BUC News #435 (25 March 2005)

Email Newsletter of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the United Kingdom and Ireland

Contents:

13 MILES FOR GOOD - ADRA-UK HALF MARATHON
INGATHERING STARTS THIS WEEKEND
PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER OF SRI LANKA VISIT TANGALLE
STANBOROUGH SCHOOL NEW YORK BUSINESS TRIP
HOPE CHANNEL-EUROPE TO LAUNCH ON FRIDAY 1 APRIL
NEW STAFF MEMBER FOR ADRA-UK
CLOCKS GO FORWARD THIS WEEKEND
BUC OFFICE CLOSING TIMES OVER EASTER
COMING EVENTS
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13 MILES FOR GOOD - ADRA-UK HALF MARATHON - Jacqui Grant

On Sunday 20 March over 700 participants walked, jogged, ran, cycled or skated their way around Hyde Park. This year's ADRA-UK "13 Miles for Good" half marathon challenge saw people of all abilities and ages turn out to raise money for a good cause. The event, now in its third year, was organised jointly by the South England Conference Personal Ministries and Youth departments.

Last year it is estimated that more than of £20,000 was raised by the half-marathon - part of a larger sum used by ADRA-UK to support disaster relief in Darfur (Sudan), Liberia, Zambia, the Caribbean and Bangladesh. The money raised by the half-marathon this year is expected to be well in excess of last year's figure and, again, will be used to "Change the World One Life at a Time". Funds collected will go towards supporting projects in Peru, Nepal, Kazakhstan, South Sudan, Rwanda and Pakistan, not forgetting children with special needs here in the UK.

The day commenced at 9.30 am with registration and at 10.00 am, after a prayer by Pastor Aris Vontzalidis, the race began in earnest and seasoned runners were off to a flying start. There were a number of serious runners including M Magama from the Southall church, Keisha Golding, Tanasha Allen, Khloe Ebanks and Kym Ebanks, all from the Edmonton church. These were the first to complete the 13 miles. Two experienced runners, Ephraim Ngizwengo from the Peckam church and Donis Goncalves do Nascimento from the Portuguese church, completed full marathons (26 miles), with times of 3 hours 10 minutes and 3 hours 19 minutes respectively.

One participant that stood out as an exception was Mr I Elliott, who completed a quarter marathon. He is a lecturer at the George Monoux College in Walthamstow, London and was invited to run by one of his students who attends the Plaistow church. Mr Elliott thoroughly enjoyed the run and the social aspect of the day.

Overall it was a great day with a good turn out and participants not only from the South England Conference area but as far afield as the North England Conference. Pastor Roy Morgan, Personal Ministers and Sabbath School director of the NEC, completed the 13 miles and looked as though he could, perhaps, have completed the course again!


INGATHERING STARTS THIS WEEKEND

This weekend thousands of Seventh-day Adventist Church members throughout the United Kingdom will begin their voluntary service collecting door-to-door for the ADRA-UK Annual Appeal. Inside the Adventist Church this work is known as "Ingathering", and it has been carried out faithfully for many decades now.

This year's goal across the British Union has been set at £600,000 and confidence is high that this figure will be reached. The excellent response of the British public to the tsunami disaster and the efficiency of ADRA-UK in processing donations and getting the money out to the disaster area, has helped to raise the profile of ADRA-UK and boosted the confidence of Church members.

When asked if he was concerned about possible "donor fatigue" following the Tsunami Appeal, ADRA-UK director Raafat Kamal said, "Our collectors are incredibly faithful. We have not had a year in which we have been disappointed with the results of the annual appeal and this year, despite the money that has been given for the suffering in South East Asia, I am confident that we will again improve on last year's total and reach our goal of £600,000. The tsunami disaster was a wake-up call to the world in general. When the wave struck without warning it was the charities and NGOs that had an infrastructure in place that were able to respond quickly. The work that we are able to do tomorrow depends very much on the preparation we do today. A major part of that preparation is raising funds for specific projects, and also for a disaster response fund, through our Annual Appeal."

