For the first time in the forty-seven-year history of Jamaica, aSeventh-day Adventist will hold the nation’s highest office. Dr PatrickLinton Allen, president of the West Indies Union of the Church, is tobecome the sixth Governor General of Jamaica. Jamaican Prime

Minister Bruce Golding announced his appointment in a parliament session on Tuesday 13 January.

A veteran Seventh-day Adventist Church leader in the Caribbean, hereplaces Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall, who resigned last year due tohealth reasons. ‘Dr Allen will resign his present position as West IndiesUnion president, and a special executive session will be held on 10February to name a successor,’ said Israel Leito, Inter-American Divisionpresident.

Appointed by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, Allen will serve as theQueen’s direct representative in Jamaica on ceremonial occasions, such asthe opening of parliament and the presentation of state honours. While therole is non-political, Jamaica’s constitution does allow the Governor Generalto appoint and oversee officers of the civil service.

Allen said his Adventist faith would ‘undergird’ his new role. ‘Any decisions I make will be cast in justice, equity and compassion,’ he said.He is expected to take up his new role in late February.

Restorative justice is one area Allen said he expects to devote consider-able attention to, working within Jamaica’s justice system to mediatebetween perpetrators and victims. Allen said he shared Adventist worldChurch president Jan Paulsen’s commitment to social justice and wouldcommit his ‘leadership and influence’ to emphasising human rights andcommunity involvement.

Israel Leito told Adventist Review news editor, Mark Kellner, ‘Theappointment of Dr Allen as Governor General of Jamaica is something his-toric in Jamaica and the world field.’ He added, ‘As far as memory goes,this [appointment of an Adventist pastor as a Governor General] has neverhappened before. But the Inter-American Division is so pleased that one ofour leaders, through the high standing of the Church, has reached such adistinction that he could be considered for such a position.’

Pastor Don McFarlane, president of the Adventist Church in the UK andIreland, is a life-long friend of Dr Allen and was quick to send him a letterof congratulations. He wrote, ‘I feel so proud of what you have accom-plished personally and of the honour accorded to the Seventh-day AdventistChurch in Jamaica in your having been appointed the sixth GovernorGeneral of Jamaica. They could not have chosen a better man.’ He added,‘The entire Adventist community in the British Isles share the joy of theirbrothers and sisters in Jamaica. Be assured of our full support in prayerand in any other way possible.’

Allen brings a strong educational background to the position. Afterattending Moneague Teachers’ College in Jamaica, Allen later earned three degrees, including a doctorate in Educational Administration andSupervision from Adventist-owned Andrews University in Berrien Springs,Michigan. He has served in many posts within and outside the AdventistChurch, including president of the Central Jamaican Conference, director of Education and Family Life at the West Indies Union Conference and adistrict pastor, overseeing more than twenty churches and companies.

Allen also serves on a number of national and international boards andcommittees, including the Executive Committee of the Adventist worldChurch and the Police Civilian Oversight Authority, which serves to makesure that the police function within the law and citizens’ rights are main-tained. He also acts as Justice of the Peace for the Parish of Manchester,Jamaica. In 2006, the government of Jamaica conferred on Allen the honourof Commander of the Order of Distinction for outstanding service to hiscountry. He is the second Seventh-day Adventist to serve as GovernorGeneral in the Caribbean region. From 1993 to 2007, James Carlisle served as Governor General of Antigua. Three Adventists currently serve in Jamaica’s House of Representatives.

Jamaica, with a population of 2.8 million, is a constitutional parliamentary democracy, which gained its independence from Britain in1962. It remains a part of the British Commonwealth of Nations, and Queen Elizabeth II is its monarch; the Governor General represents theQueen. Currently one in twelve people in Jamaica are Adventists.

by Victor Hulbert, Communication director, BUC

AChristian bus driver inSouthampton has refused to drive a bus sporting the slogan,

‘There’s probably no God. Now stopworrying and enjoy your life.’ It is amessage that the British HumanistAssociation originally sponsored forLondon buses but the campaign hasnow spread elsewhere. Perhaps it isnot the best message to greet you on a winter morning, but it has givenChristians free publicity for their Godas the adverts have become a talkingpoint in pubs and workplaces acrossthe country. In many ways the cam-paign has backfired on humanists. It has actually raised the profile of God in the public arena and givenChristians an open opportunity to witness.

Looking through the messageboards on the Internet I have becomeintrigued by one thing. The God thehumanists don’t believe in – and arefighting so strongly against – is one Idon’t believe in either. The commentthey keep making is, ‘I’m sick and tired

of adverts that tell me to convert or I’llgo to hell.’ One Facebook discussionboard writer sums up a common view:‘Non-believers burn in eternal hellfireand it’s part of your duty to seek outthe blasphemers and punish them.’ For many an agnostic or atheist, thereason for non-belief is the distortedpicture of God given in their past.

That is why I have enjoyed readingthrough Genesis and Exodus this lastmonth. It takes me back to origins.These books share with me insightsinto God’s care for his creation. I lovethe first two chapters of Genesis asthey show me that I am more than adescendant of an amoeba or chim-panzee. The story gives me self-esteem. I am his special creation. I ammade in his likeness. I equally appreci-ate chapter 3. A sad story of loss, yettransformed into one of promise asGod seeks out Adam in the garden and starts the plan of redemption.

