TED News Bulletin
Trans-European Division of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church

16 April 2008


In this issue:
-------------------------
* Croatia: Church - A Second Home for Children
* England: The Run Up to Youth Congress Begins
* Norway: Embracing Resources, Models and Methods
* United Arab Emirates: Pathfinders Offer Community Service
* Israel: An Inspiring Women's Retreat
-------------------------

CHURCH - A SECOND HOME FOR CHILDREN...[Zlatko Musija/TED News
Staff/TED News]

Zagreb, Croatia - A one-day seminar featuring the role of children in
the contemporary church, was held in Adriatic Union Conference (AUC)
in March, when a total of 150 pastors, elders and other church
leaders from Croatia and Slovenia, met in Zagreb. This was felt to
be, apart from the Mission Conference, the most important event in
the AUC this year, in preparing local churches to fulfill their
ministry.

Anne-May Wollan, Children's Ministries director in Trans-European
Division of Seventh-day Adventist church, was the main speaker during
the seminar. She spoke about family-friendly churches - churches that
support and actively work for the benefit of children and parents. In
these churches, children feel at home not only because they are cared
for but also because they are involved in the ministry, mission and
worship of the church.

Anne-May Wollan also pointed out that the family-friendly churches
recognize the earliest years of life as crucial for moral and
spiritual growth of children. These churches acknowledge the
importance of the family - acknowledging that the spiritual
development of children is first and foremost the responsibility of
parents, and that a church is there to assist rather than lead in
that process.

During the seminar the "Kids In Discipleship" (KID) programme was
introduced. Its principles were presented, explaining how it helps
parents to be spiritual mentors of their children. The KID team from
Zagreb gave an authentic KID Bible study, involving parents and
children, to demonstrate how it works. Many who took part in this
demonstration were encouraged to start this ministry in their own
church. Plans of establishing regional training centre for this
ministry, and the possibility of sending church teams to KID training
centre in London, were discussed.

Branko Vodenik, church elder from Ljubljana (Slovenia) said: "This
seminar was very inspiring and motivating for me personally. It seems
to me that the KID ministry is an excellent and very promising way to
encourage the children to love Jesus and be His disciples. I hope my
church will have the opportunity and desire to start the ministry."

One of the participants, Nenad Sijan from Virovitica, said: "This
seminar gave us many practical ideas of how to make our church a
place where children feel accepted, safe and welcome, and where they
can be fully involved in all the aspects of church life. Church has
to become a second home to children, and our churches still have to
do a lot to achieve this. I am encouraged to devote myself more to
the ministry to children, because by serving children we serve
Jesus".


THE RUN UP TO YOUTH CONGRESS BEGINS...[Paul Tompkins/TED News
Staff/TED News]

St Albans, England - The Youth Directors of both the Trans-European
Division (TED) and the Euro-Africa Division (EUD) of the Adventist
church, met in Munich, Germany, 6-9 April, to plan next year's
European Youth Congress, which will take place from 5-9 August 2009.
Youth Congresses are long awaited and major events in the youth
calendar, with the last bi-Division event having taken place in
Wroclaw, Poland in the summer of 2004.

The Congress will be centered around the ICM Conference Centre in
Munich, which with its ultra-modern and user-friendly facilities will
offer an excellent setting for the meetings. It is expected that this
event will attract over 3000 participants from over 20 different
European countries throughout both Divisions.

The Mission Statement of the Congress will set the tone for all that
is planned; "Adventist Youth getting authentic with their faith,
serving with enthusiasm and making a difference in the church and
community." The Motto will be "It's Your Turn" and will reflect the
admonition from Paul to Timothy in 1 Tim 4:12 "Don't let anyone look
down on you because you are young, but set an example for the
believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity."

TED Youth Director, Paul Tompkins looked ahead to the event and said;
"The three main desires of young adults are for fellowship, spiritual
renewal and opportunities for service. It is our aim that all three
of these elements will be part of making this event an unforgettable
experience for all who take part."

Advertising, application forms and other material will be sent out by
the autumn of this year.


EMBRACING RESOURCES, MODELS AND METHODS...[Gaute Steinkopf/TED News
Staff/TED News]

Stavanger, Norway - About 120 participants gathered 4-6 April, to
attend the Life Development seminar hosted by the Adventist churches
in Sandnes and Stavanger, in the south-western part of Norway.

In the introductory meeting on Friday evening, Dr Miroslav Pujic,
Director of the Trans-European Centre for Secular and Postmodern
Ministries, held an inspirational lecture on what challenges the
Adventist church, and Christians in general, are having in conveying
the Gospel to the culture in which we live.

On Sabbath morning, Dr Pujic presented the characteristics and values
of post moderns, and what makes them sceptical to belonging to one
specific denomination or faith. This was followed by his sermon,
which focussed on trusting the Lord with all our hearts (Proverbs
3:5,6). Based on this text Dr Pujic illustrated how God uses our
various levels of relationships for strengthening human relations;
and that through these processes, our relationship with God may be
strengthened.

During the Sabbath afternoon session, Dr Pujic outlined how to
communicate the Christian message in a postmodern age. The emphasis
was on evangelising through spending time with others, showing
sympathy and care for others' needs, following the methods Jesus used
in dealing with people.

