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Re: [Linux-aus] Request for Grant from Linux Australia for Ubertweak

Tim Ansell wrote:

On Tue, 2006-09-12 at 12:41 +1000, Elspeth Thorne wrote:


Ubertweak is a Christian camp for high school kids that is run (at present) twice a year in Winter and Spring, and has been running since 1996. Our parent organisation is Scripture Union Queensland.


I have to admit that as a non-Christian this makes me a little uneasy. 

I thank you for being open enough to clearly mention in the proposal
that you are a Christan camp.

From your website it appears that the camp is clearly for the promotion 
and furthering the Christian faith.

For example, on the Leader section:
       It is a requirement of Scripture Union camps that leaders be
       committed christians involved in annual scripture union
       leadership training events.
and on the A Day in the Life of section:
       9:00am Where else should God be but first in our lives, and our
       day.
Thanks for your time.

Tim Ansell



True, our parent organisation is a not-for-profit Christian organisation, and we have to abide by their rules, specifically with regards to training of leaders and the like.

On the other hand, many of the kids who come along are *not* christian, have no desire to be christian, and that's just fine. We are not evangelistic; we encourage discussion, yes, but we're not out to stomp on anyone's personal beliefs. There are quite a few aethists and usually a pagan or two along to camp, some of which come back in following years for the computing material. I personally find the view of camp as a vehicle to promote Christianity repungant. Reconnecting exisiting Christians with their local communities, yes; new Christians? Not so much. I do not think that a decision on religion should be made in an artificial environment, particulary not in such a short-lived environment, and Scripture Union policy is to not encourage such committments.

On the website information: Yes, we have a bible study first up in the morning. However, the time spent on this is quite a bit less than spent on the more technical side of camp. Also, most of the non-christians who have come on camp have found the studies informative, not an attempt at conversion. We aim for education, not conformity.

Regards,

Elspeth.