As I struggled with Noah and his120-year mission, travelled withAbraham on his roller-coaster faith

journey, despaired with Esau andJacob, then followed with wonder God’s workings with Moses and theIsraelites, I came to realise that this isa God who is more than the ‘IntelligentDesigner’ of those scientists whorecognise some plan in the cosmos butdo not want to put a name to it. This isa God who works for relationship withhis creation. Working with the ‘stiff-necked’ Israelites in the wilderness –and recognising all their weaknesses –he still says to them, ‘The people thatyou live among will see how awesomeis the work that I, the Lord, will do foryou.’ (Exodus 34:10, NIV.) As our‘Follow the Bible’ reading plan takes us into Leviticus and Numbers withtheir rules and regulations, we may

find the message harder to see, yeteven there the very rules themselvespoint to a God who cares for theirphysical, social and spiritual well-being. He gives them a set of guidelines far superior to those of the surrounding nations.

There is some hard going in partsof the Old Testament. Some may strug-gle with parts of the reading plan, but Iwould suggest that you always ask thequestion, ‘What is God trying to say tome in this passage?’ I may not get allthe answers but I’m sure it will prayer-fully make me think. It may also giveme something to talk about on the bus,because I can now ‘stop worrying andenjoy my life’ because I know I have aGod who cares.

2 Messenger Messenger 3

up in Latin Bibles and monasteries for morethan a thousand years.

Men like Martin Luther discovered thatthe Church of his day had lost sight of somefundamental themes of Christ’s Gospel.Huldrych Zwingli wanted a ChristianRenaissance: ‘a Christianity that would be born all over again, restored to the simplicity and vitality of the apostolic age’.1

The root of the Big Idea was the democ-ratisation of faith. The true Church was a‘community’ of believers, not a divinely-ordained, many-layered hierarchy with allthe powers and authority vested exclusivelyin clergy. ‘All believers, men and women, byvirtue of their baptism, are priests.’2 Lutherbased his ‘priesthood of all believers’ on theNew Testament concept of a corporate ‘royalpriesthood’.

Luther insisted, at first, that the right to read and interpret the Bible was thebirthright of every Christian. The Church hadno divinely ordained monopoly on biblicalinterpretation. Only when this idea seemedto have contributed to the Peasants’ War didLuther concede a special role for scholars ininterpreting the Bible.

What were the consequences of theincreased availability of the Bible and thewidespread practice of Bible study?

* The Bible came to be accepted as theonly foundation for belief and practice.

* The local language (as opposed toLatin, the language of the Church) wasaccepted as the only acceptable biblicaltext, and vehicle for worship, preaching andtheological discussion. Accessibility was thekey. All should be enabled to participate.That was basic to the Big Idea.

* Salvation is a free, unmerited gift ofGod received by faith. Justification by Faithwas the central, controlling doctrine ofScripture from Genesis to Revelation.Salvation was exclusively by the grace ofGod, not the gift of the Church.

* There is no spiritual elite because, fundamentally, there is no distinctionbetween clergy and laity.

The implications of the Big Idea shookthe Church to its foundations. It is still doingso. The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a

• The greater the mental fitness, the more you willstimulate the growth of new neurones and newconnections between them.

• The type of mental activity you undertake determines in which area of the brain growth takes place.

These facts were discovered by combining experiments from real-life situations and the use of high-resolution technologies (neuroimaging), partic-ularly MRI brain scans. Studies revealed that certainparts of the brain were larger in individuals who usedthat section of the brain more than most people.

Research findings• The part of the brain critical for spatial memory –

the hippocampus – was larger than usual inLondon cab drivers, who generally have to navigateand remember complex routes in large city areas.

• A part of the temporal lobe of the brain (Heschl’sgyrus) involved in processing music is larger in

F

Rebirthing the Big IdeaDavid Marshall

Five hundred years ago a Big Idea wasshouldering its way to the front in the think-ing of the gathering reform movement inEurope.

The Church of the Middle Ages hadclaimed to be the sole dispenser of salva-tion. To get in with God, the Church taught,people must first make themselves good inthe ways the Church prescribed.

But how qualified was the Church to dispense salvation? the great Renaissancescholars asked. There was something rottenin the state of Christendom.

The core of truth was not found in theteachings of churchmen. It was found insomething older than the institutionalisedchurch: the Bible. In the previous fifty yearslay literacy had soared and the new tech-nology of reusable type had made the Biblefar more widely available than previously.Renaissance scholars were not just examin-ing the ancient manuscripts of poets andphilosophers, but of the Old and NewTestaments. As they did so the faults ofJerome’s Latin Vulgate began to show up.

Erasmus of Rotterdam worked on a moreaccurate version of the Bible in its originallanguages. What made the Big Idea possi-ble, however, was the enthusiasm of schol-ars like William Tyndale and Martin Lutherfor making Erasmus’s Textus Receptus thebasis of easy-to-read Bibles printed in thelanguages people were accustomed to read.

The Church was angry. It was losing itsmonopoly on ‘salvation’. It arranged hugebonfires of common language Bibles. Itsought to burn, too, the scholars who hadtranslated them and succeeded in the caseof Englishman William Tyndale.

But God was behind the new movement– and its progress was onward. The Biblebecame more readily available than it hadever been. Far, far more important: the Biblecame to be more widely read than it hadever been.

Those who see the resultant reformmovement in purely temporal terms stressthe role of princes and economic forces.Those of us who see the hand of God in itview what happened as the consequence ofa freeing up of great scriptural truths locked

Enhancing mental capacityNeuroscientists are discovering from ongoing researchhow flexible the brain is. It was once thought that theadult brain only lost cells (neurones) and was not ableto replace them. Current research reveals that the newneurones and the connections between them continueto develop throughout life, well into the senior years.This process of acquiring new brain cells is called neuroplasty, and research now shows that it can beharnessed to help protect and enhance our mentalcapacity.

