Today is the “maiden” workshop for my specific topic “LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR: NEGOTIATING THE TENSION BETWEEN DOGMATISM AND TOLERANCE” for the Young Adult Stream of the conference. It’s been some time since I’ve been part of event as big as this. I appreciate the trust the conference organizers have on me for the delicate topic they’ve given me.
I must admit I was a little nervous because it’s hard to predict what to expect from the 1st batch (I have to do a total of 4 workshops with similar material to allow for more conversational participation which I think was great!). The first batch was a good bunch whom I enjoyed thoroughly. It’s interesting to notice there were only about 4-5 Guys in the workshop out of about 40. I wonder what would be the make up for tomorrow.
Most of the small groups chose the issue of “Homosexuality” for conversation, only one group chose the issue of “Politics” (especially in relation to our current Malaysian context). Which is interesting.
It’s going to be a full day tomorrow. I’ll take more pictures and blog more then.
For now. I’m thankful we managed to cover the material, share stories, ask good questions, open up conversations, and create space for further thinking and creative action.
An added bonus and always a personal favorite is some meaningful conversations with a senior pastor which I thoroughly enjoyed. Dinner with other participants/helpers/faiclitators (thanks to the rain and scary traffic) was a delight as well. We live in a really small world especially when one of the dinner companions actually came from the same secondary school I was in – he was form one and I was form five. It was great fun making fun of our old school and the experiences there. Ok, I think I’m digressing. More tomorrow.