SPEAKING OUT ON MY FAITH

by Lavinia 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 24 You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. -James 2:17 and 24 (key verses, read the whole passage!)

This past week, I was at the annual Mock Trial Summer Institute up at Silver Bay YMCA, right on Lake George. Five and a half days of stuttering cell service and occasional power outages, it was still worth the beautiful view and the insight I gained on teamwork and individuality.

When we meet a group of strangers—or sometimes, in the case of summer camps, thrust upon each other—we often are more open and more willing to share personal thoughts and experiences than with those we know a little better. This was definitely the case last week, and I found myself sharing my beliefs with my newfound friends. They also returned these thoughts.

One day as we were filing into the cafeteria, several members of an annual Lutheran retreat held the doors open for us, holding donation jars reading STOP WORLD HUNGER in their arms. Later, my roommate told me that she had made a special trip to donate to their fund; she sighed and said “My grandpa would be angry, he’s a rabbi.” I told her that it didn’t matter which religion you belonged to, world hunger was and is world hunger and a good cause to donate to. In fact, one night we talked until two o’clock concerning faith and religion and morals. She was quite open to hear about my beliefs, and I was more than glad to share my experiences!

Do You Share Your Faith? “Talking about faith or religion can be very difficult for people of all ages. I can personally testify to how it is particularly hard during teenage years. Most people, me sometimes included, can’t see past the veil of their everyday lives to see the applications of their faith. We wonder how these ancient scriptures are relevant to our daily lives.”

Likewise, I have many friends who deem themselves Catholics, or Christians, but are merely forced churchgoers following a family tradition. I met my first devout Catholic last week. Five of my friends and I kayaked into the middle of Lake George, and sat there having a conversation. I decided to ask one of them about Catholicism, as she had promptly labeled herself a spiritual, practicing Catholic. She told me that Catholics have fairly strict regulations and that all the splits in Christian denominations were based on interpretations of the Bible; I don’t totally agree with that, but it’s mostly believable. We didn’t really get to hit on all the differences between her “Catholic beliefs” and my “Evangelical beliefs,” but it was still refreshing to be able to openly speak about Christianity among friends.

This reminded me of another experience. In February, I had attended a winter retreat up in New Hampshire, and came back to Poughkeepsie pumped for the Lord. I shared openly at school about my experiences there, my churchgoing basis, and whenever I could, sneaked in bits of deeper thoughts. I was surprised to learn that some friends and classmates did not know I was a Christian; it was kind of upsetting to think that I had kept my faith holed up.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from law camp this past week, it is that opportunities are everywhere, and to pass on the things you’ve learned. That doesn’t just apply to my legal studies, it applies to my faith. When the opportunities come, no matter how old we are, we should be ready to share our beliefs.