Science is proving that the brain responds to men-tal stimulation much like a muscle responding to phys-ical exercise. As we give the body regular workouts toenhance health and well-being, so the brain requiresregular workouts to enhance its efficiency.

Facts• The more diverse and vigorous your mental

activity, the more you are able to handle mentalchallenges.

professional musicians than in non-musical individuals.

• The part of the brain involved in language (theAngular gyrus) proved to be larger in bilingual individuals than in those only speaking one language.

EvaluationThe extent to which a specific area of the brain wasenlarged was directly related to the amount of time the individual spent on activities stimulating that brainarea. So the hippocampal size was larger in brains of cab drivers the more years they spent on the job, and the size of Heschl’s gyrus related to the amount of time a musician devoted to practising his musicalinstrument.

Tip: Increase mental activity to increase brain capacity.

Next issue examines exercises for brain stimulation. Good health!

direct consequence.But, from a twenty-first-century perspec-

tive, is it possible that the Big Idea has runinto trouble? Yes; and it has run into troublebefore. It runs into trouble when the noveltyof the available, open Word wears off. Whenfolks lose their fascination and stop makingtime to be immersed in the Word.

A hell-for-leather lifestyle can choke theWord. Over-familiarity with antiquated lan-guage can obscure meaning as surely asthe Latin Vulgate did. Surrender to morenovel contemporary claims on our attention– mp3 players, iPlayer, Blu-Ray players, thewww – can silence the voice of God in ourears.

As medieval Christians took what washanded out by the Church without troublingto check the Word, so can we. Or we canallow some other intermediary ‘authority’from an independent or, for that matter,‘dependent’ ministry – to package truth forus.

The consequence of these failings is theprevalence of a folk-Adventism that viewsthe Bible as no more than a rule book, aguide to behaviour God finds pleasing. Thismisconception reduces the Christian life toa quest for salvation through obedience to astern, law-giving God.

That is a million miles from God’s BigIdea: salvation by grace through faith inJesus Christ alone.

For Christianity to be born anew amongus in power, for the simplicity and vitality ofthe apostolic age to erupt afresh – we needto revisit our Bibles.

Speaking personally, there is nothing tocompare with the sheer thrill and invigora-tion of reading one of the gospels at a sit-ting, of being one of a careful prayer groupwho look at Acts again – and, thus pre-pared, take Romans chapter by chapter(better still, a few verses at a time).

The biographies – Joseph, Moses,Samuel, David, Elijah – of the OldTestament address all life’s issues and situations. It’s all there in the prophets and the psalms.

I hereby incite you to discover again ‘thepower of God unto salvation’ in the privacy of your own home.

It’s time for the Big Idea to be rebornamong us.

References:1Alister McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: TheProtestant Revolution (SPCK, 2007), page 67. 2Ibid,page 52.

Brain Health Part 11a

Follow the Bible in 2009

Busman’s Bibleby Victor Hulbert, Communication director, BUC

© Jon Worth / British Humanist Association

once I was asked by suffering patients to pro-vide some means for them to end their life.Yet we need to say ‘No’. However, at thesame time, we need to show empathy, under-standing and caring – as most such desirescome from some excruciating pain, eitherphysical or mental. Such pain can be so over-powering that people are not really ‘free’ tomake any decision and their acts are too irra-tional to be morally judged by us. On someoccasions patients who had asked for assis-tance to commit suicide did not even (wantto?) remember their request a few days later,when the pain had gone through better med-ication or the healing process – proving thatthey ‘hadn’t been themselves’ when theymade their suicide request.

Is depression mental illness or lack offaith?The second question is often a kind of rebut-tal to the first answer. While depression mayprecipitate suicide, some argue that depres-sion should not have occurred in the firstplace! Depression – some Christians argue –is a lack of faith, not illness. As a pastoralcounsellor with considerable psychotherapeu-tic training, you will expect that I am moreinclined to argue for depression as mental ill-ness. The difficult part of answering thisquestion is the resistance I find in manychurches towards a medical understanding ofdepression. Therefore I need to argue espe-cially carefully here – not only medically, butalso theologically.

If depression is a lack of faith, not an ill-ness, all that would need to be done is tostrengthen a person’s faith. There is no needfor medication or therapeutic intervention –just prayer, Bible reading and a good, healthyChristian lifestyle. Unfortunately, this is notour experience! We all know people in thechurch who are occasionally gloomy,depressed, or just ‘down’. Now what do youthink will happen if you tell such people thatthey don’t have a strong enough faith, butneed to pray more, and more fervently? Theywill try harder – and rarely succeed with theirefforts – or they will lose their faith, or theywill start to pretend and hide their feelings!

In Pentecostal churches we often find thebelief that all illness can be healed if only webelieve and call on the name of Jesus. Thosewho are not healed are labelled as having lit-tle faith or, to put it more bluntly, it is theirown fault they are still ill. Insiders of suchchurches report how illness often has to behidden by those who suffer in order to avoidthe accusation of ‘little faith’. This is tragic!While I believe in the healing power of Godand rejoice over miracles, let us admit that miraculous healing is not a regular experience, but an extraordinary one.

In other words, to make depression anissue of faith will cause even more depres-sion, as it tells people they have failed spiri-tually! What could be more condemning for aChristian? Let’s be careful here.

