CHURCH’S RESPONSE AS NOSTRUM TO THE CHALLENGES OF STUDENT ACTIVISM MOVEMENT IN NIGERIAN HIGHER INSTITUTION OF LEARNING

Students’ populace serves as a key stakeholder in education which cannot be disregarded in decision making. Also, education impacts students with knowledge, skills and empowerment to be active in developing the society, part of the educational structure in higher education is student activism movement. Students Activism movement in higher institution of learning performs these activities to the student’s populace and the society - Student Welfare, Academic development, Social Activities, Community Service, Infrastructural Development and others. Moreover, the benefits students derive in this movement are – Confidence booster, enables the student to get involved in reformation, building new connections, discovery of hidden talents and developing ability to move out of comfort zone. However, the movement is faced with diverse challenges that combat its original intention. Such challenges are – Cultism, Examination malpractice, Indiscipline, Insecurity, Frequent harassment and others. Furthermore, nostrum to the challenges of this movement is the intervention of the faith-based organization like the Church. The church is therefore, saddled with the responsibilities of constant enlightenment to the prospective students on the activity of the movement. The writer thus recommends the following to combat the challenges of student activism movement in the Nigerian higher Institution of learning - Student Activism movement should return to its original purpose of existence as enumerated by its founder, government should create enabling school climate for the students of higher institutions in Nigeria, the church should give proper enlightenment to the prospective students on the activities of student in the higher institution of learning. KEYWORDS: Student Activism, Church, Education.

Church Education Strategies in Overcoming Syncretism in the Dayak Tribe of Punan Lisum

This research aims to find the appropriate strategy in overcoming syncretism in the lives of the Dayak Punan Lisum tribe so that their faith grows in the proper knowledge according to the Gospel. This research was conducted on the community in Muara Belinau Village, Tabang Districts, Kutai Kartanegata District, East Kalimantan. This study uses a qualitative approach with ethnographic methods. Data collection was carried out using interviews. The results showed that the Dayak Punan Lisum Christians in Muara Belianu Village still believed in particular objects considered to have power from God. Even though they have become Christians for decades, they still hold on to their old beliefs. This research shows syncretism in the Dayak Punan Lisum community. However, teaching, preaching, pastoral counseling, discipleship, and involvement in prayer groups positively changed faith beliefs from old beliefs to Christian beliefs. In addition, faith-building in society reduced syncretism in the life of confidence in the Dayak Punan Lisum tribe. ABSTRAKTujuan penelitian untuk menemukan strategi yang tepat dalam upaya penanggulangan sinkretisme dalam kehidupan Suku Dayak Punan Lisum agar iman percayanya bertumbuh dalam pengetahuan yang benar sesuai dengan Injil. Penelitian ini dilakukan pada masyarakat di Desa Muara Belinau, Kecamatan Tabang, Kabupaten Kutai Kartanegata, Kalimantan Timur. Penelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif dengan metode etnografi. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan menggunakan wawancara, pengamatan dan kuesioner. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa orang Kristen Suku Dayak Punan Lisum di Desa Muara Belianu masih memercayai pada benda-benda tertentu yang dianggap memiliki kuasa dari pada Tuhan. Meskipun telah menjadi Kristen sudah usia puluhan tahun, namun masih berpegang pada kepercayaan lama mereka. Penelitian ini menunjukkan adanya sinkretisme dalam masyarakat Suku Dayak Punan Lisum. Melalui pengajaran, kotbah, konseling pastoral dan pemuridan serta kelompok doa memberikan kontribusi yang positif dalam perubahan kepercayaan iman dari kepercayaan lama kepada kepercayaan iman Kristen. Pembinaan iman di tengah-tengah masyarakat mampu mengurangi sinkretisme dalam kehidupan iman percaya Suku Dayak Punan Lisum.

Armoede

Poverty: A challenge for the Afrikaans reformed churches, 1994-2019This contribution gives an overview of how four of the important reformed churches in South Africa responded to the challenge of poverty from 1994 to 2019. Following an introduction, the first part of the chapter defines poverty and describes the extent of the crisis. It then gives an overview of how the Dutch Reformed Church responded by imbedding compassion into the missional calling of the church. It also describes how early childhood development became the focus of the church in the struggle against poverty. The chapter then describes how the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa was guided in her action by the Belhar Confession. The church integrated the struggle against poverty with the struggle of justice and reconciliation in a post-apartheid South Africa. The focus of the reformed churches in South Africa in addressing poverty was the role of the deacons in the local church. Education is also an important part of their fight against poverty. The Dutch Reformed Church of Africa rose to the challenge by making important structural changes in the church after 1995. This led to the empowerment of deacons in local churches through which the church addressed the poverty of members. The research shows in conclusion how the four churches used different routes to respond to the challenge of poverty in South Africa over the past 25 years.

„Stručná historie Literatury české“. K osudu nevydané učebnice rajhradského benediktina Bedy Dudíka k dějinám české literatury z roku 1847

In the years 1841–1854 the Benedictine Beda Dudík (1815–1890) worked as a teacher at the Episcopal Institute of Philosophy in Brno and then at the Higher Grammar School in Brno. As a teacher and a supporter of a development of the Czech national movement in Moravia he strove for the introduction of teaching of the Czech language and literature in the Moravian church education. He succeeded in his efforts and the Court study commission and the Episcopal ordinariate in Brno permitted teaching of the Czech language within the school curriculum of the Institute of Philosophy. For the successful completion of the teaching, Dudik compiled a textbook for his students about history of the Czech language and book writing and he intended to publish it in print at “Matice česká” in Prague. The textbook was approved successfully in a censorship procedure; however, it was not finally published in print due to disagreements with the authors of the compiled works. Nevertheless, it was significant for the development of national efforts in Moravia and it, first and foremost, revealed the young Beda Dudík as a great supporter of the then minority Czech national movement in Moravia, which changed later when he left his pedagogical experience in favour of his better-known historiographical, official and diplomatic practice.

