SCM Glossary
If you’re new to all this stuff, you might be confused by all the acronyms, lingo and strange inside jokes. Most of us don’t have a clue either. So here’s an attempt to decode it all. Or at least, it’s a start.
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All Things New (ATN)
Our national magazine, aka ATN (see zine). Comes out twice a year. We’re always looking for contributors and volunteers – you can download it. Not to be confused with All Things Nude
All Things Nude
Some goofs thought it would be funny to start a crude mock-up of All Things New back in the 90s. There are rumoured to be only a few copies of this collector’s edition kickin’ around
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An-archy=‘no ruler’. Anarchism is the abolition of exploitation and oppression. On one hand, it is a political theory that aims to create a society which is without political, economic or social hierarchies. On the other hand, it is most importantly a way of living in community. Some famous Christians were anarchists, including Leo Tolstoy, Dorothy Day, and Peter Maurin. (Jesus Radicals ∆ Infoshop.org)
See oppression. SCM aims to be an anti-oppressive movement, but there is no one way to do this and it is very difficult because it involves addressing the power and privilege of ourselves. SCM passed an Anti-Oppression Covenant (view it), which states our intent to challenge all forms of oppression, including racism, sexism and homophobia within our own movement. An important consideration is that the different forms of oppression are not seperate, but reinforce each other. This means that if you want to address one, you have to work on the others. It is a challenge, to be sure.
Council for Ecumenical Student Christian Ministries. This is the equivalent of an SCM in the United States, although it is a bit different from most (it has representatives from a number of denominations). We attend each other’s meetings and conferences.
The decision making process we follow in the national movement. At its simplest (and it’s not that simple), consensus is a cooperative way to reach decisions everyone can live with, in a way that is not hierarchical or coercive.
A very deep commitment. It comes from the Bible, as a holy vow between God and humans. We use it in our Anti-Oppression Covenant (view it)
The basic divisions in the Christian church. Examples are Catholic, various Orthodox Churches, and a whackload of Protestant churches, including United Church of Canada, Lutheran, Anglican Church, Evangelical (although many Evangelical churches claim to be ‘non-denominational’). SCM is ecumenical, which means a meeting place between and across denominations.
Liberal use of the flavourful spice cumin. It is also a global movement of dialogue and cooperation between Christians of different stripes (see denominations). However, some argue that the ecumenical movement is actually founding a new identity for people who do not fit neatly within the old Christian boxes – up for debate.
This term is still being debated. Very simplistically, it could be said to include several aspects: the system of global free market capitalism; the imposition of Western cultural values on the entire world (likened to a current phase of colonization); and the erosion of national boundaries for corporate movement and trade. (Some people include increasing communications and connection between people).
It may be the third line of our Mission statement, but darned if most of us actually know what this means.
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1. Here’s an etymological guess:
- in : inside
- ter : earth
- reli : relish condiment
- gious : old english form of “juice”
- praxis : new model of eco-friendly hybrid car.
Therefore, “interreligious praxis” clearly refers to a car the colour of relish, inside of the Earth.
2. Praxis is the meeting of practice (how you live your life) and theory (how you understand your place in the world and make sense of it all). Interreligious is the meeting place between different religions.
A widespread movement among Latin American Catholics proclaiming that society must be radically changed to practice God’s Preferential option for the poor. This movement was strongly influenced by Marxist theories of class struggle. A few priests went so far as to join armed guerillas against U.S.-backed dictatorships; others advocated nonviolence.
Nothing to do with cops or marijuana. It is the North America Regional Committee of the WSCF (World Student Christian Federation), and SCM Canada is part of it along with our comrades in Quebec (JEC), USA (CESCM), and the Lutherans.
A vast system of broken and hurtful relationships in our society, which discriminate on grounds of differences like “race”, gender, or sexual orientation. However, oppression is much more than discrimination (ie. exclusion from jobs, racist jokes, etc). It is deeply rooted in the structures of our society and its assumptions, history and institutions. Oppression is fundamentally anti-Gospel, because it contradicts the values of love and respect inherent in the teachings of Jesus (and most other religions). See anti-oppression for some of our ideas on ending oppression.
Quite simple: Condoms with pictues of saints on the front, and “Sometimes your patron saint isn’t enough protection.” Local units report that they are putting the condoms to very good use. (See SCM, Society for Courtship and Marriage
Preferential Option for the Poor
The central argument of Liberation Theology, that the teachings of Jesus are centred on those who are poor (ie. least powerful) in society. Therefore, Christians must work for social justice and new relations in this world, not in some future heaven (see SCM’s Mission statement)
A fundraising initiative aimed at encouraging life in the SCM
Widely used by Lutherans.
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You may think it’s Student Christian Movement, but our Senior Friends inform us that it’s actually the Society for Courtship and Marriage. Do not be deceived.
Apart from being a great acronym, this one is Student Christian Underground Movement. This one came out of Conference 2005, where someone proposed we become an anti-capitalist clandestine guerilla insurgency, operating out the Carleton University tunnels. It was just a joke, of course.
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These are our noble alumni, former graduates of the movement. These great people support us with prayers, money, knowledge, and of course, inspiriation (but apparently not spelling). Check out the pic from our founding conference in 1921 at the top of this page.
Student In Industry Work Camps
Back in the day (I think it was the 1940s), SCM Canada got the idea of sending a bunch of students to work in factories over the summer, while they lived communally, shared their earnings, and explored the Christian tradition together. Some legacies of this era include the travel pool, Senior Friends, and the Society for Courtship and Marriage (SCM).
Every conference, we try to make travel costs more fair by having everyone pay into them equally, regardless of where they come from. In other words, someone in Newfoundland will pay the same to attend conference as someone from Victoria or Saskatoon. In the end, it evens out since conferences alternate between regions. This is one legacy of the Student in Industry Work Camps
Not, in fact, a punishment for movement dissidents. See Student in Industry Work Camps
World Student Christian Movement. This is our global body, and it brings together SCM’s in 80 countries. Its website is www.wscfglobal.org. SCM Canada relates to WSCF through the North America Regional Committee (NARC).
An independently published magazine, popularized in anarchist and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) culture. We call All Things New a zine although because it is professionally printed it’s not really a true zine. But it is independent.