The ADRA-UK Annual Appeal will continue until 10 April in most parts of the United Kingdom, and until 17 April in London. Collection permits and canisters can be obtained from the ADRA-UK local agent in your local Adventist church.


PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER OF SRI LANKA VISIT TANGALLE

On Tuesday 15 March, Her Excellency President Chandrika Kumaratunga Badaraneyaka and The Honorable Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksha presided at the opening ceremony for the building of permanent housing in the Tangalle division of the Hambantota District in Sri Lanka. The government is providing 78 acres of land upon which 200 permanent houses would be built. Each house will be 600 square meters, with two bedrooms, a kitchen, dining room, veranda and an outside connecting bathroom. They will be eco friendly, using heat resistant bricks.

The role of ADRA will be to supply water to this housing development and for this reason Conrad Vine, the Acting Country Director for ADRA-Sri Lanka, Julio Paula, the ADRA Project Director for the Hambantota District (along with his translator and driver), and Arlene Senior were invited to attend.

For security reasons the venue was not revealed until midday but by 1.00 pm crowds had gathered and many country flags were blowing from trees and the lamp posts lining the street. Hanging between these trees, a banner carrying the ADRA logo displayed the message, "We cordially welcome her Excellency President Chanrika Kumaratunga Badaraneyaka. ADRA Tangalle".

Writing from Sri Lanka Arlene Senior describes the scene. "As the members of the public came into the outer area we had a separate area where we sat as invited guests. A multitude of colours were on display from the many umbrellas that the women used to keep the intense sun off their heads. They came in very handy especially for those that had small children with them. Whilst waiting, we were entertained by music presented to us through loud speakers. The armed forces were seen to be in all locations: in the bushes, in the street, surrounding the crowds, on and in front of the platform. The ones close to the platform were special armed services - we could tell by the way they were dressed and their weapons were more prominent. At 3.30 pm a girls' school band dressed in red entered the enclosed area and the Prime Minister arrived with some of the Senior Ministers. We all stood as the session was blessed by a Buddhist monk."

"Just before 5.30 pm, security was increased, a helicopter flew over the area and we knew that the President would arrive soon. The girls' band again played and marched in, and the President and her party went up to the platform. She wore a sky blue sari and bowed and waved to her public, who had been standing and waiting so patiently for her arrival. After her speech the girls from the Tangalle Ladies School performed a very moving dance to music depicting the tsunami waves and the devastation that it caused. It was a perfect way to end the ceremony."

The plan to build permanent housing in Tangalle after the affects of the tsunami is an indicator that the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase is well underway in Sri Lanka. ADRA is playing a key role in this work and ADRA-UK in particular can be proud of the money and personnel it has provided.


STANBOROUGH SCHOOL NEW YORK BUSINESS TRIP - Lorena Simionescu

On the morning of Sunday 6 February, 24 students from the Business Studies group at Stanborough Secondary School flew to New York.

After arriving at the airport the students were taken to the luxurious Beacon Hotel on 75th and Broadway. Three days of continuous experiences followed; we began with an informative lecture at the NY Madame Tussauds located in the heart of Times Square. A presentation was given and several speeches were made by department heads who were eager and willing to inform visitors of the workings of their well-known establishment. Stanborough students were given the opportunity to ask questions, and these queries enabled a greater level of understanding for all involved.

There was another lecture at the Federal Reserve Bank, and this also provided the opportunity to descend below the subway levels of the city into the closely-protected vaults containing millions of dollars worth of gold. In the evening students were able to relax after a busy day of learning.

Tuesday provided the opportunity for students to visit the notorious MTV Studios in Times Square, which offered an inside look into how the show is put together. In the afternoon the students were given the opportunity to go to TRL - or Total Request Live, where they had the chance to appear on live TV in Times Square and throughout the US. As if this wasn't enough students met the famous actor Will Smith and even got to shake his hand, as well as see his Hitch co-star Eva Mendes in the flesh! Next all climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and saw the bright lights of the city from up high.

