(upbeat music)
- Randolph-Macon College is
excited to host Convergence,
a youth theology institute
on faith and science.
It's a chance for rising
10th, 11th, and 12th graders
to come together with their peers
to look at the place where
faith and science come together.
- One of my favorite experiences were
going to Shalom farms.
It was a beautiful place,
volunteering was wonderful,
all the talks and just getting to open up
with other people has been really fun.
Getting to know other people and...
Everything is just so good.
I love it so much.
- My experience working
with these students
has been unbelievable.
These youth are very positive,
very forward looking,
they're very into making a group together
and that's very awesome because they want
to form relationships with
people who are just like them.
- Where I live Christianity
isn't such a big deal
so it's really nice to be able to
openly talk about my faith with people.
- I really like the talks
and of course, the free time is fun,
but when...
Especially, when it's something
that interests me specifically
and everything they're saying,
compared to when I'm at school,
is relevant and I'm interested in.
Not just constant information.
- My favorite parts of
this weeks has been...
Small groups, sitting in on some of them
and listening to the students
and their desire for faith and science
and to learn more about God
and to learn more about themselves.
I also like the devotions.
I love hearing the students worship
and to pray and things like that.
I also love the mentorship of
us with the college students
when they come to us and ask us questions.
- It's great together on campus,
but also utilize all the
resources of our region.
Last year, we visited the James river.
This year we were at
Pocahontas State Park.
And we're headed out to
the Virginia Beach area,
to the Brock Environmental Center
and the Chesapeake Bay
Foundation's learning resources.
So that we can be immersed and learn
how faith and science come
together right where we live.
How clean is our water?
And why should we care about
that, as people of faith?
(energetic music)
- Look at it; it's like
shredded to pieces.
- I learned about Convergence by
meeting Kendra Grimes last year.
I was up at Randolph-Macon College
for the opening of the
Brock Science Center.
And she was telling me about the program
and I said this is a great opportunity
to combine the Brock's philanthropy,
in terms of their willingness to support
both Chesapeake Bay Foundation
and Randolph-Macon College,
but also really the discuss
science and faith intersection.
And having these types of conversations
and being able to show
that great connection,
I thought was a great fit
with the Convergence Program.
- It's been fun working
with Convergence students.
They're asking really good questions.
They seem like a lively group,
they seem very bright,
and they seem amazingly
biblically informed
(laughs)
and literate.
And they're asking good
questions about science, as well.
- I decided to apply to Convergence
because I've always had an
interest in faith and science
and I wanted to know how
they could come together
and I could believe in both.
- What do we see on this
boat that might help us?
- Working with the Convergence
students has been great.
It's a wonderful opportunity for them,
for the school, for our
partner organizations,
and for those who lead it.
Helping high school students
think about their faith
and how it relates to science
or how the two might relate to each other.
It's something that's
meaningful to me, personally.
- This was my first
time here at the campus
of Randolph-Macon and I have enjoyed
my stay here wonderfully.
I have fallen in love with this campus
and hope one day that I can
make it here for college.
- What I'll be able to take away from
my experience here at
Convergence is how to interpret
the bible and how to spread
God's word to other people.
- I'll take away more affirmation
to what I do wanna do.
I feel comfortable doing that.
- Taking it back to my youth
and to my school environment and all.
Really because it's a major question
that a lot of kids even have it.
- Randolph-Macon College
is a liberal arts college
so we're not just doing job
training in a narrow field.
We're exposing all of our students
to broader conversations about
where things come together
and so therefore, a liberal
arts school like ours
is a perfect place for faith
and science to converge.
(upbeat music)
