ASA busy reaching out

The Adventist Students Association (ASA) has been busy lately with a number of projects designed to help students and others explore faith and develop relationships.

On the weekend of August 26 to 28, seven student leaders from ASA, the Newcastle Adventist Students Association (NASA), Avondale College’s Young Adult Networks (YAN) and the Avondale Student and Faculty Association (ASFA) joined forces to form the inaugural UNICO team that travelled to the New South Wales town of Armidale to visit the University of New England (UNE) campus. This was done to help initiate a long-term relationship that includes plans to develop an Adventist university student group on the campus and a broad strategy for on-campus outreach.

Dr Sven Ostring, president of ASA, and Richard Carter, president of ASFA, travelled to Armidale on the Friday to meet with various representatives of groups on the Armidale UNE campus, to gain a deeper understanding of student life and determine possibilities for an Adventist ministry on the UNE campus. From these discussions, the concept of an annual sports competition between Newcastle–Avondale and UNE sports teams was developed. Also, the possibilities of organising Christian musical concerts and religious forums on the campus were explored, together with the opportunity of joining other churches for city-wide Christian celebration events. The rest of the weekend was spent socialising with UNE students, discussing university ministry and exploring possibilities for further meetings and interaction with those on the Armidale campus.

ASA also organised a religious forum in early June, with panelists including a Christian who teaches theology, a former Baptist who has devoted his life to Buddhism, and an Iranian Baha’i persecuted for her faith. Avondale College students joined those from the University of Newcastle and others at the forum on Newcastle’s Callaghan campus on June 8. They came to hear Sanaz Khanlari (Baha’i), Gregg Heathcoate (Buddhism) and Ray Roennfeldt (Christianity) answer life’s great questions, as posed by Dr Ostring.

The panellists each discussed their respective journey of faith, why they followed their religious traditions and what was important about life and the relationship between God and humanity. All spoke of grace and explored how their faith had developed and changed their lives.

One of the most profound observations from the forum came from the university’s Anglican chaplain, Bruce Perry, who commented that the panel demonstrated Christian faith—the ability to let everyone have their say. Christians have the confidence that Christianity will be convincing without the need to suppress everyone else’s ideas and beliefs, he said.—Adele Nash/Clansi Roy