Campus Conversations: Day 1

After six months of preparation and planning, Creation Care: Campus Conversations launched officially with a special chapel on Monday, May 19. Special for several reasons.

Rachel, Elikia, Joel, Ben (L to R)

First, the entire UCBC community joined together. Usually, only students and faculty attend Monday and Friday chapel services. The technical staffs of grounds crew, mechanics, and construction workers have their own prayer and Bible study time on Saturdays. Second, chapel was conducted in Swahili and English, rather than French and English. Third, we had special guests in attendance. In addition to Jay and Jessica Shewan (brother and sister-in-law of one of our international staff), four experts and practitioners in environmental stewardship rounded out the gathering.  Joel Vwira Tembo (Goma Business Services), Elikia Amani Zahinda (Congolese Foresters Network), Rachel Lamb (Young Evangelicals for Climate Action) and Ben Lowe (Evangelical Environmental Network and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action) had come to join us as teachers and facilitators for the week. 

Honoré set the stage for the week, welcoming our special guests and also UCBC’s technical crew. He reminded us all that we are ONE community. Each of us has a role, a job, a set of responsibilities, talents and gifts. None of these outshines any other. We are all members of one body. To be honest, that message was one that I had hoped would be communicated. UCBC requires students to do manual labor each week. Work Program is one way we teach and remind students that manual labor is a responsibility and its own reward. A university diploma is not “ticket out.” It is a “commitment to.” It’s a commitment to honor and respect those who labor physically and a commitment to share in the physical burdens of all who make up our communities.

Ben teaches, Katsongo interprets

It's too easy to get caught up in one's own concerns and spin daily activities in our own sphere. I know I regularly fail to recognize those whose labors, whether intellectual or physical, spin at the outer edges of my own.

Research and agribusiness meeting
Elikia Amani Zahinda (L) and
Joel Vwira Tembo (R) flank Jon Shaw

After singing, introductions, and an outline of the week's activities, Honoré welcomed Ben to the podium. Katsongo, Theology Faculty Coordinator, translated as Ben gave a brief teaching entitled, "Creation Care: Discipleship and Faithful Witness." 

English teachers
(L to R) Mashauri,  John, Josias

In the afternoon, Ben, Rachel, Elikia, and Joel met with the team heading up UCBC’s initiative to strengthen research capacity through an examination of agri-business education. The purpose of the meeting was to establish professional connections and push the conversation about agri-business, sustainability, environmental stewardship, and agro-forestry. Afterwards, the visiting team and English teachers gathered at my house for afternoon tea.

(L to R) Joel, Rachel, Ben,
Kinangani (director of RTB), and me