As each school year comes to a close, so too does the nigh on 13 year long education of the graduating year 12 students. It brings a profound experience of relief, joy and excitement (as I have experienced finishing year 12 this year). Schoolies for many is a great time to hang out with friends and experience the fun and freedom that comes with graduating. For other people it can become a harrowing experience with alcohol abuse, drugs and/or violence. 

One may ask, what options are there for Christians who want to celebrate but don’t want a typical party setting? 

Acacia went with a group of friends to Inverloch. They spent time playing games, watching movies, going to the beach and enjoying each other’s company. After the stress and work of the school year Acacia found the time away spiritually rejuvenating. As she said, “the lack of structure helped me get back into the rhythm of daily prayers, which I struggled with during the busyness of senior high school.” She also found that her prayers were different from the exam time prayers of “help me … give me strength” to more “spontaneous prayers of wonder and thankfulness.

Miranda was one of the people opting for an 'alternative schoolies’ experience. These aim to offer a "safe, fun, loving, and nurturing environment” as a contrast to typical schoolies antics. She joined a group of 13 young Christian students and 5 leaders from ‘The Camping Program’ to the Pacific island nation of Samoa in 2013. 

Most of the time was spent in Apia, the capital of Samoa. Activities included swimming, snorkeling, shopping with locals, hiking up the surrounding mountains and playing lots of board games and sport. They also travelled to the nearby of Savaii, where they stayed in little huts called ‘falés.’ The locals organised a ‘Fia Fia’ cultural night with music, dancing and fire juggling. They also received demonstrations in climbing up coconut trees to pick coconuts. On Sunday, they went to a local church service, with boisterous and beautiful singing from the congregation. 

An inland swim in Samoa

Going to Samoa also offered the opportunity to love and serve the locals and “sow back into the Samoan community.” The group visited a local high school and a victim support school, which helps educate young women who have suffered abuse. It was a touching experience for the group as, in Miranda’s words, "Through Christ, they have a joy that is absolutely beautiful and can overcome even the most hurting of pasts."

It was also spiritually nourishing for the participants with devotionals, prayer and the aforementioned church services. The benefits of the trips continued after the end, as they were able to be “encouraged in our faith, but [also] to make amazing, life-long friends who continue to encourage us in our faith and whom we can rely upon.”

On the other side of schoolies are the people giving their time to ensure that school leavers have a safe and enjoyable time. One such group of people are the Red Frogs, founded in 1997 by Andy Gourley. The Red Frogs aim to safeguard young people by providing a "positive peer presence in alcohol-fueled environments …, educate young people on safe partying behaviours, and promote and provide non-alcoholic and/or diversionary activities that engage young people in these environments." 

Red Frogs Australia

Michelle recently volunteered with Red Frogs at Phillip Island. The Red Frogs well known activities include giving out free Allens Red Frogs (from which their name derives), cooking pancakes, walking/bussing people home and calling for medical assistance when necessary. They also provided a safety zone on the foreshore with bottles of water, first aid and a safe place for people to calm down and relax in an otherwise chaotic environment. The presence of Red Frogs is often critical in emergency situations with first aid being provided or an ambulance being called that saves lives. Even the simple things like giving out water or walking people home helps to keep party-goers in relatively good health. As Michelle says, “we so often find ourselves in the right place at the right time to quickly respond to people in need.”

Furthermore, a major part of the role is simply providing emotional support and having a reassuring presence. As Michelle describes “we get to connect with young people and show genuine care for and interest in them.” Some people are surprised at the care and interest Red Frogs volunteers have – “young people are astounded that we are willing to sacrifice sleep, time, and money to ensure their safety.”  

The motivation to serve for many of the volunteers is the Christian praxis of loving one’s neighbor and being there to provide assistance. As Jesus said “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink …” (Matthew 25:35-6). Michelle describes her experience as a Christian: “This is my 4th year doing Red Frogs, and every year I come away with a greater sense of God's love for the vulnerable and of just how big He is… I'm also really grateful for the friendships I've made with other volunteers on Red Frogs who both support and challenge me as I navigate my walk with God. The week gets pretty tiring and intense, and I always find that I learn something new and unexpected as I'm forced to rely more and more on God for strength and energy.” 

Amidst the chaos and drama of schoolies, there are many options for Christians who want to celebrate with friends and grow in their faith outside the typical party environment. There are also opportunities for Christians to volunteer and serve young people, such as with the Red Frogs, to help them have a safe and enjoyable experience.

For more information about The Camping Program Samoa program see: 
http://www.thecampingprogram.org.au/sac-schoolies-in-samoa.html

For more information about the work and background of Red Frogs: http://au.redfrogs.com

In 2016 we celebrated and acknowledged the service of Cath Solomon to the Indigenous people of Gippsland and her work over many years with the Baptist Union of Victoria.

A service of recognition and thanks was held at Lakes Entrance Baptist Church with family and friends from the Gippsland area and beyond attending to Acknowledge ‘Aunty Cath’s’ faithful and fruitful service.

