The Vine Campus Ministry attends the 2024 Jesus & Justice Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina!
The Vine Campus Ministry at Collegiate Presbyterian Church in Ames sent two students and the Director to the second annual Jesus & Justice Conference hosted by the Office of Public Witness and the Presbyterian Ministry to the UN in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the second year that students have attended this conference to learn about the legislative advocacy work that the PCUSA does as well as participate in worship, workshops and fellowship with other young adults.
The Vine has a history of participating in social justice work both locally, nationally, and abroad. For many of the students, finding ways to integrate their spirituality into their beliefs about social and political issues is not something they’ve had much opportunity to do. “The vast majority of our students do not come from the PCUSA,” says Director Jen Hibben, “and many of them are coming from traditions that have told them that politics and religion don’t mix, we don’t discuss that here. But they also noticed the hypocrisy when others defended a certain set of political beliefs with their religion. Beliefs that they didn’t seem lining up with the teachings of Jesus.”
The Jesus & Justice conference gave students an opportunity to hear from vocal leaders at the intersection of faith and politics, and begin to practice what it’s like to engage from a faith-based perspective. Jeff McAllister, a junior at Iowa State University says, “The most valuable experience was learning how to use my faith as a motivator for social justice work and deepening the connection between the two. I want to continue to use my faith as a way to understand why these things are important and why I should continue to be involved. I appreciated meeting other like minded young adults to be able to see that we’re not alone in this work.”
The Vine encourages other young adults in the Presbytery to consider the 2025 gathering which is slated to be at the University of Michigan in October.