Cultural Processes in the Rural Areas of Transnistria, 1941-1944

The issue of cultural policy of the Romanian occupation administration in the Transnistrian countryside in 1941-1944. It is established that one of the important steps of the Romanian administration towards ideological support of its presence and functioning of the authorities in the territory of Southwestern Ukraine was a policy aimed at supporting the Orthodox Church, education and culture as a whole in the occupied territories. To achieve this goal, the Romanian Orthodox Mission in Transnistria was established. The main task of this religious group was the organization and management of church-religious life in the territory of the Bug-Dniester rivers. The Romanian Orthodox mission has launched activities to spread the Christian doctrine among the population, its catechesis and conversion of people to God, as well as the restoration, restoration and commissioning of church buildings in Transnistria. One of the primary tasks for the new government was to restore the functioning of primary and secondary education. Transnistria governorate implemented a Romanian school system where primary education was compulsory and reading, reading and writing skills were compulsory for all children and teens. In the process of organization the invasive process, the occupying power introduced a synthesis of the adjusted Soviet training programs and programs, which were officially studied in the Romanian kingdom. Much attention was paid to the organization of various groups of amateur art and aesthetic education of children. It has been established that in the cities of Romanian administration, from the first days of the occupation, started to set activities of recreation establishments, and only then began to worry about opening similar foundtions in county centers, and occasionally tried to organize something like the average rural resident. One of the centers organizations of recreation for the local population became the Romanian cultural circles which were opened both in county centers and in villages of «Transnistria». Despite considerable progress in setting cultural and educational work in rural areas of these lands. However, all these measures were used by the Transnistria administration in the first place for the systematic and forced Romanianization for the local, overwhelmingly rural population.

Engaging Church Leaders in the Reduction of Teen Birth Rate in High-Risk Areas

Involving faith-based organizations in community health promotion has gained widespread interest and has been a successful approach in addressing various health disparities in vulnerable communities. However, there is comparatively little evidence regarding sexual health promotion among faith-based organizations. Some agencies have responded to the challenge of reducing teen pregnancy with broad-based initiatives involving many different sectors of the community including faith-based organizations. Focus groups with key church leaders ( n = 25) from zip codes with identified birth rates of 95 or higher were conducted to explore their perception of teen pregnancy among their communities. Purposive and snowball sampling were utilized. Recruitment was conducted through calls, email, and flyers. This study identified the barriers that church leaders encounter in their efforts to address teen pregnancy in their communities. Common themes that emerged include church education, parent support and communication, cultural barriers, availability of resources, awareness of services, and the need for comprehensive sexual education. Findings and recommendations to help those working in the faith community overcome identified barriers are addressed. Recent decreases in teen birth rates should not lead to complacency; rather they should inspire public health practitioners to do more, especially when some communities have not experienced the same success. Collaborating with faith-based organizations is one method to consider when considering community prevention efforts.

Feeding and Reading Ambivalence

Les Armoires vides/Cleaned Out (1974) is the first of Ernaux’s many texts exploring how gender and class have indelible leftovers. Enduring traces of the working-class rural café-épicerie of narrator Denise’s childhood with its ambivalent desires and constraints are explored in terms of abjection and of her ambivalent incorporation of the discourses of the Church, education and the patriarchy which affects her senses of value, shame and sexual appetite. The analysis supplements understandings of how class difference may be perpetuated through the (food) ‘choices’ which are effectively determined. Secret eating brings arousal but also (along with poor diet and alcohol in excess) offers insights into the traumatic effects of post-war modernization, as well as the Second World and Algerian Wars. Eating whilst reading offers solace and fuels the narrative with intertexts, but also evokes the transformative dangers of (inter)textual ‘eating on the sly’. Representations of eating and drinking raise questions of the politics of both narrative and sexual reproduction. Indeed, food and drink are bound up with psychological and embodied remainders of gendered prejudice which counter conventional feminist perspectives, and the narrator reads and consumes in bad faith, lacks freedom over her reproductive future and cannot escape inevitable remainders.

The Dynamics of Trust in Institutions in Lithuania during 1998–2018: Long-term and Ad hoc Factors of Influence

The Public Opinion Research Centre ‘Vilmorus’ has conducted 226 representative surveys on trust in institutions in the period of 1998–2018. Trust in the Parliament, Government, political parties, banks, healthcare system, education system, police, church and other institutions was investigated. The analysis of the dynamics of trust/ distrust allows us to reveal at least four factors influencing the results. Long-term factors are general positive (or negative) impacts of economic/social/political trends in the society. The growth of trust is typical for the police and defence systems in Lithuania. The church, education system and media decreased trust in this period. Other institutions do not have one direction of dynamics because of ad hoc events or political cycle influence. Ad hoc influences are negative, as a rule: bankruptcy of a bank, the economic crisis, a wrong behaviour of representatives of the institutions, etc. The following institutions were influenced by ad hoc events and lost 10 percent points of trust at least: banks, President, social insurance, church, police and army. The influence of a political cycle is noticeable for the Parliament, Government and President institutions before and after elections. Some seasonal monthly influences (the Easter period for church or the exams period for the education system, for example) are statistically significant but very small (socially insignificant). Different aspects of the dynamics of trust in the institutions need different methodological approach in the analysis of the empirical data.