Depression clearly is a mental illness. Infact, recent research has shown that thereare far more neurobiological causes todepressive states than have been suspectedin the past. To put it more bluntly: depressioncan and needs to be viewed as any other ail-ment, just like a broken arm or a stomachulcer. As Adventists we really should take thisin our stride. Many of us are still a littleCatholic in our Adventism! We think it is OKto see a medical doctor for physical ailmentsbut we frown on those who seek psychothera-peutic or psychiatric help for mental prob-lems. While a minister who has a stomachulcer as a result of too much stress will get alot of sympathy from his church, the sameminister will be questioned as to his faith ifhe suffers from depression for the same reason!

Is suicide the unpardonable sin?Well, of course it isn’t. The Adventist Churchhas never claimed suicide to be the unpar-donable sin. Yet I have met many Adventistswho believe that suicide cannot be forgivenbecause you cannot ask for forgiveness onceyou are dead.

This human logic is awful. Not only does itignore the fact that there can be medical rea-sons beyond the control of a person that leadto suicide, it portrays an image of God whichhas to produce a Christian life in constantfear, far away from any assurance of salva-tion. ‘If I am not right with God the very lastmoment of my life, I will be lost forever; Godcannot accept me,’ such logic tells me.

If this logic were true and biblical, countthe moments in your life in which you couldhave died in peace and assurance of salva-tion. There are probably more moments whenyou wouldn’t have been able to die with suchpeace of mind. Why? We are sinners, and willremain sinners while we dwell on Earth.Salvation means God’s righteousness inChrist is counted as our righteousness. Oursalvation does not depend on our actions buton Christ’s act. If we believe this, our lastmoment is not decisive, but Christ’s lastmoment was decisive. This is what theolo-gians call ‘justification’. If the work of salva-tion can be ‘spoiled’ by our last deed, word orthought, I am afraid only those who die in themiddle of fervent prayer might be saved.

This does not mean ‘once saved, alwayssaved’. We can fall from grace. But we cannotfall from grace, nor can we sin against theHoly Spirit, by any single act, as our God is‘slow to anger, abounding in love and faithful-

Messenger 5

I have been askedto address someof the pastoralissues and theo-

logical questions relating to suicide. I havechosen three frequently asked questionswhich arise when suicide occurs in aChristian community.

The questions are:• Is suicide an outcome of mental illness or

of free will choice?• Is depression a sign of illness or of a lack

of faith?• Is suicide the unpardonable sin?

More than answering the questions (maybewe have to concede that we do not have allthe answers), I would like to look at the impli-cations of possible answers and leave it toyou to draw your own conclusions.

Is suicide an outcome of mental illness orof free will choice?Philosophers like Socrates and, in morerecent times, Jean Amery did not only arguefor free will choice, but exemplified what theybelieved by their own suicidal acts. On theother hand, people who have some knowledgeand experience with psychotherapy have quiteconvincingly argued for a mental illnessmodel. The God-given will to live is too strongto be overruled by choice under ‘normal’ cir-cumstances. Before we attempt to answer thequestion, let us look at the implications.

If suicide is a free will choice, it looks likean act of defiance against God as Creator andgiver of all life. As Adventists we believe infree will. Evangelism is based on exercisingour free will to follow God’s wonderful invita-tion. Thus this view will ring very familiar tous: The decision for suicide is the opposite ofthe decision for Christ; it is a decision fordeath rather than life. From a pastoral view,however, such a position will make itextremely difficult to comfort those whomourn. Even more: it will tend to make usjudgemental (please remember Matthew 7:1).

If, on the other hand, suicide is an out-come of mental illness, the person who dieddid so as a result of an illness rather than achoice. He cannot be held morally responsiblefor his death. Modern medicine has manygood reasons to suggest that certain emotion-al problems can be biologically explained bysome kind of ‘misfiring’ in the brain, leading

to some undesired acts. Thus people withTourette’s Syndrome cannot help but makeunwanted muscle movements and in somecases utter curse words, without any controlwhatsoever over their condition. Similarly,suicide is one especially unfortunate symptom of depression and related mentaldisorders – nothing more, nothing less.

Both ‘answers’ have a good deal going forthem and, at the same time, create someproblems and raise new issues. Once wethink about it, we will see that the secondapproach does not necessarily contradict thefirst. Even though we have a free will to exer-cise responsibility, a consequence of the Fall

is illness and disease, marring the perfectimage of God. Salvation is all about therestoration of the image of God. But whilesalvation is complete with Christ’s sacrifice,we still live in a fallen world with all the consequences of sinful nature until he comes again.

Since I asked you to consider the implica-tions of each proposition, let me show yousome implications of my ‘both . . . and’approach. When talking about prevention weneed to be very clear that suicide is not anoption for a Christian. God is the One who hasauthority over life and death. I worked as ahospital chaplain for many years. More than

4 Messenger

Challenges arising from suicideby Dr Andreas Bochmann, PhD, senior lecturer in Pastoral Care and Counselling, Newbold College

For some years an atmosphere has prevailed in some of ourcongregations which has made it hard, perhaps impossible, for those suffering from any form of mental illness, such asdepression, to discuss it with fellow church members without

accusations of ‘lack of faith’. As a result, in addition to their illness, the sufferer has had to accept a side order of guilt.

In this series of articles, many Adventist professionals have made the casefor greater understanding among us.

In this issue, first Newbold’s Andreas Bochmann, then SEC’s Bernie Holfordreach the final issue of the series: suicide. Suicide, while not common amongus, is not unknown. Since suicide can result when an individual suffering froman extreme form of either stress or depression feels that he/she is unable todiscuss his/her issues with those of the community of faith, these are the mostimportant articles of the series.

