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

11 May 2005

In this Issue:

* Kenya: TED president attends dedication of new headquarters for
East-Central Africa Division
* Finland: Adventist Church reaches out to kids in Finland
* Finland: Seminar on Ellen White hosted at Toivonlinna
* TED Prayer Guide for week 15 ? 21 May


TED PRESIDENT ATTENDS DEDICATION OF NEW HEADQUARTERS FOR EAST-CENTRAL
AFRICA DIVISION

NAIROBI, KENYA [ANR] ? On Monday 9 May 2005, Pastor Bertil Wiklander
president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European
region, attended the dedication of the new headquarters of the
Adventist Church in East-Central Africa based in Nairobi, Kenya.

This newly formed division has over 2 million members, of which over
600,000 live in Kenya. The beautiful new office has the architectural
style of an African village and is placed on a hill near Maxwell
Academy overlooking the very attractive lush green vegetation of its
surroundings. In due course the graduate school for the division will
also be added to the site which at the moment consists of offices and
several staff houses.

The ceremony of dedication was conducted in the presence of Pastor
Jan Paulsen, president of the world church, Dr. Moody Awori, vice
president of the government of Kenya, and other members of the Kenyan
Parliament who are Adventists. One of the highlights of the programme
was the performance given by the Masai Adventist Church in their
colourful dresses, who through suggestive and rhythmic music, praised
the Lord for his goodness and grace. The entire event was heavily
covered by the local press and media with the news reports being
communicated across national television that same evening.

In his address, pastor Paulsen acknowledged that "the story of the
church in East-Central Africa is one of tremendous growth and the
sacrifice and courage of those who have dedicated their lives to
build up God?s church." Pastor Wiklander, representing the
Trans-European Division (TED), conveyed warm congratulations on
behalf of his division which is a close neighbour of the East-Central
Africa Division.

"I am very impressed" said Wiklander after the dedication, "by the
beauty and functionality of this new office and I know that God will
continue to bless and lead the division leadership as the church here
continues its amazing growth." Having preached on Sabbath to 35,000
Adventists gathered in Nairobi, he also said, "It is a wonderful and
encouraging experience to worship God with such multitudes of people.
What impresses me most of all is the extraordinary spiritual depth
and quality that I find in leaders and members here in Kenya. I
believe we must bring European and African Adventists closer
together. We need to share God?s gifts with each other, encouraging
and supporting each other. We are already cooperating in looking
after our immigrant churches in Europe; in the work of ADRA; health
work and education; in various training efforts to foster certain
cutting edge ministries, and in exchanging staff and leadership. I
believe as Europeans we have much to learn from our African brothers
and sisters; that by the Holy Spirit they will be used to inspire and
revive us. Europeans need a larger picture of God?s world, leaving
behind our self-centeredness, and I believe Africa can help us with
that. I foresee a more intentional networking and exchange between
TED and our African sister divisions in the future."

[ANR staff/ANR]


ADVENTIST CHURCH REACHES OUT TO KIDS IN FINLAND

OULU & TURKU, FINLAND [ANR] ? During the month of March a team of six
from the children's ministries, early teens and youth departments
started a new venture touring to Finnish cities with special
programmes for children. The trips, called 'Tournee-visits' (touring
visits), last for three days from Wednesday to Saturday and so far
have been run in Oulu, northern Finland, and Turku, south western
Finland, with more 'Tournee-visits planned for the autumn.

The team visits local nursery schools, presenting small plays to
children aged 3-8, dealing with such topics as making friends,
tolerance toward others, how to deal with emotions and safety. During
the evenings the Tournee team meets with local young people and those
involved in teaching young children and early teens. Family worships
are conducted and after a fellowship lunch on the Sabbath, volunteers
from the congregation accompany the team to senior citizen's homes
where a programme of worship is held with singing and prayer. On
Saturday evening a spiritual programme for the whole church is held
followed by a social.

Much positive feedback has been received by the Tournee team, from
both the local nursery schools and the senior citizen's homes, who
have been positively surprised by the content of the programmes. The
local congregations, refreshed and spiritually uplifted, have
realised the important role these programmes have played in uniting
and encouraging the church to work together, sharing Gods love in
their communities.

