PEN held its biennial (once in every two years) conference from 1 - 3 August at the Bosman Street campus. This year we decided to bring Echo Youth Development on board as co-host and we must say that is was our best conference yet! The theme of the conference was branded in a name: SiCiLi. SiCiLi is an acronym for See it, Change it, Live it! Each of the three days of the conference carried one of these three themes.

On Monday we had speakers and workshop-presenters who inspired us to see it differently. Part of our problem as churches and individual Christians is that we look at our world through various lenses. Those lenses are coloured with all sorts of preconceived notions such as a fear of change, classism, racism, spiritual pride, conservatism, liberalism and a host of other isms and ideas that keep us from seeing things the way God sees things. So, we shared lenses on Monday and helped one another to see things a little differently and hopefully, the more exposure we get to other viewpoints, the easier it will become to let go of outdated ideas.

On Tuesday we were were inspired to change it. Not something out there, but rather things in ourselves in order for us to live more fulfilled lives as representatives of God in this world.

And on Wednesday we were confronted to live it. We ended it all with a ritual march to church square and a special celebratory lunch, Africa style!

One thought that stood out for me all throughout the conference was that we sometimes have the wrong idea that we are to bring God to the people of our city. Rather, we must realize that God is already at work in the city in many weird and wonderful ways. We are to seek these places and people in which God is at work and humbly assist in whatever way we can.

Thank you for each member of PEN that made this a truly unforgettable experience!

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