Concluding the seminar on Sunday, Dr Pujic presented the LIFE
Development model.

Church members responded that they are very motivated to adjust the
church activities to a postmodern level; that music, lectures, group
and club activities, and communication at large may be adjusted also.

"This seminar was of great inspiration to all of us attending, and
the church members are motivated to make use of the model, methods
and resources. We thank Dr Miroslav Pujic and his team for presenting
this model in such simple and motivating package", said Gaute
Steinkopf, one of the participants. His sentiment was shared by
Reidar J. Kvinge, the local Pastor of these two resourceful churches,
commenting: "What a great weekend! We all came alive with new visions
and energy to reach out to new target groups".


PATHFINDERS OFFER COMMUNITY SERVICE...[Gureni Lukwaro/TED News
Staff/TED News]

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates - Eighteen Pathfinders, their leaders
and some family members from the Sharjah Seventh-day Adventist
community volunteered to clean the Al Jazeera Park in Sharjah, on 21
March, as part of their community service initiative.

The Pathfinder club, which is part of the youth department of the
Adventist Church, is serving youngsters from 10-15 years. In a true
Christian spirit, this Pathfinder club decided to give their free
time on Easter Friday, to serve their local community.

The group gathered in the morning, and after praying together the
group immediately started their job; sweeping the pathways; picking
up litter; and raking the leaves in the park, thus beautifying the
environment. After completing the job, a closing prayer was offered
to end the community service.

In recognition of the work the Pathfinders did, the Sharjah
Municipality kindly offered the young people free fun fair rides.
This gesture was received with joy and gratitude, as they felt their
service was appreciated.

According to pathfinder club leaders, this is the second community
service the club is doing in Sharjah. "We did our first community
service last year at Manzil Centre for Challenged Individuals", said
Lynn Lukwaro, one of the club leaders. "We cleaned their windows,
painted their play-place and their fence," she recalled.

"We thank Mr. Daniel Khokhar for arranging and securing permits for
us to clean Al Jazeera Park. We thank the Sharjah Municipality for
allowing us in and offering complimentary rides for kids after
cleaning, and we thank elder Valerian Machado who arranged media
coverage of the event," said Sharjah Pathfinder Club Director Myrasol
Agudo. "We also thank the kids for coming and their parents for
allowing and bringing the kids to club events like this," she
concluded.

The pathfinder club in the Gulf Section South of the Middle East
Union started in 2003 under the leadership of Pastor Victor and Mrs
Candice Harewood. Today there are Adventurer/Pathfinder clubs and
members in congregations in Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al
Khaimah, Al Ain and Oman.


AN INSPIRING WOMEN'S RETREAT...[Nina Usachev/TED News Staff/TED News]

Jerusalem, Israel - "Interesting, inspiring, enjoyable and
remarkable" were among the remarks heard from 56 participants
attending the Adventist Women's Ministry (WM) three day Retreat, held
3-5 April in Kibbutz Beit Alpha at the foot of Mount Gilboa.

Led by guest speakers Heather Dawn Small, WM Director of the World
Church of Seventh-day Adventists (GC); Raquel Arrais, WM Associate
Director of the GC; and Anne-May Wollan, WM Director of the
Trans-European Division of Seventh-day Adventists, the retreat themed
"Let Your Light Shine" started with a tour to Galilee, to places
where Jesus began his ministry. Sites well known from Biblical
history were visited; the Mount of Blessings; Tabha, the place where
Jesus fed the four thousand, and also Capernaum. Delegates also had
the opportunity to swim in the natural pools, and enjoy the
landscaped gardens of the National Park Sahne.

Gymnastics, early morning walks, blood pressure and blood sugar level
check-ups were on the programme, followed by workshops. Raquel Arrais
talked about the six critical issues of women; and Heather Dawn Small
spoke on the topic of "Touch the Heart, Tell the World". Dr Oksana
Filipova, Health and Temperance Director of the Israel Field,
emphasised the importance of the Health Message.

A Kabalat Shabbat (welcoming of the Sabbath service) led by Pastor
Oleg Elkine prepared the minds for the vesper devotional, with
Anne-May Wollan expounding on a message entitled "It is not about how
you feel, it is about how you deal."

The Sabbath Day was celebrated in praise and worship through songs,
testimonies, and prayers, and presentations were given by Heather
Dawn Small and Raquel Arrais.

The overall feeling of the participants was that this had been
inspiring and relaxing, leaving them refreshed and revitalized. One
participant commented: "It has been beyond my expectations. The
fellowship and the learning was inspiring, all of it has been worth
it! This weekend has strengthened my decision to accept Jesus as my
Saviour and to be baptized." Another non-Adventist participant who
was attending this kind of event for the first time said: "I am full
of positive emotions! I feel love, warm relationships and kindness.
There have been such good sermons and lectures and I really don't
want to leave this place. I want to attend a church to know more
about Jesus."

"Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds
and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:15) was not only a
weekend theme but the motto for Israel Field's Women's Ministries
till Jesus comes.

__________________________________________________________________
TED News Staff:
Paul Clee, News Director and Editor
Heidi Kamal Kendel, Editorial Assistant
119 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts.,
AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: tednews@ted-adventist.org
Website: www.ted-adventist.org

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