Schedule of events and speakers at the London Seventh-day Adventist Church

Date Speaker/Facilitator Event Time

August 6 Edwin Onyango Elder speaks for Worship Hour 11 am

August 13 Laura Giliberti Mission focus at Worship Hour 11 am

August 20 Aroldo Anniehs Elder speaks for Worship Hour 11 am

August 27 Rudy Alvir Sermon by the Pastor of the North Church 11 am

The London (South)

church family has wel-

comed into the family

through baptism three

committed people this

summer: Janice Brindley

was baptized on June 18,

Eileen and Dennis Plyley

were baptized on July 16

during worship hour.

Both baptismal services were attended by members of

their family, witnessing their public commitment to fol-

low Christ in life of service.

Janice Brindley had her former co-worker Kathy

Rayner cheering her up, as they connected when Janice

walked into our church in January 2011 following her

studies over the internet, and discovering the Biblical

teachings presented by the Seventh-day Adventist

church.

Plyleys had been attending the church for a couple of

years, leading by example in doing whatever needs to be

done for the upkeep of facilities. Their daughter and

grandchildren from Michigan came to this special day.

They were supported by Violet and Adrian Intering as

they studied Biblical prophecies.

As people discover Biblical truths they do need relational “sponsors,” friendships which would model to them

waling in those truths. Just as in the days of early church people and relationships are used by God to grow His

church. During the conference campmeeting on July 9 in Mississauga many witnessed a baptism of Brian Suther-

land, a former pastor of an independent Pentecostal congregation in Moosonee. His spiritual journey to God’s

church began after he became convinced that the Bible is very clear that the Sabbath was the God given day for

worship. In his search he was led to the Galupo family. The Galupo family introduced him to Bible Instructor Al-

ison Downs, and he began studying more. Soon he resigned his position and membership in his church and re-

quested baptism. He is no studying with relatives and friends, and members of his former congregation.

The Lord continue adding those who are to be saved to His Church.

On 20 June 2011 the European

Sunday Alliance was formed on the

occasion of an expert conference on

Sunday Protection at the seat of the

European Economic and Social

Committee (EESC) in Brussels.

The European Sunday Alliance is a net-work of existing national Sunday alli-ances, trade unions, religious communi-ties, and civil society organizations pro-moting healthier families, a more cohe-sive society, and a more balanced life-style for everyone . The alliance requests for Sundays to be work free in the new working guidelines (2003/88/EG) to be negotiated among European Union mem-ber states.

Over a hundred of years ago Adventist pioneers were alarmed and warned be-lievers that the Sunday Laws one day will be universal. At the time work-free Sun-days were enforced only in the North America. Here in London, Ontario street cars were banned on Sunday in 1906-1907, and local believers were sharing tracts with their neighbours on maters of religious liberty. One pastor was jailed, William Ward Simpson of Chatham, work forking on Sunday.

One cannot miss upsetting news of economic defaults by European coun-tries, fears of USA defaulting as it’s na-tional debt goes higher and higher. Many wander what “ripple effects” will it cause. In an environment of fear people are more willing to surrender their freedoms for stability of survival. Imposed uni-formity becomes welcome.

The Sunday Laws had been in the works for the past few decades. The website shows more history of this devel-opment. For example, in 1961 article 2 of the European Social Charter already stated its intent “to ensure a weekly rest period which shall, as far as possible, co-incide with the day recognised by tradi-tion or custom in the country or region concerned as a day of rest.”

www.europeansundayalliance.eu

According to the alliance the ‘first European Conference on the awareness of a work free Sunday’ in the European Parliament in Brussels on 24 March 2010 was the trigger for the formation of the European Sunday Alliance. The represen-tatives of the various organizations for-mulated a founding charter stating “A work free Sunday and appropriate work-ing hours are a well deserved right for all citizens of Europe.”

Number of studies, sociological and medical, were commissioned over the past few decades to produce convincing arguments. One study by Deloitte Con-sulting shows that non-regular working hours would harm the social rhythm which would increasingly lead to stress and illness with the employees.

The emphasis is on a common weekly day of rest which would provide a com-mon focal point for the time rhythm in state and society which would strengthen the social cohesiveness.

This development brings special de-light to the Roman Catholic leaders. The retired bishop of Linz and former profes-sor bishop for social questions at the Aus-trian bishops conference, Maximilian Aichern says “A Sunday free of work is the oldest social law of the Christian-Jewish civilisation rooted in the old testa-ment covenant (3rd of the 10 command-ments). The common day of rest, the so-cial contacts which go with it and the praising of the Lord are the most impor-tant Christian values and which are indis-pensible for the human dignity.”

