Campus Frontline: Joint Schools BBQ @ Nutrients for Life (Issue 496)
Ben Hung, Director of Inter-school Department
“The nutrients of life is …… roasted chicken wings!” joked the staff as we prepared for the event.”
Following up on the Inter-School Orientation (ISO) in October, this Joint Schools BBQ is an extension of the Fellowship Leader workshops. Besides inviting the leaders of the school fellowships, we welcome them to bring their committee members to join us. Thankfully, this year’s students responded positively to the Joint Schools Program, with more than 30 fellowship committee members from 8 to 10 secondary schools attending the event.
Program
The day started with a worship led by the latest Joint Schools Worship Team recruited from ISO this year. This was the first time the new worship team stepped out, and they dedicated over a month of practice and fellowship to this endeavor. This is a testament to the diversity of faith traditions, school backgrounds, personalities, and musical skills that have been set aside for the Lord’s sake to become a joint school team. This kind of group learning, which is coordinated like a body, is especially valuable in the post-pandemic period.
Then, following the background of ISO theme event of the 12 tribes’ story, we designed an experiential activity on the daily life in the wilderness based on the “Manna Incident” in the Exodus. While we seek to continue the challenge and walk with our students through the biblical world of the Old Testament, we hope to reflect on the distance between each person’s campus ministry and his or her dependence on God.
“…… Maybe in our daily lives, we don’t “discover” God’s provision, or maybe we don’t care about it at all? I am impressed that everyone is very involved and active when playing the game! At the beginning, I wondered if others would feel embarrassed or act strangely …… or I’d be embarrassed …… but it turns out everyone is very cool! I hope to bring these “nutrients” back to my fellowship. It’s not easy though, haha……” shared a student after the activity.
Sharing Feeling
After getting back to normal, the students shared that they had “recompensed” themselves by attending various camps and BBQs but were still in a “hungry” state. With the added bonus that the BBQ food was not too unpalatable, the students shared the rhythm of campus life after getting back to normal while eating half-cooked food and charcoal-roasted marshmallows. As we listened, we realized that students had a lot to adjust to: with the change in learning mode and the huge variety of extra-curricular activities available, students generally felt overwhelmed or enjoyed being swamped by the activities. This “voice” is worth digesting by every stakeholder.
Finally, we were happy to see some sparks among the joint schools being lit while we were gathering together. During the conversation, not only did some students ask about their previous joint-school activities, but also some had different ideas about the “next” joint-school time, and new possibilities were brewing together. Looking back, the “blank period” during the pandemic did bring a lot of challenges to the growth of young people, but at the same time, this blank period provided “space” for life’s imagination.
We seek to keep walking with this group of freshmen on campus, with the deep hope that the Lord’s words and deeds will be a source of nutrients in their lives.
Full text is available in Chinese version.
Articles in this issue
- 496期 -專題文章：聆聽，作為我們對話的起點
- 校園前線：聯校BBQ@生命中的養份(496期)
- 特稿：時代更迭，使命延傳——港大團聚七十週年感恩崇拜(496期)
- Abba’s World: 在創造物中尋回造物主(496期)
- 閱讀生活：《與「問題」大專生展開信仰對話》——港大團契七十周年特別出版推薦(496期)
- 感恩代求 (496期)
- 家人家事、同工消息 (496期)
- 活動資料 (496期)
- 財政收支報告 (496期)