The Sydney University Evangelical Union (abbreviated to SUEU or simply the EU) is a student-led Christian group that has operated at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

since 1930. It is affiliated with the Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students (AFES) and the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. The EU has throughout its history maintained a relationship with St Barnabas Anglican Church in Broadway and the Sydney Anglican culture in general whilst retaining a non-denominational base. The EU is also quite unique amongst its contemporary AFES affiliates in having a student-staff partnership, in contrast to other groups (such as

Campus Bible Study Campus Bible Study (or CBS) was established in 1975 at the University of New South Wales by the then Anglican chaplain Phillip Jensen. CBS celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2015, and continues to officially operate out of UNSW's Anglican Chaplain ...

at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

) which has maintained a staff-run model. In 2002, the publication by the Union of a statement during their on-campus mission, "absoluteGod", encouraging students to investigate Christianity, was signed by 22 senior academics at the university and worried many for allegedly damaging the religious and racial tolerance at the university.

Description

The Sydney University Evangelical Union is a registered student society of the University of Sydney, comprising an estimated 600 Christian students, making it one of the largest registered clubs and societies of the Sydney University Union. It is led by an elected student executive consisting of a president, male and female vice-presidents, a secretary and treasurer. They are elected annually at the September AGM. The EU is governed by the General Council, which consists of representatives from the executive, faculty leadership (who in turn lead committees to run ministry within their faculty) and wider EU membership; the latter of which are often appointed by the General Council to lead a specialist team responsible for the organisation of things such as Public Meetings, Annual Conference, IT and Training. Activities include

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...

s in Public Meetings, faculty based small group bible studies, prayer meetings, several conferences including Annual Conference and Leadership Summit, along with mission trips. These activities are organized by specialist teams consisting of students and staff, led by a student appointed by the General Council. The EU regularly runs events designed to present students with the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, per the objectives of the EU, and to attract new members; for example, in 2008 the EU hosted a campus-wide festival, with scores of events taking place throughout the university

Notable people

Former members of the EU: * Peter Jensen *

Phillip Jensen Phillip David Jensen (born 1945) is an Australian cleric of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney and the former Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral. He is the brother of Peter Jensen, the former Anglican Archbishop of Sydney. Early life and conversion J ...

*Sir Marcus Loane *

Catherine Hamlin Elinor Catherine Hamlin, AC, FRCS, FRANZCOG, FRCOG (née Nicholson; 24 January 1924 – 18 March 2020) was an Australian obstetrician and gynaecologist who, with her husband, New Zealander Reginald Hamlin, co-founded the Addis Ababa Fistula ...

Robert Forsyth Robert Charles Forsyth (born 8 June 1949) is an Australian Anglican bishop who served as the Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, a region of the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, from 2000 to 2015. Before this he was the rector of St. Barnabas, Broadway ...

Bruce Baird Bruce George Baird, AM (born 28 February 1942), is a former Australian politician whose career included a stint as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in New South Wales. Early life Baird was born in Sydney, and was educated at the University ...

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South W ...

History

A history of the EU's first 75 years (1930-2005) was published in 2005. It is written by

Meredith Lake Meredith Lake (born 1980) is an Australian author, historian of religion and broadcaster. Early life and education Lake grew up in Sydney in a devout Anglican household. She has a PhD from the University of Sydney, exploring religious narrativ ...

, EU Vice-President 2002–03. A further history is also available on the EU website.Sydney University Evangelical Union
"sueu.org.au: History"
23 March 2006. Accessed 3 March 2009.

References

External links

EU website

Australian Fellowship of Evangelical Students
{{University of Sydney Student societies in Australia Evangelical parachurch organizations Christian organisations based in Australia 1930 establishments in Australia University of Sydney Christian organizations established in 1930

Description

Notable people

History

References

Further reading

External links