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Salient. An Organ of Student Opinion at Victoria College, Wellington, N.Z. Vol. 10, No. 1. February 28, 1947
Christian Movements
Christian Movements
To 50-odd students last year, the end of finals meant not only an opportunity for letting off steam, but also for rounding off the year's work and thought.
The theme of the Post-exam camp held at Wallis House, was based on the "Aims and Objects" of the N.Z.S.C.M.—a theme which we felt would bring us into close recognition of the fundamentals of our Christian faith. Speakers, who included Rev. J. M. Bates, Mrs. A. B. Cochran, Rev. M. Sullivan, Mr. Dowsett and Miss Joan Benton, dealt simply and forcefully with such problems as the Divinity and the Humanity of Christ, the Reality of Sin, the Power of the Holy Spirit and the position of the S.C.M. in the world. Questions flowed thick and fast, proving that these were problems on which students, whether Christians or Agnostics, had thought extensively.
In keeping with the theme was an open-air play-reading of Mark Connelly's "Green Pastures"—a play which outlines wittily, dramatically, and often movingly the Negro conception of religion.
Post-exam, camp also gave us an opportunity to meet Rev. Martin Sullivan, newly-appointed chaplain to the S.C.M. at V.U.C. His contacts with students at camp and later at Conference have already proved his interest in students and his keen desire to meet and talk with them.
The climax of all S.C.M. activities for the year, however, was the Annual Conference held at Ngatawa College, Marton. Informality was the keynote of the Conference, and a live sense of fellowship, of common endeavour, whether in study or in washing dishes rapidly unified the 120 students who attended.
The theme of the Conference was as topical and as vital as it could have been—"The Church in the World, in Idea, and in History," with special emphasis on the S.C.M. motto "Ut omnes unum sint"—That all may be one. The programme included a series of panel addresses—"The Meaning of History" (Mr. O. E. Burton), "The Significance of Theology" (Rev. J. M. Bates), "The Claims of Science" (Mr. D. Patterson), "The Place of Politics" (Miss P. Evans), and a co-ordinating address by Rev. E. Simpson—"From Theory to Practice." Of intense interest were a series of tutorials on Church History by Mr. H. Miller. A study written by Rev. B. Nottage prompted keen discussion on every aspect of the Church and its relationship to the modern world.
The school chapel was perfectly fitted for the devotional side of the Conference, and here Rev. J. A. Jermyn conducted a School of Prayer, a World Student Christian Federation service, and finally a service of Praise.
As each afternoon was left free, we had ample time to indulge in swimming sports, a tennis tournament, a N. V. S. Universities cricket match and an all-day picnic. And of course, in every free moment there was talk—at meals, in the dormitories, over the sink, or sprawling on the lawn—for you can always find someone differing from you in some beliefs but with the same sense of studentship and above all, the same awareness of Christianity.
Viewed as a totality, however. Conference leaves a confused mass of memories—drinking cocoa and arguing on predestination, howling with laughter at meal-time, kneeling in the chapel, swimming at 6 a.m.—a whole kaleidoscope of talk, laughter and action mingled with moments of deep reverence, of a new awareness of firmer faith and belief. Words cannot convey the simplicity and the complexity of Conference life; its best advertisement is simply the fact that once experienced it is impossible to miss another Conference.
This year begins with a tea followed by an Opening Service at St. John's Church, Willis Street, on Sunday, March 9. The following Saturday there will be a Freshers' Welcome Picnic (probably at Wilton's Bush) and it is hoped that every Fresher will roll up on both these occasions. Watch the notice-boards for further details and make a point of being there.