On the final day of the trip students visited the American Museum of Finance in Rockefeller Centre, before heading off to the Stock Exchange to see the busy transactions in action. The trip also included the chance to visit such memorable sites as Ground Zero, the site on which the World Trade Centres once stood, and a little time to do some last-minute gift shopping.


HOPE CHANNEL-EUROPE TO LAUNCH ON FRIDAY 1 APRIL

Hope Channel-Europe is scheduled to launch on Friday 1 April. This will be the sixth Hope Channel and will serve Europe, North Africa and most of the Middle East. European language blocks of programming will air daily. Current plans call for English, French, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Ukrainian, Russian, Czech and Spanish language blocks on a daily or weekly basis.

The website that has been announced in connection with the new channel is at: <www.hopetv-e.org> and is the newest website run by the Adventist Television Network. At the time of writing it is under construction and seems to be mostly in Russian, but eventually it will feature news and information concerning Hope Channel-Europe. Currently you can watch by streaming video the Mark Finley NET series live from Kiev, Ukraine. Each programme is archived for anyone wanting to watch previous programmes.


NEW STAFF MEMBER FOR ADRA-UK

This week the number of ADRA-UK staff working in the BUC office rose to four with the arrival of Michelle Lewis, who will work as a Programmes Officer. Michelle has a great deal of experience in this area having come straight to ADRA-UK from ADRA-Mongolia where she worked as Programme Coordinator in Ulaan Baatar. In this role she monitored programme activities in Health, Sustainable Livelihoods (Micro Economic Development, Disaster Mitigation, and Agriculture), and Youth and Education, including planning, implementation, evaluation and expenditure.

Although one of her main duties at ADRA-Mongolia was to investigate and source funding, she was also responsible for training staff in the areas of proposal development, donor compliance and report writing. Another aspect of her work was to monitor the cost effectiveness and accountability of ADRA-Mongolia programmes.

An Australian by birth Michelle has lived in many different countries. In previous careers she has been a teacher of English, History, Religion, Drama, and Journalism. She has taught children with special needs and served as an Assistant Girl's Dean in an Academy in Arizona. She is musically talented, playing the flute and piano, and is a fitness enthusiast with two full marathons and two half-marathons (in the Gobi Desert), to her credit.


CLOCKS GO FORWARD THIS WEEKEND

Please note that European Summer Time begins early on Sunday morning and clocks should therefore be moved forward by one hour last thing on Saturday night. The advantage to us of this change is that our evenings are lighter and we have more time for Ingathering.


BUC OFFICE CLOSING TIMES OVER EASTER

Over the Easter weekend the BUC office will be closed from 12.00 noon on Thursday 24 March and will reopen at 8.15 am on Tuesday 29 March.


COMING EVENTS

A full list of coming events is located on the BUC website at: <www.adventist.org.uk>. Only brief details are listed below.

TEENS' FORUM - PLUMSTEAD. 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm on Saturday 26 March. Theme: "You Don't Understand Me" Contact Kari Williams at <kari_in_mongolia@hotmail.com> or Pastor Jones-Lartey <joneslartey@aol.com> on 07939 065798.

SOUTHERN ASIA FELLOWSHIP UK MEETINGS - MANCHESTER. Friday 25 March to Saturday 26 March. The second annual meeting of the Southern Asia Fellowship - UK. Especially for Indian Seventh-day Adventists who are in the United Kingdom. On Friday 25 March the service will be held at Methodist Church Hall, Platt Lane, Hart Road, Manchester, M14 7BU, where the guest speaker will be Pastor Cecil Perry, President of the British Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. On Sabbath 26 March the service will be held at the Pendleton church, Denbigh Place, Salford, Manchester, M5 4BA, where the guest speaker will be Pastor L C Cooper, Vice President of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Also present will be Pastor Daniel Kunjachan, Treasurer of the Southern Asia Division of Seventh-day Adventists. Contact: Mr John Varghese <southernasiafellowship@hotmail.com>. Phone: 0161 868 0827.