Dr Bochmann’s article was sent electronically to all pastors by Union president Pastor Don McFarlane in the autumn. Here we make it available to the whole MESSENGER family.EDITOR

ness’. (Psalm 86:15;see also 103:8, 145:8;Numbers 4:18; Joel2:13; John 4:2;Nahum 1:3.) Thereare still some whodelight in painting adistorted picture ofGod as one wholooks at ourdeeds ratherthanChrist’sdeed.

Let’sbeverywatchfulhere, for weare dealing withthe heart of theGospel!

The suicide of PastorSpearing last June – tragicas it undoubtedly was –may not have been in vainif it helps the Churchtowards a fuller under-standing of a loving andcaring God and a com-passionate Church.Whether or not Godwill accept David intohis Kingdom whenJesus comes doesnot depend onwhat David did ordid not do, buton what Jesusdid for David –and for you,and for me –on the Crossand as aHigh Priestuntil hecomesagain.

STRESS AND DEPRESSIONDear EditorThank you for finally having three issuescovering stress. Like depression, if youhaven’t had it, you don’t understand it.

People think you choose to bestressed. I think some people’s person-alities attract stress more than others.Yes, it is finding ways of dealing with it,such as time management, and God’shelp.

Please can people realise that it isnot easy. Using ways to make life easierreduces stress, but it never truly goes.

I find planning does not help, buttaking one day at a time, or one thing ata time, is good advice. TANYA

FINDING A FRIENDDear EditorI would like to find a friend. I am 47,married, with no children. I am aSeventh-day Adventist and live in theWatford area. My Mom and sister live inthe Midlands so I only know my husbandhere. I do not know many people, only afew members from the local church. Iwould like to have a friend to go out withnow and again, and to have someone totalk to as I get quite lonely at times. Ihope you can help.Name and address supplied.Editor: Submit your name, address andparticulars to me in the first instanceand I will send them on.

DEPRESSIONDear EditorFurther to the article on depression inMessenger volume 114, 2 January 2009,I would like to take the opportunity ofcongratulating you on your courage inpublishing in view of the widespreadignorance and prejudice on the subjectof mental illness.

I have experienced two mentalbreakdowns, the first in 1984 and thesecond building over the course of lessthan a week at the Caton Bay churchcamp meeting in 1994.

Most people seem to think the term‘depression’ covers all sorts of mentalillnesses but in my experience this isonly a part of the full range of these illnesses. The other, by far the most dangerous, is mania or ‘elation’ thatoccurs in what is now more generallytermed bi-polar disorder or, worse still, schizophrenia, when associatedhallucinations are out of step with theprevailing dominant mood, which cancause terror in the patient. (I know byexperience this is true.)

When I experienced my first break-down, I had already become a Christian(accepted Jesus as my personal Saviourand trying to follow Jesus as my Lord)during my sojourn with the Methodists,and my second occurred shortly before Ibecame a Seventh-day Adventist.

I would like to encourage you to pub-lish more such articles and urge peoplenot to forget Jesus during these very catastrophic illnesses.

In my case I was blessed with a verykind Hindu psychiatrist who encouragedme to discontinue my medication inexchange for my trust in Jesus for heal-ing and health. He said that he, the psychiatrist, could only help God in thehealing process, but the consultant hasto use powerful drugs in very dangeroussituations as mine were.

A part of my testimony is that while Itook very powerful anti-psychotic drugsfor a relatively short period, my trust inJesus is still being very efficacious.

I have tried to describe my experi-ences as concisely as possible in thehope that, if you publish my letter, it maybe of help to other people who are in aplace where I have been, but with thehelp of Jesus, a very kind consultant andNHS staff, I have had little or no realtrouble from the condition since 1994.GRAHAM RIGBY, Halifax

Many of the Newbold staff hadworked long hours preparing docu-mentation for the visit. Their hardwork clearly paid off. Among otherthings, the inspectors praisedNewbold for its talented and veryknowledgeable teachers, an extraor-dinarily strong and effective systemof student welfare, with a betterpastoral care system than they hadseen in other UK higher educationinstitutions, and the best library theyhad seen in an independent college.

‘We are extremely happy withwhat we have seen and this will bereflected in our report,’ they said.

‘The inspectors’ report isextremely gratifying,’ said DrBaildam, director of AcademicAffairs. ‘In a long list of commenda-tions, it was clear to members of theNewbold staff that many of the val-ues that matter most to us had beenrecognised in our work by knowl-edgeable and widely-experiencedinspectors.’

Messenger 7

Ihave experienced the effects of anumber of suicides. As a teenag-er I was told that our kind,recently-retired next-door neigh-

bour had been found dead in hisgarden by his wife. I had talked tohim over the garden fence manytimes. I asked, ‘Why did he take hislife?’ and was told, ‘His wife didn’tlove him.’

I knew a chronically ill lady whodied after her husband divorced her,and a caring, loving mother whokilled her own children beforedrowning herself.

In 2008 a most gifted and com-passionate pastor was not the firstchurch worker in the UK to take hisown life. Each one of these situa-tions deeply affected me, as doesthe death of all those who are closeto us. However, death by suicideunsettles many of us in a more complicated way than when the loss is through an accident or ill-

ness. We are often left with a senseof despair, confusion and powerless-ness. Shock hits us when the newsfirst strikes and ‘if only I hadcalled/visited’ thoughts reverberatethrough our minds and we feel guiltythat we weren’t able to prevent thetragedy.

In this article I will discuss a fewideas about what to do when wepersonally have suicidal thoughts,as well as exploring how we canrespond to those who may be at riskof committing suicide. I will also lookat some of the spiritual issues thatsuicide raises for us as Christians.