Defenders of the Sunday observance recognize that the Jewish community and the Seventh-day Adventist church, do not rest on Sunday but recognise the Satur-day Sabbath as the biblical day of rest.

The European Jewish Congress (EJC) had no comments yet on its assessment of the inception of the European Sunday Alliance.

Director for Religious Liberty of the North European Headquarters of the Sev-enth-day Adventist Church, in St. Albans, near London, Raafat Kamal commented on the launching of the European Sunday Alliance as follows: "We support the no-tion that people need a day of rest to achieve a life/work-balance to maintain the health and safety of workers. This is modelled by God in the biblical creation week where he worked for six days and rested on the seventh. At the same time,

we want to be sure that those who don't have Sunday as a designated religious day of rest will be respected and toler-ated. I hope that the partners in the European Sunday Alliance network who are trying to raise awareness of the value of synchronised free Sunday for Euro-pean societies will appreciate the plural-istic dimensions of the European Union countries and the importance of respect-ing those with different religious beliefs and practices. I also trust that this advo-cacy campaign for protection of a work-free Sunday will not result in escalation of tension among different groups.”

Two days after Vatican, Ecumenicals and Evangelicals signed the document on ethical principles for evangelism, requir-ing acceptance of differences, John Graz, the Secretary General of the International Religious Liberty Association issued a statement that Sunday should not be declared an official rest day for Europe-ans, and if a new proposal moves forward it should be amended to also include those who have another day of rest.

He says “There are deep traditional and historical reasons why Sunday, of all the days of the week, should be pro-posed as a weekly rest-day for Europe-ans. But dig a little deeper, and it be-comes clear that declaring Sunday -- or indeed any other day -- as the "official" rest day of Europe generates significant complications.

Can today's pluralistic Europe afford to marginalize its 13 million Muslim resi-dents, who attend mosque on Friday? And what about the EU's significant com-munity of Jews and Seventh-day Advent-ists who observe Saturday as Sabbath -- the oldest biblical day of rest which finds its roots in the Genesis creation story?”

As your pastor, reflecting on these de-velopment I invite you to pray more, study more, walk with God to know what our course of action should be, remem-bering prophetic warnings of Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13, and Hebrews 12:27.

Recent Sabbath School quarterly

was focused on emotions, for the

first time in our denominational his-

tory. A misunderstanding of Bibli-

cal teachings left many confused

about the “soul.” Many church

members are physically fit, eat well,

spiritually and intellectually in-

formed, passionately devoted spiri-

tually, and still “soul sick.” Apostle

Paul’s prayer in 1st Thessalonians

5:23 speaks of threefold nature of

human being – the spirit, soul and

the body. He writes in another letter

on the distinction between the soul

and the spirit (Hebrews 4:12).

In October 2011, the Seventh-

day Adventist Church will hold its

first international conference on

"Emotional Health & Wellness."

Members, pastors and administrators

to attend and consider their approach

to the issues of mental health and

depression among their workers.

Emot ional problems are

amongst the most challenging and

pervasive difficulties faced by our

world today. Yet there the church is

still in the progress of abolishing the

stigma of emotional imbalance. Dr.

Carlos Fayard is an Associate Pro-

fessor of Psychiatry at the Loma

Linda University School of Medi-

cine had written an article entitled

“Adventist churches should be

'havens of acceptance' in commu-

nity.”

Worldwide an estimated 450

million people have a psychiatric

disorder, including 121 million peo-

ple with depression, 200 million

with alcohol dependence, 37 million

with dementia, and 24 million with

schizophrenia, according to figures

from the World Health Organization.

Five out of the 10 leading causes of

disability around the world are the

result of major forms of emotional

distress. These conditions account

for a significant financial and social

burdens on individuals, families and

nations. The pain of emotional dis-

tress can be grave, to the point of

loss of life through suicide. Mental

conditions can often aggravate medi-

cal disorders and complicate their

treatment and final outcome.

Yet too often, church folks tell

those suffering from depression or

other emotional difficulties that they

just need to trust God, read the Bible

more, exercise more and eat more

healthfully. While these are very

important and necessary for some-

one who has a major emotional chal-

lenge, there needs to be an approach

where the grace of Jesus is reflected

with an understanding of emotional

health. It's inappropriate and poten-

tially dangerous to just tell people to

throw their pills away or stop seeing

a counselor when they really need

the assistance.

The Seventh-day Adventist

church has a major commitment to

alleviating emotional stress, and its

spiritual message has brought hope

and a new life to many around the

world. Many of the denomination's

hospitals provide mental health ser-

vices, and the last few years have

seen an explosion of educational

programs to train professionals

equipped to deliver mental health

services.