ADRA-UK ANNUAL APPEAL. Saturday 26 March to Sunday 10 April, extending to Sunday 17 April in London Metropolitan area. For further information on how you can be a collector contact the Personal Ministries leader or Ingathering Local Agent at your local church.

NEC YOUTH DAY - "TOTAL COMMITMENT" - HUDDERSFIELD. Sabbath 26 March at the Huddersfield Town Hall. NEC Youth Day. Speaker: Pastor Damian Johnson from the USA. In the afternoon there will be mass youth public witnessing and an afternoon concert. Contact: Alan Hush <ahush@necadventist.org.uk>. Phone: 01159 606312.

HOW TO MAINTAIN OPTIMUM HEALTH - THE ADVENT CENTRE. Sabbath 26 March. Speaker: Manjit Biant. Vegan fellowship lunch with lecture at 3.00 pm. Contact: Al Eccles <info@leavesoflife.org>. Phone: 07958 409519.

THE VARIETY OF GOSPEL 2005 - LONDON. 7.30 pm Saturday 26 March at the Advent Centre, 37 Brendon St, London W1H 5HD. Artists include: The Animated Gospel Choir, Praise Choir, Tottenham Chorale, Hyland House School, Walthamstow Children's Choir, Call-2-Witness, Silence, Devoted, Bro Hector, plus many more. Tickets: Adults £7.50, Children 5-15 £5.00. Children under 5 free, but cannot occupy a seat. In aid of the Walthamstow church building fund. Doors open 6.45 pm. Contact: Susanne Kirlew <info@kirlewpr.com>. Phone: 07932 594312.

SPIRITUAL PARENTING - BAILEY GILLESPIE COMES TO GLASGOW. 2.30 pm on Sunday 27 March. Seminar is aimed at Parents, Youth Leaders, Pathfinder Leaders, and Children's Sabbath School Leaders. Contact: Carole Peacock <sdascotland@onetel.com>. Phone: 01764 653257.

INSTITUTE OF CHRISTIAN COUNSELLING - MULTIMODAL. Hosted by the Institute of Christian Counselling at Newbold College. 1.30 pm - 9.30 pm on 30 March, 6 April and 13 April. Fee £150. This three day course will ensure that you will understand this model and enable you to use it in your practice. Contact: Josee-Marie Penner <jpenner@newbold.ac.uk>. Phone: 01344 407419.

EDUCATION DAY - GREENWICH. 9.30 am - 6.00 pm on Sabbath 2 April. Dr Keith Burton presents his unique and powerful presentation on "The black presence in the Bible" at the Greenwich church. Also: "Christian Mis-Education and the Bible", "Buffalo Soldiers", "The Bible and Africa". Contact: Shirley Grant <shirley_grant59@hotmail.com>. Phone: 020 8691 9619.

MOORCLOSE NIGHTS. 6.00 pm on Sabbath 2 April at the Newbold Church Centre. Full time children's ministry. Refreshments afterwards. Offering for expenses held. Come as you are. Contact: Geert Tap <tapgeert@hotmail.com>. Phone: 01344 407652.

ADRA SPONSORED HIKE. Sunday 3 April. 20 km of smooth and gently rolling cycle tracks along the full length of the Millennium Coastal Park near Llanelli, in West Wales. Sponsorship forms available from Pastor Ed Sammons <edsammons@hotmail.com>. Phone: 01792 897555.

