USA Student Christian Movement in the Midst of Resurrection

Friday, September 25, 2009

USA Student Christian Movement in the Midst of Resurrection

Steering Committee gathers from across the United States to plan rebirth of
movement.

Forty years after the heyday of student activism in 1968, Christian student
activists from across the Christian spectrum are rising as a force once
again. The planning of a beautiful revival to face the great challenges of
the 21st century and take steps towards realizing the Kingdom of God has
gained traction in the hearts of students near and far and this weekend a
steering committee laid down the first concrete steps towards further
organization and action.

Following a historic conference in January bringing together progressive
Christians with a global vision of change, students in the United States are
reclaiming their prophetic voice. “Raising New Prophets: Arising of a
Movement,” the first North American Regional conference of the World Student
Christian Federation in decades, was organized to re-energize a student
Christian movement in the U.S. Now, 9 months later, a steering committee is
deep in strategic planning sessions towards grassroots networking of
ecumenical communities on campuses nation-wide.

Included within this session are meetings with theologians from different
seminaries in New York, the trustees who carried the spirit of the movement
from previous incarnations, and representatives of the National Council of
Churches and World Council of Churches

This effort will culminate in October of 2010 with the official launch of
the renewed student Christian movement in the United States. Student
representatives from seminaries, colleges, and universities across the
country will come together to discuss how they will collectively put their
faith into action towards progressive Christian concerns.

The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a network of more than 100
national movements in every region of the world. Founded in 1895, the WSCF
was a precursor to the World Council of Churches (WCC) and now has advisory
status with the WCC as well as consultative status with the United Nations
and UNESCO.

“Students have struggled, and sometimes even died, to build a movement that
follows the radical life of Jesus Christ,” said Alice Hageman, an alumni and
chair for the trustees of the U.S. Student Christian Movement (SCM), which
voted itself out of existence in 1969. “It is they who paved the way.”

Current leaders of the ecumenical movement recognize the debt they owe to
the Student Christian Movement. The rich legacy has fostered nascent
leadership for over 100 years, including the involvement of such figures as
Martin Luther King Jr. and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

For more information, see www.wscfusatrustees.org and www.wscfglobal.org

CONTACTS:

Luciano Kovacs, Regional Secretary, (646) 246-8936, wscfna@gmail.com
<wscfna@gmail.com>

Nickie Gonzalez Moreno, Student and Steering Committee Chair,
Tejanachickie@gmail.com

Bill Muhler , Senior Friend and member of the WSCF USA Trustees,
510-531-5155 william.muhler@comcast.net