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2001 - a faith odyssey?

Songe and Greg

Lift off

On Sunday night the 24 June Mission Week '2001 - a faith odyssey' was opened with a gentle service of praise, prayer and testimony in the Littlejohn Memorial Chapel.

We were introduced by interview to Songe and Greg from African Enterprise. Attendance was optional for the boarders. The prayer of one of the senior boys especially moved me. At supper afterwards about fifty people lingered. It was as if they wanted to hold on to the feeling of a shared interest in a great intangible reality.

More recently, in the school holidays, a parent rang to tell how impressed her son and his friends had been with Mission Week, especially the Paul Colman Trio concert.

I was pleased to have this feedback.
It confirmed my own impressions that many of the boys had been deeply moved by the members of the band and the way they had related, not only to boys in the Memorial Hall Concert but also to Songe Chibambo and Greg Smerdon.

The First Stage

Songe and Greg were in the school for the week. They spoke to all senior school year levels and spent lunchtime and recess meeting boys in the schoolyard. These AE evangelists spoke to all the year levels in the senior school. They explained the Christian gospel with stories drawn on their vastly different cultural experiences and commended the importance of Christian discipleship. Songe was raised in rural Malawi and as a boy would go hunting up to ten kilometres from home. Greg had a Scottish grandfather and an African grandmother. Today they work in the wide ranging work of African Enterprise.

By way of contrast, Andrew Bryant came to Scotch with stories full of Aussie flavour. Drawing on his experience as youth pastor in a Sydney church and previously as a jackaroo on a Northern Territory cattle station he was able to lace his explanation of Bible passages with a cultural immediacy that many boys found quite compelling and challenging.

Professor Kerr Graham of Melbourne University and the Royal Children's Hospital spoke to Years 11 and 12. One result of his presentation was that six boys have arranged to do work experience with him! Fr Nic Frances, Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, caused quite a stir among Year 12 students. His impressive anti-materialism coupled with theologically liberal attitudes raised important questions for all thoughtful students.

A Second Stage

There was a 'second stage' to Mission this year. It comprised young Old Boys (Young OSCAs) coming back to talk to class groups about why Christianity has had a place in their life since they left Scotch. Here we were indebted to Jon Gunthorpe, previously a Maths teacher at Scotch, and now a student at Ridley College, for organizing a number of Young OSCAs linked into the email prayer network. Rob Turnbull ('00) turned up and straightaway met Songe in my office. Immediately he began to explain to Songe that it was his visit four years previously that had begun his own faith odyssey.

Some musical friends and other Young OSCAs accompanied Rob: Josh Humphreys ('98), Marc Allison ('95), Glen Macrae ('98) and Lachie Turner ('98). They spoke to class groups about Two Ways to Live, or even better shared their own personal testimony.

I heard these were warmly received and avidly listened to by senior students. Lachie, who was himself converted to Christ on his journey through Scotch, wrote of the experience of talking to a class of Year 12 boys: 'I think the boys really were challenged by the lack of age difference. Meaning that they couldn't put off Christianity as an older person's thing.' He explained that during his early years at Scotch he was challenged with the message of Christianity:

Paul Colman Trio My starting point, like most people, was a vague belief in God, a benevolent being who is there when you need him, but gives you space otherwise. For me, this was what Christianity meant. But particularly through mission week one year this 'Christianity' was challenged by the Bible, God's communication of what being Christian is about. After being encouraged to read it for myself I discovered a God who was very different. A God who had a purpose in creation, a deep love for humanity and engaged with us personally. This God, in the person of Christ, called me to follow him and put God's priorities ahead of my own. Most importantly, he called me into a relationship with him, showing me our need of him. My new life with God began in Year 11 and from then has been a growing closer to Him through changing experience and development.

The Young OSCAs also assisted the Christian Forum which had a higher profile this mission. In addition to sharing material on Two Ways to Live they raised money for David Lynch ('95) - now youth minister at Kingston University in Hull, UK.

Mission Features - PCT Concert and 'Magic Happens?'

Term 2 concluded with the Paul Colman Trio Concert in the Memorial Hall. This took place at the same time as 'Magic Happens' was being presented to Year 7 boys in the lecture theatre. The boys who wanted more of the astonishing illusions and not so much talk, critiqued the illusionists, Tim Ellis and Sue-Anne Webster!

To the stars

After the brilliant Paul Colman Trio Concert I watched a series of boys approach Songe and Greg to say goodbye before leaving for their holidays. It wasn't just a handshake.

Songe, Graham Bradbeer and Greg Songe and Greg embraced the boys in a masculine and unembarrassed demonstration of heartfelt affection which the boys reciprocated. This was unusual and remarkable. Of the concert one staff member commented: 'It was quite exceptional.'

There was tremendous warmth towards Songe Chibambo and Greg Smerdon, the evangelists, and the feedback information confirms this. Many boys have expressed interest in learning more about the faith and quite a few of these have, like Lachie and Rob of previous years, clearly begun their faith odyssey.

Rev. Graham Bradbeer, Chaplain

Graham Bradbeer with Mission Week guests Songe Chibambo (L) and

Greg Smerdon (R).

Updated: Monday 24 June 2013