ASNA RESPITE WEEKEND - KIDDERMINSTER. Friday 8 to Sunday 10 April. ASNA is pleased to announce its fourth respite and training weekend, this time at the Pioneer Centre, Cleobury Mortimer, Kidderminster. The weekend will provide spiritual, social and emotional support for all affected by disability and special needs. We also welcome anyone needing a break from a challenging caring role. Cost: £35 for ANSA members or £40 for non-members. Children under 10 years £20.00. These prices are possibly thanks to a heavy subsidy. Contact: Sophia Nicholls <asna@special1.fsnet.co.uk>. Phone: 01491 833395.

WOMEN OF GOSPEL II - LEICESTER. Saturday 9 April. Following the success of last year's event, Women of Gospel II brings more female gospel artists to the fore. The event takes place at the African Caribbean Centre in Leicester and starts at 7.00 pm. Tickets £6.00 or £5.00 (concessions). Family or group discounts available. Contact: Maxine Chambers <info@kainemanagement.org.uk>. Phone: 01162 616840.

DEVELOPING SELF AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS. Sunday 10 April at Forge Mill Farm near Birmingham. Agenda Ministries invites women to a thought provoking and life enhancing seminar where self-development can be explored from a biblical perspective. This is a day-long seminar that costs £35.00 (with traditional Caribbean lunch included). All places must be booked in advance. There is a discount of £15.00 (per 5 places) if you book before 28 March. Contact: Joan Saunders <joan.saunders@talk21.com>. Phone: 0121 686 4118.

FREEZINGHOT - HACKNEY YOUTH DAY. 9.30 am to late on Sabbath 16 April. Speaker: Pastor Eglan Brooks. AYS programme and evening social. Food, prizes etc. Contact: Adrian Blake <blake_adrian@hotmail.com>. Phone: 07903 941662.

50TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION SERVICE - SHEFFIELD. On Sabbath 16 April the Sheffield Carter Knowle church is celebrating 50 years worshipping in the current building. The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress will be joining us for a Celebration Worship Service from 11.00 am to 1.00 pm, then at 4.30 pm we will be having a Celebration Jamboree with music, drama, memory lane slots and much more. Contact: David Bussue <bussue_david@yahoo.co.uk>. Phone: 07903 321144.

HYLAND HOUSE SCHOOL AY AT LEYTONSTONE. At 5.00 pm on Sabbath 16 April the Hyland House School will be hosting a special AY programme at the Leytonstone church. Come and support Christian education. Contact: Donald Yearwood <donald_yearwood@yahoo.com>. Phone: 07947 272999.

WOMEN'S RETREAT - SEC AREAS 1 AND 2. Sabbath 23 April at the Thistle Hotel, Queens Road, Exeter. Theme: "The Essence of Woman". Speaker: Mrs Audrey Balderstone. Cost: £23.00. Subsidy may apply. Contact: Vivienne Evers <vevers@secadventist.org.uk>. Phone: 01923 232728.

BRIDGING THE GAP - TEENS AYS - WILLESDEN. 4.00 to 7.00 pm on Sabbath 23 April. The London Youth Federation present Bridging the Gap - a teens AYS. Dynamic praise and worship and singing. Speakers: Paul Boldeau, Andrew Fuller and Naomi Osei. Contact: Luke Whyte <secretary@londonyouthfed.org.uk>. Phone: 07709 803033.

TED PRAYER GUIDE. For the week commencing 27 March we are praying for the PUBLISHING WORK. The first magazine published by Adventists was the "Present Truth". It came off the press in July, 1849. One hundred and fifty-six years later our denomination is producing publications in 343 languages. Obviously, many of these are news periodicals for the Church family but there is an abundance of missionary magazines for use in informing the public about health, peace of mind and hope for the future.

