School of Discipleship to return as hybrid event

After moving online in 2020, School of Discipleship looks set to resume as a hybrid event. From 2 to 4 July, a limited amount of people will be able to attend in-person, while some of the sessions are streamed online.

Rev. Adrian Sukumar-White is one of the event’s organisers. He told Insights that the year’s events had given impetus to the theme of protest.

“The idea came from discussions around the resurgence of rallies, marches and protests that the SOD community has been involved in over the last couple of years,” Rev. Sukumar-White said.

“This has been an effective way for the community to express concern for the way various issues were being dealt with in Australia and globally and to stand alongside the victims within these issues. [Climate change, BIPOC injustice, Black deaths in custody, gender violence and other important social/cultural issues].”

“So rather than focus our theme this year on one particular issue, we felt that the broader topic of the theology of protest and what does it look like for Christians to follow Jesus to the cross in an age of protest? Does protest culture give elite white people a chance to exhibit apparent solidarity “on the cheap”?”

“As protest has become a regular part of our experience, we felt it was important to exploring it more deeply – what is the theology of protest? How can we engage with it faithfully and sustainably? Our hope is that SOD 2021 will give opportunity to explore these questions and much more.”

The events keynote speakers have been announced. They include Dr Anne Pattell Gray, a First Nations theologian, author, activist, and Head of Australia First Nations Program at World Vision Australia and Dr Janice McRandal, a theologian and Director of the Cooperative, a centre for public theology and philosophy in Brisbane.

Organisers suggested that if restrictions tighten the event will be moved online.

School of Discipleship 2021 takes place from 2 to 4 July. Registration is now open for in-person and online attendance. Tickets are limited. To register, visit the official website here.