The World Student Christian Federation (WSCF) is a global federation of student Christian groups. WSCF is ecumenical, welcoming people from all Christian traditions and encouraging dialogue between students of different traditions. WSCF has members from Protestant, Orthodox, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions and from other faiths. The local and national groups that make up the federation are largely known as Student Christian Movements (SCMs); CESCM is the North American group. In some cases the youth or student movement of a national church or other ecumenical organisation is a member of the WSCF. While university, polytechnic and other tertiary students make up the bulk of SCM membership, high school students are also involved in some movements.

After 20 years, WSCF has re-opened its North America regional office and named Rev. Brandon Gilvin to serve as the regional secretary.

CESCM representative Brandon Johnson, a member of the WSCF's executive committee, is a graduate student at Yale University Divinity School and a member of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Writers contributing to this series relate to campus ministry as students, faculty, campus ministers, and church leaders. These writers—coming from a variety of American Baptist campus ministries—all know something of the experiences one may have in the wilderness challenge.

Lent, the forty days preparation for Easter, gives us the opportunity to reflect on scripture and wilderness experiences as we deepen our commitment to the God who loves us beyond our comprehension. For the hurried student, each day’s devotion has a focused text with the devotional reading. We urge each reader to read the daily background passage as well and to spend time in prayer beyond the concluding suggested prayer.

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Are you ready to hit the highways and learn about the world? The Student & Youth Travel Association of North America creates ongoing awareness and assistance programs for the direct benefit of youth. The SYTA Youth Foundation will act as a vehicle for the many volunteer resources and funding capabilities available from SYTA members, the Student/Youth Travel Industry, the Educational Community and the Public. For more information, visit http://www.sytayouthfoundation.org.

Sweat-Free T is a part of the PC(USA) Enough for Everyone Global Discipleship Initiative — a program that offers congregations ways to participate more justly in the global economy. Sweat-Free T educates people about the unhealthy and dangerous conditions in sweatshops where our clothes are produced, and it enables people to purchase clothes that are certified as “sweatshop free.” For more, visit http://www.pcusa.org/pcusa/wmd/sweatfree.

The Bruderhof Peacemakers Guide is a website about peacemakers, by peacemakers, for peacemakers (or would-be peacemakers). It’s a work in progress; we’ll regularly be adding new profiles of peacemakers and writings on nonviolence. We welcome your comments and suggestions for improving this resource. And we want to thank the over 100 Bruderhof members and others around the world who have already contributed artwork or essays.

What's a Bruderhof? Is it possible to “love your enemies” and “love your neighbor as yourself”? Can people from warring nations live together harmoniously? The Bruderhof is an international movement of people who seek to live in a way that (in the words of the early Quaker George Fox) “takes away the occasion for war”—and the social and economic divisions that bring about war. For more, see http://www.peacemakersguide.org.

Chiang Mai, Thailand — The energy in the room was contagious at the World Student Christian Federation's 33rd General Assembly in Chiang Mai, Thailand held August 4-15. Of the over 150 attendees from approximately 70 countries in attendance, 40 of the 72 credentialed voting delegates were students and balanced in terms of gender. The theme of the assembly was, "Talitha Cum! Arising to Life in Abundance," and it appears that the Federation is doing just that with the dynamism of its local Student Christian Movements (SCMs).

The first days in Thailand were spent engaged in gender study in Women's and Men's Pre-Assemblies. Presenters such as Asian Feminist Theologian Yong Ting Jin gave moving analysis of issues such as the trafficking of women and HIV/AIDS.

When the General Assembly began, the morning Bible Studies that set the spiritual tone included authors such as Musa Dube, Claremont College, and Salvador Martinez, UCC/DoC (USA) Missionary to Thailand. Topics including HIV/AIDS, global inequities and the mission of the Federation were at the forefront. Wong Wai Ching, former WSCF Chairperson, gave the keynote address, challenging the students to arise to life themselves. Attendees kept challenging themselves, "How are we relevant to the life of students? How do we address the effects of globalization? How will we survive the ecumenical financial crisis? Is the Federation dying?" After the first few mornings of self-analysis and comparing the WSCF to the little girl whom Jesus must raise from the dead, a student made his way to the microphone and exclaimed, "As a newcomer, after hearing about all the great work that is being done, I have to tell you, the Federation is not dead!"

This mood continued as stories from the local movements emerged. Inspiration came from programs such as the solidarity immersion projects of university students into farming in the Philippines and theological publications emerging from the 2003 Mexican Conference on "Bible, Theology, and Globalization." Delegates concurred that communication of the life of the local SCMs should be improved, and the new staff and officers pledged to overhaul the WSCF website within the next 6 months.

Michael Wallace (New Zealand) was appointed as the new Co-Secretary General of the Federation. Officers elected were Ken Guest (USA), Chair; Udan Fernando (Sri Lanka), Vice-Chair; and Youhanna Kamal (Egypt), Treasurer. In a powerful demonstration, the women of the assembly surrounded the delegates to mark the absence of a female nominee for the officers' positions from the Search Committee. In a statement read by Gabriela Miranda Garcia, the women both asked all present to take responsibility for not ensuring that more women candidates emerged from the Regions and challenged the assembly to commit to finding a female Vice-Chair. The assembly voted unanimously to leave the second vice-Chair position open, to be filled by the Executive Committee with a woman preferably within the next 6 months, but assuredly before the next ExCo Meeting (18 months). The Co-Secretary and officers made clear their commitment to the empowerment of women in their statements to the Assembly.

Other highlights included the first affiliation of movements from the Middle East Region; the association of an SCM from the world's youngest country, East Timor; and a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of the military troops in Iraq. This resolution affirms that national sovereignty includes the right to determine the means for reconstruction and calls for the governments of occupying troops to pay reparations in the amount equal to military spending for the war to date.

The programming emerging from the Assembly will be implemented in North America (NA) by the newly reformed North American Region of the WSCF. The affiliated movements of the WSCF in NA are the Council for Ecumenical Student Christian Ministries (USA) and the Student Christian Movement of Canada. The NA delegation to the GA included Sheilagh McGlynn (SCM Canada Staff), Rufaro Gwarada and Joelle Morgan (Incoming Executive Committee Members), Terry Yasuko Ogawa (Outgoing Executive Committee Member), Mario DeGiglio-Bellemare (Outgoing WSCF Vice-Chair) and Alice Hageman (Search Committee). Talks in Chiang Mai led to hopes for greater programmatic partnership between the North American and Latin America/ Caribbean Regions, especially in solidarity on the effects of free trade. Look for a strong WSCF NA presence at this year's protests at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. Persons interested in becoming involved with the WSCF in NA should contact info@scmcanada.org. Be on the lookout for a new NA Regional Page coming soon! In the mean time, please feel free to browse the sites of the 2 WSCF affiliate movements in NA, www.scmcanada.org and www.cescm.org.

World Day of Prayer for Students 2004 Liturgy

The practice of annual days of prayer for students dates back just over a hundred years. The Universal Day of Prayer for Students (UDPS) was first celebrated on Sunday 13 February 1898 at the second meeting of what was then known in the World Student Christian Federation as the General Committee.

The participants of the Federation’s then 10 member countries believed that intercessory prayer should be vital ingredient in the life of a world-wide body of Christian students. As a result, the early leaders of WSCF called on Christian students around the world to join together on the second Sunday in February each year for observance of the Universal Day of Prayer for Students. This later changed to the third Sunday in February, the practice that continues to this day.

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