
Community of the Cross of Nails for a talk and discussion.
Their organisation was formed from the aftermath of the
bombing of Coventry Cathedral in the Second World War,
and they are a major voice for peace and reconciliation.
Warwick’s Chaplaincy is a member of the Community, so
we were keen to hear more about the story behind the
cross that sits in our chapel.
MATTHEW SMITH
In February we celebrated LGBT History Month with a week
of events and workshops. In addition to learning more
about LGBTQIA+ history, we also took the opportunity to
reflect on where we are now and what might be next for
the church and LGBTQIA+ inclusion and liberation.
Dr Sarah Nicholson helped us kick off the week with
a queer Bible study. In addition to talking about the
power of reading queer identities and experiences into
Biblical characters like David and Jonathan, Sarah’s talk
also highlighted the difficulty of biblical translation and
reconstructing historical context.
During the week, Debbie White ran a workshop on the
importance of queer history and shared her own practices
as a queer medieval historian. Joanna Russell also led an
interactive workshop on asexuality, in which she dispelled
common misconceptions, shared her own experiences as
an asexual person, and challenged us to think carefully
about the ways our language reflects assumptions that
can often exclude people.
We concluded the week with a panel discussion with the
Very Revd Kelvin Holdsworth, Dr Vicky Gunn, and Iona
Kimmitt as they speculated on what the future might look
like for LGBTQIA+ Christians and talked about the work of
inclusion that still needs to be done.
TAYLOR DRIGGERS
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