EU goes away together, something they have been doing since before the EU even began!

From the very beginning of the Sydney University Evangelical Union, students have gone away together for teaching, prayer and fellowship in what was then called “houseparties”. Now in 2024 the tradition continues as at the end of the year many faculties go away together in what we now call “faculty days away”. In fact, Howard Guiness who started the EU in 1930 first met students from Sydney University not in Sydney or at the University but at Katoomba where they were away at a January house party (as members of the Sydney University Bible League). They came down the mountain and had resolved to come “out of the clock tower” which they had been meeting in and reconstitute as the Sydney University Evangelical Union[1]. You will still find EU students gathering in the Blue Mountains (and up and down the coast) for getaways, and sometimes in big old houses like Kihilla which is where I was last week staying with the Science & Vet faculty.

Madge Thornton who was an EU member after WWII reported that the house parties were the most encouraging thing about the EU during her time. She remembered hearing the organized speaker as well as the hilarious times including pranks, late night fire-side chats and staying up later than you’re meant to[2]. I must say – not much has changed. A third year student Emily reported that something she loves about faculty days away is that “We can easily switch from silly things to deep theological conversations.” While away this year we enjoyed a great fireside chat (with marshmallows) where some very encouraging words were said after singing some songs of praise (finished before the sound curfew of course) but many a chat continued late into the night and I believe that Madge’s late chat to half-past-eleven would almost be considered an early night in comparison to some students in 2024. Other things that are like the past are mild quibbles over food budgets and everyone chipping in with dishes and peeling vegetables like during Grace Warren’s time in the EU in 1947[3]. We likewise had a team that worked faithfully in the leadup to our days away preparing details and ensuring everyone was fed at a reasonable price and everyone served in many ways to make the time together pleasant for all.

This year we enjoyed talks from Ryan Carter, one of our staff team, on the book of 2 Thessalonians and as the book has a strong theme of reassurance, he gave us much reassurance to keep our eyes on Jesus and await his return. This future hope shapes us now in how we live, work and pray to live faith-filled lives. One of our outgoing faculty leaders Ru appreciated reflecting on the fact that “the things that we hope for don’t just shape our future but also shapes our present.” Pray that we all might live in light of our future hope and that it shapes our present, especially in this advent season as we celebrate Jesus’ first coming and anticipate his return.

In 1934 the Sunday afternoon session of the union house party was devoted to ‘World Vision’, a concern for gospel work around the world has been shaping the EU right from the start! The Tuesday night session of our Science & Vet days away was devoted to be a mission night. We spent time in prayer for students who had grown in their outreach to Muslims this year, for our missionary in residence who had spent time with us at AnCon, for those who had been bold and tried new things in evangelism this year, for places in the world that needed to know Jesus and for ourselves to grow in our heart for mission. Pray that as Christians gather, we will continue the tradition of coming down the mountain and out of the clocktower to hold out the life-changing good news of Jesus.

– Katie Ristevski, EU Senior Staff

[1] Executive committee minute book, 20 March 1930; Guinness, op. cit., 66; John and Mira Prince, Out of the Tower, Anzea Publishers, Homebush, 1987, Chapter 1.

[2] Lake, M. Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord; a history of the Sydney University Evangelical Union. 2005 p31

[3] Lake, M. Proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord; a history of the Sydney University Evangelical Union. 2005 p80