Leaders from across faith traditions in Australia and around the world are calling for massive government-controlled investments to be moved from fossil fuels and into renewable energy and other solutions to climate change. This would affect government superannuation funds and sovereign wealth funds like the Future Fund

Leaders from global faith groups, financial institutions and foundations – and ordinary people of faith – have come together to make the powerful call to action, which is contained the COP22 Interfaith Climate Statement and in line with the Paris Agreement. It joins the growing call for urgent action on climate change.

In Australia, Thea Ormerod, President, Australian Religious Response to Climate Change, pointed to the need for urgent action on climate change: “The world has lost precious time in the last few decades, as countries have held back from acting with wisdom, self-transcendence and care for the global common good. Now change needs to happen at emergency speed. We pull together as a human community, or we all lose.”

Rev. Dr. Vicky Balabanski, Director of the Forum on Religion and Ecology, noted that “Each religion speaks about issues of value and meaning, and I urge the decision makers to recognise that this united call of religious leaders is about the fundamental value of preserving and valuing life — of humans, others species and eco-systems, whose flourishing is threatened by climate change. In order to preserve and enhance our shared life, we need to act now and scale up action on climate change.’

Anne Markey, Lead for Goolwa Dharma Group and the Ashtree Sangha in Adelaide, pointed out that “Our world is dependant on us and we are dependant on our world. With this comes a call for responsibility, care and understanding. Every effort must be made by every human being to honour this connection. We now have a precious opportunity to act collectively to heal our world, our earth, our mother, our body.”

Signatories to the Interfaith Climate Statement include His Holiness the Dalai Lama; Monsignor Marcelo Sánchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences; Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, General Secretary, World Council of Churches; Sayyid M. Syeed, Islamic Society of North America; Archbishop Desmond Tutu; and over 220 other leaders from around the globe. Other signatories include senior Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Muslim, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Episcopal, Baptist, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Quaker, Unitarian Universalist, Indigenous and other spiritual leaders.

The Statement includes a set of imperatives designed to speed a transition to a low carbon future in a timeframe consistent with the goal of limiting temperature rises to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels. The calls included shifting public finances away from fossil fuels, increasing financing to end energy poverty with renewable energy, and ensuring a just transition that protects human rights and vulnerable communities.

The faith and spiritual leaders are also urging their own communities for more commitments to divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy.

On 10 November, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) released a major announcement that it would commit to divest its investments from fossil fuels and encourage its two constituent organizations and five national affiliated institutions to do so as well. This marked the world’s first divestment announcement from a Muslim institution.

“According to Islam’s most basic and fundamental teachings, human beings have been uniquely charged with the great responsibility of being Guardians of the Earth. It goes against the mission of the ISNA to invest in fossil fuel companies whose operations and products cause such grave harm to humanity and to Creation,” said Dr. Azhar Azeez, President of the Islamic Society of North America.

More than 30 faith-based organizations from around the world collaborated on the Statement and handover event, including several based in our region. Australian Religious Response to Climate Change (ARRCC) led the Australasian effort. ARRCC promotes ethical, environmentally sustainable, healthy and contented lifestyles which respect the Earth’s precious natural resources, and advocates, from a faith perspective, for public policies which contribute to climate justice. It was joined by the Anglican Church of Australia (represented by former Premier of South Australia, Rev. Dr. Lynn Arnold, who is now Chair of the Church’s Public Affairs Commission), Catholic Earthcare Australia, and Multifaith Association of South Australia.

The event also included presentations by philanthropic foundation leaders. Mark Sainsbury, Chair of the Mark Leonard Trust , made the financial case for divest invest: “The Paris Agreement, new regulations and technological innovation will see fossil fuel companies lose value and market share to sustainable energy technologies. In fact, it’s happening already. We’re in a sustainable energy revolution and I believe it’s wiser to invest in the low carbon technology of today and tomorrow, not the high carbon technology of yesterday,” he said.

Ellen Dorsey, Executive Director of the Wallace Global Fund , stated, “Governments have significant influence on global finance with their investment assets. Nations can play a critical and stabilising role in expediting the transition from a fossil-fuel based economy to a net-zero carbon economy, mitigating the financial and humanitarian risks of dangerous climate change. Nations’ sovereign wealth funds must be invested consistent with the commitments made in Paris."

Rev Fletcher Harper, Executive Director of US-based GreenFaith said, “Religious and spiritual communities recognize that the earth is a gift, and that it is our responsibility to protect it. In the face of the climate crisis, we are all required to act and to immediately shift away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. Faith communities are also united in their concern to care for the most vulnerable and are committed to bring distributed, clean power to the 1.1 billion people globally who lack access to electricity by 2030.”

More Information:

BUV 2006 Resolution on Global Warming
BUV 2015 Environment & Sustainability Discussion Resources
COP22 Faith Statement
List of faith-based groups that collaborated on COP22 Faith Statement
Archbishop Desmond Tutu video on divestment
Islamic Society of North America Divestment and Reinvestment Resolution
Light for a New Day: Faith and Energy Ethics