Reflections and Stories | Page 20 | Student Christian Movement

A Story of Racism

15 Oct 2015

One of my most significant memories of growing up in a migrant African Caribbean family in Bradford, West Yorkshire, was my first day at school. I arrived at the gates of an infant school in September 1969, the first child of Noel and Lucille Reddie. I was five years old. I remember being placed...

Of Holy Hills and Forbidden Walls

24 Sep 2015

It was truly an opportunity of a lifetime to visit the Holy Land in the month of June this year. The trip was made possible by a grant from the Society of Friends of St.Andrew’s Jerusalem, Church of Scotland. The whole experience could be briefly shared in two interconnected sections: One is the...

Exodus and Exile

21 Sep 2015

From beginning to end the Bible is a narrative of migration, compiled from the stories of migrants. Adam and Eve are exiled. Abraham leaves his home for the Promised Land. Joseph was a resident alien. Moses and the Israelites find freedom through emigration. Displacement follows empire. Jesus...

Life after university

22 Jun 2015

Firstly, if you are graduating this year: well done!

Secondly, you’re probably thinking about what life will be like. Leaving university or college can feel both exciting and scary with the balance fluctuating wildly between the two, especially if you’re enjoyed your university...

Are you ready to find your life?

27 Apr 2015

Vocation: what does that word mean to you? I have...

Staying Silent: Why Christians Hide Support for Same Sex Relationships (Part Two)

15 Apr 2015

My name is Joey. I’m a gay Christian. I need to say that more often.

Five years ago, I went home from university for the weekend to tell my Mum that I’m gay. I’d spent my first year as a student embracing Warwick Chaplaincy life, where I was welcomed with tea and cake and made great...

Staying Silent: Why Christians Hide Support for Same Sex Relationships (Part One)

13 Apr 2015

When I was 19 I became a Christian. I was welcomed into a conservative evangelical church in which I was loved and supported. But I was also exposed to some beliefs and attitudes which took me years to shake off and recover from.

Let me set a scene: a teenager in a church youth group asks...

International Women's Day: Alberta Williams King

3 Mar 2015

Sunday 8th March is International Women’s Day; this is a day of celebration and recognition of the achievements of women across the world. This year, the official UN theme is ‘Make It Happen’. All too often women’s achievements are sidelined and ignored, and International Women’s Day attempts to...

Incarnational Student Work

12 Feb 2015

I love it when someone suggests a long word for something you’ve been thinking about but didn’t have a way of describing. This week’s word is ‘incarnational’, which basically means living it out, rather than telling people what to do.

I think this is an important word for a movement like...

Doubt and Uncertainty

23 Jan 2015

At the recent ‘Godly Mayhem’ conference organised by the Progressive Christianity Network and SCM, one of the student participants raised the question of whether students are too young to cope with doubt, and whether embracing doubt and uncertainty is something we can only do when we are older...