God understands suicidalthoughtsHumans have been hard wired byGod to need each other ever sincehe said in Genesis 2:18: ‘It is notgood for man to be alone.’ When weare isolated or believe no one cares

for us, we, like the psalmist KingDavid, or Elijah after Mount Carmel,are at most risk of depression andwanting our lives to end. ‘But I am aworm and not a man’ (Psalm 22:6)expresses the dehumanising experi-ence of those battling with suicidalthoughts. ‘All who see me mock me’(Ps 22:7) shows the paranoid-typethinking that often accompanies thismental state. No matter how hardyou try to convince them that theirperspective is not true, ‘[Their] heartis turned to wax, it has meltedaway.’ (Psalm 22:14.) One interpre-tation of ‘the valley of the shadow ofdeath’ (Psalm 23:4a) is the place inour lives when depression and suici-dal thoughts are present for a while.The good news is that ‘I will fear noevil, for you are with me; your rodand your staff, they comfort me.’(Psalm 23:4b.) God wants to revealhis presence and care for us at thischallenging time.

Break the silenceThoughts of suicide are quite com-mon and can come ‘out of the blue’to some people. For others, suicidalthoughts are part of a pattern ofdepression; for others, they are anatural response to experiencingshame. Alternatively, they may beinduced by burnout, fatigue or hor-monal imbalance. What should youdo if you are experiencing suicidalthoughts? The first thing is to askGod which people you should tell.Breaking the taboo of silence aboutthese thoughts and feelings is criti-cal for your recovery. If there is noone you can talk to, go to your doctorand recruit prayer support from yourpastor. Suicidal thoughts are oftenpart of a complex pattern of thinkingthat may be associated with mentalillness. Just as it is normal to catcha cold when our bodies are chilled,so we are more likely to experience

burnout when we are overstressed.Adventist leaders, such as JamesWhite, suffered depression with allits associated patterns of thinking. Itis not a failure but a sign of wisdomto seek help for physical, mental orspiritual illness.

Challenging the suicidal thoughtsSuicidal thoughts need to be chal-lenged using positive Scripture texts.‘The belt of truth . . . and the swordof the Spirit, which is the word ofGod.’ (Ephesians 6:14, 17.) We needto replace our faulty thinking (‘takecaptive every thought’ 2 Corinthians10:5) with God’s truthful and lovingthinking, which is:• God loves me – Psalm 103:11,

17• I am precious to him – 1 John

8:10• He delights in me – Zephaniah

3:17• God has a purpose for my life –

Jeremiah 29:11• He cares when I am hurting – 2

Corinthians 1:3, 4• I am forgiven – 1 John 1:9• God is always with me – Psalm

139

Other methods of promoting physi-cal, mental, spiritual and relationalhealing are also essential in the battle against suicidal thoughts.

How to respond to a suicidalfriendWe should not struggle alone to helpa person who has frequent suicidalthoughts. As Christians we need to:• Pray that

– God will help us to be a supportive friend/relationthrough this journey.

– he will heal this person.• Always refer such people to a

doctor for medical help andensure that they take the medication if prescribed.

• Insist that they receive appropri-ate counselling or psychiatrichelp.

• Ask how the one suffering wouldlike to be supported.

• Offer appropriate support tothose who are closest to the suf-ferer, or seek support if you arethe primary carer.

• Encourage, but avoid preachingand moralising! (1 Thessalonians5:11.)

• Ask the question ‘Who wouldmiss you most if you died?’ anddiscuss their relationship withthis person. How would God missthem?

A suicide of a friend or relativemay invite us to question our rela-tionship with God. Why did God notstop the person killing themselves?Surely he could have told us to intervene and save him or her?Experiences like this can help usgrow in our understanding of ourhuman frailty as well as lead us totrust the sovereignty of God, ‘Fordominion belongs to the LORD.’(Psalm 22:28.) As we come to termswith our powerlessness to preventsuch tragedies we learn to be com-passionate rather than judgementaland to support one another in thejourney of life. By the grace of Godwe discover the wisdom to live inter-dependently in a way that givesmeaning and purpose to our ownand others’ lives. As Jesus says, ‘Ihave come that they may have lifeand have it to the full.’ (John 10:10.)

6 Messenger

Suicide – a pastoral responseby Pastor Bernie Holford, MSc in Systematic Psychotherapy, Family and Children’s Ministries director, SEC

Breaking the taboo of silence about these thoughts and feelings is critical

for your recovery

DO YOU NEEDHELP?The Seventh-day AdventistChurch in the British Isles operates a comprehensive counselling service, involving ateam of specialists. They aretrained to help those sufferingfrom depression and other challenging life situations.

SEC Counselling: 0207 723 8050 NEC Counselling: 0161 740 3602

During the Christmas vacation, theBritish Accreditation Council forIndependent Further and HigherEducation informed Newbold Collegethat its application for accreditationhad been successful. The accredita-tion is valid for four years andmeans that Newbold is recognisedby the Home Office.

A visit to Newbold College byBritish Accreditation Council (BAC)representatives in November broughthigh commendation for the work ofNewbold College staff.

The visit was carried out inresponse to the British government’smanaged migration policy whichstipulates that all independent high-er education institutions not receiv-ing government-recognised accredi-tation will eventually be closed. It is no exaggeration to say thatNewbold’s future hung on this visit.

The inspection team toured thecampus, scrutinised extensive docu-mentation, spent eight hours observ-ing in classrooms, met with admin-istrative, support and teaching staff,lunched informally with students,and inspected the College’s systemsof Quality Assurance, Pastoral Care,IT, and Health and Safety. Theyexamined the Admissions andRecords and Financial Systems andlooked closely at the library provi-sion. At the end of the two days theymet with the members of the SeniorManagement Team to report on theirfindings. ‘We have no reservations incommending your work,’ they toldthem.