Since last autumn, the local Aitolahti church in Tampere City has
arranged a once a month 'Kid's Action Night' at a local school. The
first hour is devoted to a 'Muppet Show', singing, a play based on a
Bible story and payers. A small snack is provided for the children
and this is followed by activities which may include a fashion show,
craft work, face painting and skipping. Before leaving for home, the
children listen to a story, sing some more and pray together.

'Kid's Action Night' is arranged for ages 7-12 and participants have
numbered from 55 to 80. Most of the kids live locally and for many it
has been the first time they have heard about Jesus as their saviour
and prayed together with adults. A team of volunteers help with
technical issues, plays, games and food.

It is our sincere hope that these programmes will continue and that
other churches in Finland will be encouraged to start similar
programmes in their communities.

[Merja Kinnunen, Mariel Pilois, Jani Virolainen/ANR]


SEMINAR ON ELLEN WHITE HOSTED AT TOIVONLINNA

PIIKKIO, FINLAND [ANR] ? Toivonlinna Junior College hosted an
interesting weekend from 15 ? 17 April, when Media7 Education Centre
and Media7 Bible Correspondence School arranged a seminar about Ellen
G. White. Dr. Merlin D. Burt, assistant professor of church history,
Andrews University and Dr. Radisa Antic, director of E G White
Centre, Newbold College, taught about the Bible, Ellen White and her
experiences on faith in an encouraging and inspiring way. It was also
interesting to see some original writings of Mrs White and other
documents from 18th century. Some 50-100 eager listeners and learners
attended the seminar and Sabbath programmes.

Several opportunities were given to ask questions about Mrs Whites
influence on Adventist beliefs. Questions related to, how she and her
writings are relevant for the present time; Mrs White versus Old
Testament prophets; will there be any new prophets; how and why
compilations of Mrs White's writings are made and some questions
about the sanctuary.

In the first lesson Dr. Antic reminded us that "the only reason
Christians exist is because of the Resurrection. In this postmodern
world today, we are in the same situation as Paul when preaching in
Athens; saw that the people did not know God. We too must tell the
world about Jesus and the Resurrection." Dr. Antic shared in his
lectures insights about the nature of God's inspiration; principles
on hermeneutics and principles on understanding parables.

Dr. Burt confirmed for us that the two most important aspects about
Mrs White are her relationship to Jesus and her relationship to the
Bible. He said, "There are people who focus on finding faults in her
writings and therefore miss the real point. Mrs White tried to teach
people to focus on Jesus and to have a relationship with him. She
tried to lead people to have their foundation of life and faith on
Bible alone." Dr. Burt taught also about the divine inspiration in
Mrs White's writings and about her writing methods. The history of
tithing and Sabbath keeping enlightened the understanding of the
listeners. The sanctuary truth raised several questions which has
prompted us to plan a seminar on this topic in the near future.

We are grateful to Doctors Burt and Antic for coming to Finland for
this short time of discussion, teaching and learning of our faith and
Mrs White. We are thankful to God that these brothers have given
themselves to the use of God. One result of the seminar is the need
for further learning and reading of the Bible and Mrs White's
writings.

The final words of the seminar make an important point: "We are who
we are, because God gave a great vision to Ellen G. White. We believe
what we believe because the Bible says so."

[Anne Leskinen/ANR]


TED PRAYER GUIDE FOR WEEK 15 ? 21 MAY 2005

ST ALBANS, ENGLAND [ANR] ? Jesus is Serious about Mission..

Some say that Mel Gibson's movie 'The Passion of Christ' (2004)
exaggerated the suffering of Jesus. We won?t know whether this is
true until we can talk with Jesus about it. But, what is clear from
Scripture is this: You cannot view the story of Jesus without seeing
that God is serious about what He is doing.

It's a dramatic story; Confronting; Appealing. "This is how much God
loved the world: He gave his Son." (John 3:16 Message Bible.)

It's an amazing story of good news. Jesus broke the power of sin and
death. He ascended to heaven with the promise of his return.

But this is where the crunch for us comes. We are now His 'body.'
That means - we are to do what he would do if he were still here!
(See John 14:12, 13.)

Prayer Requests:

1. An un-churched person with whom you will relate 'as Jesus would'
today
2. An opportunity to tell someone today of how serious God is about
giving life

[Peter Roennfeldt/ANR]


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ANR Staff: Miroslav Pujic, news director, Beverly Coysten, editor
ANR, 119 St Peter's Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: anr@ted-adventist.org
Website: www.ted-adventist.org

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