Where would Jesus poop?

Greetings from Toronto and the University of Toronto SCM, host of this year’s Shine! General Conference (coming up May 2-10!)! Plans for this year’s special conference are coming together well, and we are particularly excited for the Queer and Christian Without Contradiction Gathering which will be enmeshed with SCM’s annual Conference.

SCM Epiphany Grand Tour of Canada

As I write, I’m on the train with my Toronto counterpart, SCM’s new National Co-Coordinator, Emily Carr, for a grand ‘SCM Epiphany’ recruitment tour. I love the train… watching the country roll by, having some time to reflect on the future of SCM and how we can better support student involvement and leadership in this rather unique and visionary movement. The prairies, the mountains… it’s all so beautiful and humbling.

A good dose of anti-oppression training, SCM-style

Reflecting on the recent political drama being carried out by the politicians in the Canadian Parliament, Katherine (SCM Eastern Rep) and I were joking about if Parliament were to institute “group norms” similar to those guidelines that are used at SCM gatherings to create safe space for all participating. Much hilarity ensued...

From coast to foggy coast

As I write it’s almost 1 a.m. I am on an island that is 30 minutes off of the time-space continuum and upon which things happen quite differently from what I am used to; it all seems hidden in a fog. No, this is not the mysterious magical island on the show Lost. I am in fact in St. John’s, Newfoundland enjoying spectacular hospitality and friendliness.

International Women's Day at the United Nations

Happy Women’s Day! March 8 marks the International Women’s Day. I am a delegate at the 53rd commission on the status of women, held by and put on by the United Nations in New York. I am here as a representative of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), which is encompassed in the UN-recognized organization “ecumenical women.”

Meeting with Tony Blair

Early in December, Mitchell Anderson and Sheryl Johnson had the opportunity to attend a roundtable hosted by Tony Blair and Belinda Stronach to mark the launch of the Faith Acts Fellows Programme, an opportunity for young adults from Canada, the US, and the UK of a variety of religious traditions to embark on a 9-month internship.

On the radio!

Hey, check out an interview I did this morning (frightfully early when it was minus 14 outside) on CKUW radio

Preparing for the Pilgrimage

Just a quick post to let people know how our Pilgrimage to the School of the Americas is going. We set out next Wednesday for a week-long social justice road trip to the gates of a US army base notorious for training human rights abusers in Latin America.

SCM represented at US ecumenical youth conference

I had the pleasure of attending a young adult pre-conference, entitled New Fire, to the National Council of Churches, USA Annual Meeting in Denver Colorado. The pre-conference involved young adult representatives from many American denominations (mainly Mainline Protestant, but also some Catholic, Orthodox, and “Evangelical” Protestant) as well as individuals from Ecumenical organizations.

We are NOT alone: The Pilgrimage to the School of the Americas

It’s strange - all of a sudden I am hit by emotion. It’s weird - I was so unemotional while in Georgia, only connected on an intellectual level, really.

The cusp of a transformation

Coffee tonight with a great friend, youth minister, and sometime-SCMer was quite fantastic. Together, our conversation spanned a number of issues, but what was most poignant for me was the realization that both of us felt that something is changing within humanity right now - like we’re on the cusp of a transformation, at the eve of God’s revolutionary reign. Sometimes it is really amazing to see how the Spirit is working through so many avenues to create pockets of resistance, to bring about revolutionary transformation.