BAC accreditation for Newbold Collegeby Helen Pearson, PRO

Have you ever had a friend who sat and ate a cake thatlooked amazing, but they never offered you a piece? Whensomeone has something good and they don’t share it withus, we can feel sad, lonely and sometimes cross as well!

Many of our friends don’t know Jesus. Many peoplein the world are hungry and sick and have nowhere

to live. The grownup people in your church are goingto be collecting money for ADRA soon, so we canshare our good things with those who need them.Today our activities are all about mission and sharing.Hope you enjoy them!

Visit the North American Division Children’s Ministry websitewww.childmin.com and write ‘Cookbook of Outreach Ideas’ in the searchbox at the bottom of the screen. You will find a booklet of ideas you candownload and print off to inspire your family’s mission projects.

Why not make some healthy treats to share with your friends? Mix equal partsof smooth peanut butter and honey. Then add dried milk, soymilk powder orfinely ground almonds, and stir in until the mixture can be rolled into smallballs. Or ask a grownup to help you add hot orange juice slowly to choppeddates and stir until the mixture is smooth. Add ground almondsto thicken the mixture and extra orange oil if you like astronger fruit flavour. Shape into balls or logs and roll inflaked coconut. Perhaps you could sell them to raisemoney for ADRA.

The story of Zacchaeus, the little man whoclimbed a tree to see Jesus, is found in the

Bible in Luke 19:1-10. Read the story.Imagine you are Zacchaeus up in thetree. How do you think he felt when he

was hiding up there? He was very rich, buthe was sad. What do you think he needed?How do you think he felt when Jesus invited

himself and his friends for dinner? Whatdifference did Jesus make to his life? Imagine you are

Zacchaeus and draw a row of faces showing his differentfeelings during the story. Or write a diary page that he mighthave written before he went to bed that night. Email yourdiary stories to children@adventist.org.uk by 31 March. We’dlove to read them!

Look up 2 Corinthians 9:7 and write the verseon a piece of paper. Collect lots of coins. Eachtime you read the verse, cover a differentword with a coin, until all the words have beencovered with money and you have learned theverse. Then put the verse into action by givingthe money to ADRA! Read the rest of chapter9 with your family. It’s all about why it’s sogood to share our money with needy people.

Take up a collection for the poor andneedy. (I Corinthians 16:1-3, Acts 24:17.)Here is a game with a mission that youcould play during family worship. Youneed to ask someone in your home tohide coins around the house so youcan hunt for them. Count the moneyyou have found and then discuss thewords in these texts. Pray for ideas fora project that will help your family toraise money for mission work.During March and April you can collectmoney for the Adventist Disaster andRelief Agency which will help hungryand hurting people around the world.You can also ask your parents to helpyou pack a gift for the Christmas ShoeBox Appeal later in the year. Pray that

your friends willhelp you to

collectmoney,too.

When we think of missionaries, we think of people going to farawayplaces to show them God's love, but we can be missionaries righthere. Here is something fun to do:

Divide a page lengthwise. (You will have two columns.) Now write thealphabet from A to Z down the page in the first column, close to theedge of the page. Then write the names of children you know atschool or in your neighbourhood who may not know how muchJesus loves them (for example, A-Ayesha, B-Brian, and so on). Thinkabout what you will do for each one to show them Jesus' love andnote it in the column on the right.

Why not send some of your ideas to children@adventist.org.uk before31 March? Wouldn’t it be great if we could share some different wayswe can show Jesus’ love to our friends?

Take a piece of card and turn it so that that one of the longsides of the card is at the top. Write the name of Jesus on the cardwith big fat letters. Colour the letters so that they are bright andbeautiful. Punch a row of holes along the bottom of the piece of cardusing a hole-punch. Ask an adult to find you some little tags on strings.Write the names of your friends on the tags and tie them to your‘Jesus’ card. Every time you see the card, pray for your friends.

Baptisms at BrixtonBrixton church is always in the frontline of reach-ing out for souls. Therefore when we began pro-moting the ‘Proclaiming his Grace’ campaign,which ran from 4 to 18 October, we were all pray-ing that the power of the Holy Spirit would touchthe hearts of those who would hear the Word.

Nicky Tulloch and her 11-year-old daughterDavinia Swaby had already decided to give theirlives to the Lord and, as they attended night afternight, there was a growing determination that thiswas the right thing to do. Nicky’s mother, SisterGibb, has been a member of the Brixton church fora long time and had made up her mind to returnto Jamaica. However, her desire had always beento see her daughter accept the Lord. Little by little,Nicky’s attendance became stronger and then achange occurred in Nicky’s life when the HolySpirit convicted her that her life could be abun-dant and that the change in her life would be pow-erful and lasting if she followed him. Nicky wasconcerned that there were so many things she hadto give up, but she found that the only thing shereally had to give up was her self-will to the Lordand he would do the rest. When Nicky and Daviniatook that step together, the whole church rejoiced.In total, nine souls were baptised as a result ofthe campaign, and we would like to extend ourthanks to Pastor Hamilton Williams and his cam-paign team for inviting Pastor Keith Anson Albury,a young man from the Bahamas, who deliveredthe messages. He was joined at the end of thecampaign by his wife. On the last day of the cam-paign Angela Bryant Brown, the singing evangelistfrom New York, sang of the wonderful change thatcomes over us, especially when people entrusttheir lives to God.

