Avondale College of Higher EducationComment: Festival of Faith
Kirsten Bolinger
Public relations editorial assistant
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
Students stand up against poverty at a Festival of Faith that challenged them to deliver justice with their day-to-day choices. Credit: Ann Stafford.
My cheek is still burning from the slap I received at Festival of Faith this past week.
Of course, I’m speaking metaphorically, but between the large environmental projection-like screen standing imposingly behind speaker Joanne Darby and the rhythmic music that moved my soul as well as my feet, the festival is an experience I’ll not forget.
Joanne passionately showed us we can all be “The house that bears His name” by delivering justice to the world with our day-to-day choices. One of her key texts: Amos 5:21-22, which tells of God’s disgust for injustice. She answered the question, “Is my God green?” with a resounding yes, giving scriptural evidence such as Numbers 35, which tells us how to coexist with the natural world.
The green theme extended to Cafe Rejuve, which sold Fairtrade hot drinks during the week. The cafe is a not-for-profit project of Regeneration, an Avondale College Seventh-day Adventist Church-based young adult Bible study. All profits support Regeneration’s overseas mission projects such as Make A Stand for Clean Water, which is raising money for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Malawi Well Project.
The meeting on Friday evening ended with more than 400 people standing against poverty as part of the worldwide Stand Up event this weekend that precedes a Millennium Development Goals summit at the United Nations.
I received a humbling dose of reality at Festival of Faith. Now the question is, “What am I going to do with it?”
