Movement News:

Student Christian Movement Aotearoa (SCMA)

2004 December

National Office News

SCMA is excited that early this year it commissioned the regional development workers programme and is convinced it is the way to go. SCMA must regain its pole position on campuses and offer its critical thinking mass as a challenge to right wing fundamental Christian growth. It is out of this vision that SCMA will launch a movement development fund on 14 December 2004. The Agnes MacGregor Salmond Movement Development Fund will become the financial backbone for the movement building efforts over the next decade and beyond. Nesta Salmond was a leader in the movement and served as National Secretary. SCMA is grateful to the family for according us the honour to name the fund after her.

2004 September

National Coordinating Group

SCMA says thanks and goodbye to Michael Wallace who has served diligently as Convenor of the National Coordinating Group (NCG) till last month when he stepped down to prepare for his new assignment as General Secretary for the World Student Christian Federation in Geneva. Stuart Bradshaw, outgoing treasurer, replaces Michael. Farewell Michael, welcome Stuart. Other members of the NCG are Daniel List (Otago), Tilly Flood (Canterbury), Jean Kite and Toby Harper (Auckland), Jonathan Ah Kit (Victoria), Stuart Bradshaw (Treasurer/Convenor) and Mandla Akhe Dube (national secretary).

2003 December

Live-In Theological Experience

SCMA is also preparing for the LITE (Live-In Theological Experience), which is run with Theology House and the support of Christian Conference of Aotearoa New Zealand (CCANZ). This is the third LITE that SCMA has co-organised and it will be held at the Cracroft Guide Centre from 8-12 December 2003. LITE is aimed at school-leavers and tertiary students and this year, the theme will be on peace, linking it with the World Council of Churches Decade to Overcome Violence.

2003 July-December

2003 SCMA National Conference

The SCMA annual national conference was held in July at Millervale Campsite in Warrington Beach, near Dunedin. Conference highlights included a very stimulating forum led by a Dunedin Interfaith group, a talk from the Dunedin Prostitute’s Collective, and a night with local Senior Friends for a brief service followed by a presentation from Mandla akhe Dube about SCM Zimbabwe and the situation in Zimbabwe.

National Secretary’s visit to Cambodia SCM

Tess Windle, national secretary of SCMA, visited the Cambodia SCM after her attendance at the SELF programme in Thailand. She met Paddy Noble who is there on a Movement Exchange programme between the 2 SCMs. Tess also met up with the students of Cambodia SCM whom she had sharing and exchanges with on the structures, activities and development of both SCMs. It was hoped that both SCMs will continue their close relationship in mutual encouragement and support.

2002 February

SCMA has had a change of staff recently, with Michael Perkins, the National Secretary leaving to take up fulltime work in December with the Ministry of Education. He has been replaced by Tess Windle who has been a member of SCM for nearly ten years while she has been at university either studying or working. Two years ago she completed her Masters degree in Sociology on the Catholic Worker Movement in New Zealand and since then she has been working part-time in the Education Department. She will be working 20 hours a week in the SCMA office. SCMA has fortunately not lost Michael though and he is now a member of the National Co-ordinating Group and is still currently the webmaster of SCMA’s website (www.scm.org.nz).

Two main events on SCMA’s calendar this year are hosting the WSCF AP Women Doing Theology Workshop in September, in Wellington, and setting up a Regional Development Workers scheme. SCMA is very excited about having the Women Doing Theology Workshop in Aotearoa as it will be the first time in many years that an Asia-Pacific regional programme has been held in New Zealand. The other major development, the Regional Development Workers scheme, is also exciting as it means that local units will have part-time paid workers to help them expand and reach a wider number of students. Initial funding for the scheme has been found and the task this year will be to appoint people and get the scheme underway.