"LIVING STONES" Youth Conference
The first days of May at SPbCU were met by the youth conference "Footsteps of Eternity".
Every year on May Day, celebrations at SPbCU meet young people from different regions of Russia and CIS.
This year we saw guys from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Lipetsk, Petrozavodsk, Bryansk, Estonia, Ukraine, etc. The joint work of the students and staff SPbCU annually offers the conference participants a rich program that changes its theme each year.
The conference theme always involves a reflection on the relationship between man and God, man and man, and this year's theme of "living stones" presupposed a view on the construction of a spiritual life. Each year's conference offers young people various entertainment programs, evening shows, recreation and excursion program.
The beginning of the conference was on Thursday, April 29th. It began with an evening, entitled "The Holy youth." That night, everyone present was dressed in white clothes, showing the practice of an ancient Russian proverb - "you are met by your dress".
The next three days were aimed at molding the "holy youth" spiritually, mentally and physically.
The participants listened to the Living Word, competed in sports, thought about relationships in small groups, watched the creative programs prepared by the students of SPbCU and even got to know the city through an exciting "treasure hunt" on a certain route, laid out on the map.
The distinguishing characteristic of the past events was also a desire to introduce prospective students to SPbCU to show the way of life of the students, the educational process, and introduce them to the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the University. This, in its way, was an Open Doors day at SPbCU. That is why the conference participants were invited to various seminars to get acquainted with the teachers who spoke on relevant topics of their lectures.
The alumni of SPbCU who do ministry shared in orientation workshops, showing the believing young people a different perspective of theology and practical Christian education received within the walls SPbCU. The task of the students was to show the atmosphere of creativity and creative work on their education, which distinguishes SPbCU.
The speaker this year was one of the graduates of the University. Maxim Chepel, a graduate of the Bachelor of Theology program in 2009, admits that a small interval of time has elapsed after graduation, and he didn't even notice the separation. "As if it never went anywhere." While noticeable changes in the university began to appear: new teachers, students, the beginning of new educational programs, etc.
As Maxim noted, many of the visitors to the conference came upon the advice of their friends, who attended the conference before. It was noticeable at the registration of participants, when date of completion of registration, scheduled in advance, was significantly set back, as he wished there to be more available spots. The increase in the number of participants is noticeable from year to year.
The conference has ended. The participants parted as friends, some are looking forward studying in St. Petersburg, some were inspired by the service, and someone's spirit was strengthened. In any case, the end of the academic year in SPbCU was highlighted with unforgettable impressions.