Here locally, in London Ontario

we are utilizing Dr.Neddley’s

“Depression, the way out” curricu-

lum to help people improve their

emotional health. This year Gord &

Kathy Rayner are offering the 2nd

session, offering weekly sessions

from 7 to 9 pm.

September 9 - Identifying De-

pression and It's Causes, September

13 - Lifestyle Treatment for Depres-

sion, September 20 - Nutrition and

the Brain, September 23 - How

Thinking Can Defeat Depression,

September 27 - Positive Lifestyle

Choices, October 4 - Stress Without

Distress, October 11 - Living Above

Loss, October 18 - How to Improve

Brain Function.

Information session will be of-

fered August 29, at 7 pm at 805

Shelborne Street, London, ON.

Parents, how are you surviving the media

takeover?

Waiting in line for groceries I watched a

young family give their iPhone to quiet their 2

& 3 year old. The iPhone had a cartoon, and

maybe few more in the video memory bank.

At church socials teens are playing video

games on their iPhones, instead of engaging

with people, nature and reality. Even during

church programs where people are to partici-

pate and assist, we see, quite often, youth,

busying themselves with texting. Two friends

could be walking side by side and texting to

others, not conversing between themselves.

One could say that they are not even

“together” at that moment. So, I am wondering

if the MEDIA is becoming the new idol, new

source of “solutions” for human needs. When

I say “media” in this short article I include al-

together TV, computers, laptop, iPad, movie

theatre, iPhone, androids and smartphones.

Those of us who remember years before

internet and smartphones, we could bring up

memories of outdoor fun with friends, biking,

camping, “pretend” games with role plays, and

skills we learned in the process. There is no

way we would have those memories if our

time would be spent watching TV! A recent

blog by Cindy Tutsch at the Adventist Today

website listed many other “things” to include

in media arsenal: gaming, Internet surfing,

iPods and iPads, YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Ap-

ple TV/iTunes, Amazon Instant Video,

Streaming, cable TV on demand. And even

this list is not exhaustive.

She goes on listing the “side effects” as her

arguments against most media entertainment:

Media may exacerbate learning disorders

and bullying behavior Hours of daily media contribute to Amer-

ica’s increasing obesity epidemic, especially

among children. Not only does TV et al, pro-

mote a sedentary lifestyle, it also promotes

junk food, another major contributor to Amer-

ica’s killer diseases Commercials promote materialism through

aggressive marketing of toys to even the

youngest of children

Adverse effects on the development of the

….continued from page 3

left frontal lobe of the brain, the area that controls moral

judgment and self-control.

Some research indicates that there is a negative cor-

relation between media exposure and children’s aca-

demic achievement and creativity. There may even be a

direct correlation between time spent absorbed in media

and personality disorders. Kids can become desensitized to violence. On an

average American children witness around 200,000 acts

of media violence by the time they turn 18 Media often glamorize and promote sex outside of

marriage, including objectifying women or engaging in

violence against women Media often stereotype or underrepresent non-whites Media alcohol advertising is powerfully attractive

and creative. (If advertising doesn’t cause people to buy

and use the product, why would it be a multi-billion dol-

lar industry?) Kids who watch TV are more likely to smoke than

kids who do not

Media can inhibit social development as well as hin-

der family bonding and communication Media entertainment is saturated with profanity For more information please read resources produced by

the University of Michigan on this topic.

www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm

Put this altogether and ask yourself, how does the

media affect spiritual development of your children? I

find that as adults we are even less aware to what is go-

ing on. My kids are sharing the subliminal messages

they perceive through media that are targeting the youth,

totally missed by adults. Which I understood only after

they, teens, explained to me!

Parents, please consider these Biblical principles for

instructing your children:

Philippians 4:8 Whatever is good and worthwhile,

think on these things

Psalm 101:3 I won’t watch anything worthless, lewd,

vile or vulgar

Isaiah 33:16 Those whose bread and water will be as-

sured [in the last days? are those who refrain now

from watching violence or evil

New dietary guidelines in the United States are confirming what a Sev-enth-day Adventist health pioneer demon-strated to the scientific community 50 years ago - a vegetarian diet adequately meets a person's nutritional needs.

The new “Plate” image is replacing the decades-old food pyramid, making it a tool for the school-age children, who will easily be able to grasp the importance of fruits and vege-tables from this new image. For more info on this visit www.choosemyplate.gov

Bus Trip

to Niagara

Parks

September 4, 2011 for more info speak to

Don Topper