ACU Summit 2017's Innovative Approach to Highlight Pressing Issues of the Day

This year, Summit will offer two new and innovative experiences: the Global Refugee Medical Missions Experience and the inaugural Summit Film Festival. The Refugee Experience will be a self-guided event during which participants can encounter a simulation of the sights and sounds of the refugee experience. Entering the refugee camp will lead to insights from Abilene refugees, a look at the typical day in the life of a refugee, and a chance to reevaluate the importance of Deuteronomy 10: “He enacts justice for orphans and the widows, and he loves immigrants, giving them food and clothing.” This Refugee Experience provides participants a brief opportunity to respond to and reflect on the worldwide refugee crisis, a crisis which demands a Christian response. More than half of the world’s 65 million refugees are from Syria, Afghanistan, or Somalia. Half of these refugees are children. The hope is that participants will become aware of the gravity of the crisis and understand ways in which they can help, particularly if they have medical experience or talents. The films chosen for the Summit Film Festival center around the idea of “Caring for People in Crisis” and will include various feature-length films, documentaries, and video curriculum resources for small groups. The feature-length films will be Martin Scorsese’s award-winning film Silence and Facing the Darkness, the story of ACU alumnus Kent Brantly. Documentaries screened across campus include 13th, which exposes the racial inequality in the American prison system, White Helmets, the story of heroes who bravely attempt to rescue victims of Syrian airstrikes, Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry, a film about the Christian poet, novelist and environmentalist, and The Resettled, which focuses on refugees attempting to make new lives for themselves after their old ones were ripped away. Viewing these films can help reveal ways we can serve and care for others as we become aware of the tragic experiences affecting the many people around the world. In addition to the documentaries and feature-length films, Summit will be screening DVD resources for church small group curriculum. These series include The Rewritten Life: When God Changes Your Story, Before Amen: The Power of Simple Prayer, Jonah: You Can’t Outrun Grace, The Shack (Study Guide), and Tony Ash’s series about C.S. Lewis, Jack and Me: Why I Like C.S. Lewis.  May we experience the blessings of God as we all come together at Summit this September!