Reunited - SCF-SU seeking continuing relationship with graduates
published: Saturday | March 20, 2004

- Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
Key players in the upcoming Caribbean Graduates Conference 2004 examine one of the promotional flyers. Seated is the Dr. Rawle Tyson, pastor of Christian Life Fellowship, Papine, St. Andrew. Standing from left are: Dr. Las Newman, Regional Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students; Sam McCook, vice chairman of Students Christian Fellowship and Scripture Union; Dr. Barry Wade, former chairman of Students Christian Fellowship and Scripture Union. The four spoke with The Gleaner during an interview at the offices of Christian Life Fellowship.

Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter

FOR YEARS persons who passed through high school and various post-secondary institutions have benefited from the ministry of the Inter-Schools Christian Fellowship (ISCF) and the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF). Many such students were graduated from their respective schools and thereafter there was little relationship with ISCF and/or UCCF.

The absence of such a continuing relationship have for years been a matter of concern to the Students Christian Fellowship & Scripture Union (SCF-SU) - the parent body of the ISCF and UCCF. Next month, to forge a stronger bond, the SCF-SU will host Caribbean Graduates Conference 2004, an opportunity for graduates to not only reunite but to look at life and various development issues through the lense of a Christian worldview. The conference will be held April 2-3 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, New Kingston.

Although the conference targets those who have been influenced by UCCF and ISCF, it is open to anyone who thinks he/she will benefit -- Christian or non-Christian.

The 56-year-old SCF-SU has a presence in about 200 high schools and 26 post-secondary institutions in Jamaica. It is non-denominational in character but with a strong evangelical outlook.

LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT

Sam McCook, vice chairman of SCF-SU said the graduates of the movement will have during the conference the opportunity to say how the relationship can be strengthened.

"For some time the organisation has thought about how it could increase its relevance to graduates of the movement. The movement has traditionally focused primarily on students at the secondary and tertiary level. The graduate involvement has primarily been in the form of financial support, time, talent, and skills. Over time the need became more apparent for some level of engagement outside of sporadic initiatives and where people give their support out of a sense of sentiment, sometimes out of a sense of mission. The idea was how can we do something that would make a unique contribution to this group of people," Mr. McCook said.

The organisers are anticipating a minimum of 200 conference participants, some of whom are coming from other Caribbean nations. They anticipate that the conference will spur participants to return to their locales and better contribute to positive community transformation.

Mr. McCook and Dr. Las Newman, Regional Secretary of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, who is one of the chief planners of the conference, both explained that the conference seeks also to provide professionals and businesspeople with a forum for career and self-analysis, especially to reflect on their life's journey by exploring the paths they have taken, discovering where they are now, and plotting the way forward to their desired destination.

LEADERSHIP

Dr. Newman explained that many graduates are in mid- or late-career and they face issues in their jobs and family life, and are grappling for an appropriate response informed by their Christian knowledge and faith. "The feeling is that we should have a continuing relationship with all the people we have produced. The relationship is really one of leadership. The leadership is in the topics to be dealt with and these issues are issues - the question is how do you apply your Christian knowledge and Christian faith to the growth.

The main session of the conference is a four-hour workshop led by renowned organisational development specialist, Dr Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge.

According to SCF-SU general secretary Rev. Dr. Stevenson Samuels, Dr. Judge is "the management consultant version of Oprah Winfrey". She has been compared to Stephen Coveys and has worked with persons of that ilk. Furthermore, she is a missions-minded person as she heads such a ministry in her local church in the United Kingdom, where she lives with her husband, a leading neuroscientist," said Dr. Newman.

He continued, she will skilfully guide participants along the path of self-discovery and goal-setting, drawing from her vast experience in organisational leadership and management development. She boasts an impressive resume and list of clients (Shell, BBC) including governments (UK and Dubai) and several major blue chip companies. "She is going to focus on feelings of where you are at in your life. She is a kind of life coach and management coach", said Dr. Newman. ( Further information on Dr. Judge is available at /www.quality-equality.com/index.shtml and http://www.quality-equality.com/ main/thisisqe/meeyan.htm)

MORE THAN A TALK-SHOP

Opening the conference will be the Rev. Dr. Sam Vassel, senior pastor of Bronx Bethany Church of the Nazarene in New York. He will address the theological and cultural context of the conference and deliver a motivational word.

The conference organisers say that the event will be more than a talk-shop. To illustrate, Dr. Barry Wade, former chairman of SCF-SU said that as he and social scientist Miss Toni Burrowes, of Barbados addresses their subject "The Christian in Society," there will be six areas where projects can be pursued. These areas cover: Ethics and Morality, Politics and governance, environment and poverty, human rights and justice, and wellness and health.

One of the presenters for the conference, Dr. Rawle Tyson, Senior Pastor at the Christian Life Fellowship, Papine, St. Andrew, who is himself a product of the ministry of SCF-SU, said the conference offers an opportunity for reflection on values clarification and values calibration. For "the world out there saps one spiritually and it very hard to maintain your spiritual passion in the marketplace, especially when you are in a position of leadership.

"The type of faith nurtured in colleges and universities I don't think equips one sufficiently for the marketplace and the world out there. Sometimes you wonder if people don't know how to grow their faith to meet the challenges that they experience. You can't have high school faith when you are in university, and you can't have university faith when you are in the marketplace. If you don't make the faith transitions properly you can find yourself feeling that your faith is not adequate to deal with the challenges." This, he continued, would result in growth in some areas of life and imbalance in key areas of one's spiritual life.