New Adventist garden in Britain honors those who stand for peace
Watford, England—A Seventh-day Adventist public garden—spotlighted at night, with seating in tranquil surroundings and a three-tier fountain as the centerpiece—is now a national British memorial to all those who stand for peace in wartime. The idea for the garden, which opened in Stanborough Park in Watford, England, on September 21, the International Day of Peace, rose from the recognition that 130 Adventist men, many of them based in the area, went to prison and suffered severely for their noncombatant stance during World War I.
Ian Sweeney, president of the British Union Conference of the Adventist Church, told the ceremony attendees in the Stanborough Park Seventh-day Adventist Church that Adventists are citizens of two kingdoms and that the kingdom of God must take priority when those kingdoms clash.
It was Victor Hulbert, now Trans- European Division communication director, whose research three years ago found that 130 Seventh-day Adventist conscripts refused to bear arms during World War I and at the same time observed the biblical seventh-day Sabbath.
Hulbert emphasized at the ceremony that the garden was created as a memorial to those soldiers’ courageous stance amid ridicule and opposition—as well as to the 20,000 people in Britain who refused to bear arms or take another’s life during World War I and all those who work for peace today.
[Richard Daly | Trans-European Division]
Hispanics in Europe Gather for Total Member Involvement Training
Newbold College, England—This summer, over 150 Hispanics from the Inter-European and Trans-European Divisions gathered for an inspiring missionary training meeting at Newbold College, England, under the theme Evangelism Everyone Everywhere.
The keynote speakers were Robert Costa, evangelism and church growth director at the General Conference, Hermes Tavera-Buena from the Greater New York Conference, and Dr. Ebenezer Chambi from Loma Linda in California, USA. These meetings, held by the Association of Latin American Seventh-day Adventist Churches in Europe (AIALE), aimed at training attendees to bring people into the kingdom.
“In Latin American culture, there is a strong desire for doing the mission— bringing people into the kingdom. We go directly to knock on doors, ask them to sit down and have Bible studies, and talk about Jesus,” explained Wilson Lagos, a pastor in London, England, and executive secretary of AIALE. “At the end of the day, we bring them to church and make disciples of them, the way Jesus wants us to.”
Some of their witnessing methods to engage people to join Bible study and go to church are through youth meetings or sports days. However, this group of people faces some difficulties when trying to reach out to locals. Language or culture clashes come in the way of witnessing.
“As a Spanish speaker in Europe, we have no resources in our language. Many of these attendees have no pas- tors, they have no churches in their home languages,” said Lagos. “But, they are willing to do the mission.”
For more information visit AIALE.com.
[Natasha Mirilov | Newbold College]
Tell the World showcases Adventist church pioneers’ struggles and triumphs
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States—After years of planning, fundraising, and production, Chester Stanley, former president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Australia, saw his dream come true with the completion of the Tell the World cinematic production, which tells the history of the global denomination’s pioneers and is the largest media production in the denomination’s history.
Tell the World was produced by Hope Channel Australia, the official broadcast network of the Seventh- day Adventist Church in Australia. Its story of the birth and development of the early Advent movement was brought to life by 95 actors, 157 crew members, and 1,000 extras.
Tell the World will allow viewers to see the Advent pioneers wrestle to understand Scripture, debate theology, and overcome bitter disappointment. Through it all, the pioneers were led and inspired by God as they journeyed to find the truth.
The General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is coordinating the distribution of the project, which will be available in three formats: short historical clips that were released in August 2016; a television series of six episodes that aired on Hope Channel and was streamed online in October 2016; and a feature-length film that will be available on streaming services, including Netflix, iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play at a later date. The month of October was selected to air Tell the World to coincide with the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844.
The project was designed for members to connect with the church’s movement and to rediscover what it means to be an Adventist. Tell the World will also provide an opportunity for people who are unfamiliar with the church to gain a deeper under- standing of the denomination that has more than 19 million members worldwide.
“I believe that this film will be a tremendous spiritual encouragement to God’s people and the public,” said Ted Wilson, president of the Seventh- day Adventist General Conference.
Tell the World will be dubbed in French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Over the course of three years, subtitles will be available in the 30 most spoken languages of the world.
