This March, four Grebel students competed in the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest—an opportunity for students from Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and universities across Canada and the USA to discuss peacebuilding and social justice issues.
Faraja Kapepa Sadi’s speech won first place and a cash prize. She is a firstyear international student from Zambia, studying Peace and Conflict Studies and Psychology at UWaterloo. Her speech, titled “The Armour of God: Waging Peace on a Hostile World,” explored Ephesians 6, where Paul calls the people to put on the armour of God. She framed this passage within the context of peacebuilding, asking questions about how this war-like language fits into the idea of peace.
Faraja ended her speech explaining how the armour of God is really a call for believers of God’s strength to equip themselves with the character of Christ and of peacemakers: “Let us be encouraged, therefore, to put on the full armour of God, and wage peace on this hostile world that so desperately needs it.”
Her speech will be submitted to the second stage of this bi-national competition.
Watch Faraja's speech here.