Ellen White's wish was that our periodicals should be distributed like "leaves of autumn". Let us determine to use the attractive tools prepared by our publishing houses as a means of sharing our faith with the people in our road, our relatives and our friends in the workplace. Please pray:

" That more church members will use magazines and tracts as a means for communicating good news.
" That the Holy Spirit will work on the hearts of the readers causing them to continue their spiritual journey.
" That God's blessing will be with our editors, graphics and printing specialists and others who are responsible for the production of literature so that books and magazines will be relative to modern needs. [John Arthur, Publishing Department Director, Trans-European Division]

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SMALL ADS

TEACHING VACANCIES. The Eden Seventh-day Adventist School needs KS1/KS3/4 teachers. We are looking for Adventist teachers for September 2005 who are committed to Adventist Christian education, are mission-focused, and are able to teach Year 1/2 or High School subjects in: Science, Maths, French, DT or English. Contact details: Laura Osei. School phone: 020 8568 7756. Mobile: 07930 758341. Email: <lauraaosei@yahoo.co.uk>.

CAN YOUR CHURCH ACCOMMODATE 20 PEOPLE? Teacher from an Adventist school in Zurich, Switzerland, is planning a trip to London in Spring 2006 and is looking for an easily accessible church which can accommodate about 20 people. They don't need any beds, just facilities to cook hot dinners. Contact: Catherine Blaser <blaser.hk@bluewin.ch>. Phone/Fax: 0041 41 250 76 01.

AU PAIR. Klaudia is a 21-year-old Adventist young lady from Poland. She will be graduating shortly with a degree in English Philology and is fluent in English. She also speaks a little French, can cook, is a vegetarian, has a driving licence, and has some experience with children. She would like to come to England to work as a live-in au pair and learn more about the English language and culture. Email: <kfiatek.007@wp.pl>. Phone: 0048 338 545 416.

ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE. Room to let, sharing facilities with another Adventist. Would suit young professional couple or single (male or female). The property is in a very exclusive area close to Harrow with all its facilities. Phone: 0208 422 1671. Email: <kjburke55@hotmail.com>.

TEACHING VACANCY. The Newbold School is seeking to appoint a full-time Year 3/4 teacher. An IT specialist would be an advantage. Starting September 2005. If you would like to join our committed, professional team, are familiar with the National Curriculum, are keen to keep abreast with current educational practice, and enjoy being part of a learning and faith community, please send your CV to: The Headteacher, Newbold School, Popeswood Road, Binfield, Bracknell, Berks RG12 5AH. For information about the post please contact: Maurice Brooks at Newbold School on 01344 421088. For an application pack contact: Pearl Beckles, at the South England Conference, 25 St Johns Road, Watford, Herts WD17 1PZ. The deadline for applicant CVs is 8 April 2005.

AU PAIR NEEDED IN FINLAND. Young Adventist family in Finland with three small children seeks English or Finnish speaking Adventist au pair. Contact Piia or Timo <pikakela@nic.fi>. Phone: +3585 454 88 37, or +35850 597 99 45 (mobile), or +35840 715 47 21 (mobile).

LIFE DEVELOPMENT SONGBOOK. The Trans-European Division is working on a songbook to go with the other LIFEdevelopment materials. If you have written songs that you think might be suitable please contact Beverley Coysten <bcoysten@ted-adventist.org> and ask for the criteria document.

NANNY. Adventist lady from Croatia, aged in 30s, seeks employment as a nanny within a 30 mile radius of Reading. Speaks good English, has a degree in education, own car, excellent references, first aid experience, is flexible, available immediately, and willing to work with children of any age. Contact Bella on: 07970 955849.


BUC News is a weekly news bulletin produced by the British Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and edited by the Communication Department. Items for inclusion should be sent to <bucnews@adventist.org.uk> and need to be received by 6.00 pm on Thursday, preferably as simple email text. Coming Events and Small Ads should be kept short and preferably be submitted via the on-line form at: <www.adventist.org.uk/news>. The editor reserves the right to modify articles received to make them suitable for inclusion. The views expressed by individuals cited in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect the views of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, though we try to ensure that they do. You are free to re-print any portion of this bulletin without the need for special permission. However, we kindly request that you identify BUC News or other sources whenever you publish these materials. Back issues are available on our website at <www.adventist.org.uk>.