Christian Union present Mission Week

The annual Christian Union Mission Week will begin 31 January and run throughout Week 4, alongside One World Week.

This year, the week is themed ‘This Is Love’. The Christian Union website encourages students to get involved, urging them to ‘Come see what true love costs’.

The Christian Union will put on free food at lunch and dinner bars which will take place Monday to Thursday 12-2pm and 5-7pm, to encourage students to attend. At each session, a speaker will discuss such questions as “Why is Christianity so restrictive?”, “Why is the Bible so outdated?”, and “Why is the world full of suffering?”

On their website, the Christian Union describe their aim as “to be witnesses for Christ, sharing with everyone on our campus how to have this right relationship with God.”

Sam Duffin, the Christian Union Evangelism Officer, explained how the Mission Week will help achieve that aim: “This year, we will be looking at the love of God and how we can enjoy that. I guess we’re trying to engage with as wide a group of students as we can… We also are holding some events specifically aimed at international students.”

He added, “I think probably a lot of people have a lot of misconceptions about it [Christianity], which is one thing that we want to tackle. We want to try and show people that Christianity is more than just a religion. It is a relationship that can be had with an all-powerful God.”

Some students the Boar spoke to appeared keen to find out more information about this relationship. Elaina Boateng, an International Business with Spanish student, said: “I will definitely go along. I’m not much of an active member of the CU, but I really like the idea of a themed week to find out more about Christian issues. Also, I really like the theme. It’s really topical and my Church back home has a similar theme. I’m excited.”

However, others made clear that they would not be attending the ‘This Is Love’ week. Joel Barish, a second year Maths student, questioned the timing of the week. “No, I wouldn’t go. Some of the other events at One World Week sound more interesting. It lacks foresight for the Christian Union to put their stuff on at the same time.”