The names of those baptised are Keith ManleyTewari, Nicholas Thompson, Daniel Bello, SoniaColque-Fernandez, Rose Green, Lorraine Davis,Monisha Davis Barrett, Nicole Tulloch and DaviniaSwaby. VALERIE MOODIE

Messenger 11

Ordination of JeremyTremeer and JanMcKenzieby John Surridge, Welsh Mission president

On Sabbath afternoon 10 January 2009, JeremyTremeer and Jan McKenzie were ordained to thegospel ministry in a special service at the Cardiffchurch. The church was filled to capacity for theevent, with members travelling from all over Wales to support the ordinands. All of the otherserving ministers from the Welsh Mission werepresent.

Jeremy Tremeer serves in the Ystrad Mynach,Llandrindod Wells and Hereford district, as well asbeing the Youth Sponsor for the Welsh Mission,and he has worked in the Mission sinceSeptember 2002. Jan McKenzie serves in theCardiff and Newport district and has worked in theWelsh Mission since June 2003. As well as beingfellow ordinands and colleagues, they are goodfriends with a number of interests in common,including counselling and computers. The ordina-tion candidates were warmly introduced and presented by Pastor Brian Phillips, who hadbrought them into ministry when he was president of the Mission.

The main ordination address was given by BUCMinisterial Association Secretary, Pastor AlanHodges, who pointed out that the ordination serv-ice was a way of recognising God’s choice to useJeremy and Jan’s gifts in ministry. He stressed theimportance of regular private study of God’s Wordand then used Colossians 1:28, 29 to highlightfour key aspects of ministry: the subject of ourteaching should be Jesus; our audience should beeveryone; our goal should be to help others toreach maturity in Christ; and we should beenabled by the power of God working in our lives.

The ordination prayer and the biblical ‘layingon of hands’ was led by Welsh Mission president

Pastor JohnSurridge, whoprayed thatJeremy and Janmight be givenbalance in theirministry –between evan-gelism and nur-ture, preachingand study, andprayer andaction.

The chargewas delivered byBUC president Pastor Don McFarlane,who had earlier preached in the morningservice. He emphasised that PastorsTremeer and McKenzie now had the fullecclesiastical authority of the Seventh-day Adventist Church within the territoryof the British Union Conference, but alsoworldwide. Expanding on their role asshepherds of the flock, he pointed outthat ‘the good shepherd lays down his life for thesheep’ and that self-sacrifice would be needed ifthey were to be effective pastors.

Mrs Sharon McKenzie, Jan’s wife, sang twiceduring the service – ‘Sweet Hour of Prayer’ and ‘Iam Thine, O Lord’. She was welcomed into thecommunity of ministers’ wives by Mrs AnetteMoore, who gave an amusing account of the unrealistic expectations many have of ministers’wives.

In their responses both Jeremy Tremeer andJan McKenzie referred back to the beginnings oftheir paths to ministry, and marvelled at God’sleading. Jeremy particularly thanked the ministersand leaders who had encouraged him over theyears and also the members of his current congre-gations for their love and respect. Jan said that itwas a privilege for him to be ordained at the sametime as Jeremy, whom he regarded as a goodfriend. In an oblique reference to his sometimeschequered past, he went on to say, ‘It is only the

grace of Christthat has ledme here. It’snot a cheapgrace – it costGod somethingfor me to behere today, andI won’t take itfor granted.’

The serviceconcluded with a number of presentations andmany people giving their official or personal welcomes to Pastors Tremeer and McKenzie.

After the close of the Sabbath, Paul Hammond,Graham Barham and Paul Poddar, from theStanborough Press, held a book and food sale inthe youth room while members of the church provided refreshments.

Pictures from the event can be seen on theWelsh Mission website at: www.adventistwales.org.

10 Messenger

1999 the government introduced their‘Sure Start’ scheme designed to helpvulnerable women and teenagers,and Huedel was appointed lead midwife for teenage pregnancy inCardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

Over the next few years Huedelset up an education programme forteenage mothers in conjunction withthe nearby Barry College. This pro-gramme ensured that the youngmothers, ranging in age from 13 to18, could continue their education.Funding was obtained, together witha school building, and Huedel foundteachers for English, Maths andComputer Skills, while she herselftaught Health Education andParenting. Despite having young children to look after, some of theseyoung mothers subsequently went

on to Barry College where they turned their skills into marketablequalifications.

‘We had a case load of about sixtygirls per year,’ Huedel explained.‘Typically the girls would come fromdysfunctional families and they wouldbe truants from school – in fact,some never went to school! What Irealised was that these childrenneeded parenting themselves. Theyneeded to be taught to look afterthemselves first, before they couldlook after their new babies. Thesegirls needed basic health education –and to come off drugs, smoking andalcohol. About half of them werealready known to the Social Servicesand I knew that it would be virtuallyimpossible to change their home sit-uations. What we could do, though,

was to change their behaviour andtheir approach to parenting.

‘One approach we used was togive each of the girls a programmablecrying doll. When asked why they gotpregnant in the first place, many ofthe girls simply said that they justwanted something to love. With thecrying doll they were brought down toearth very quickly. In fact, most ofthem couldn’t cope after a couple ofdays. However, this was a helpfulwake-up call which motivated thegirls to stay with the course. As aresult, virtually all of them ended upkeeping their babies.’

During the presentation ceremonyat Buckingham Palace, PrinceCharles asked Huedel about the sta-tistics for teenage pregnancies andhow her work had made a difference

in the community. ‘He was very personable,’ said Huedel. ‘Althoughninety-seven awards were given thatday he made me feel special, like Iwas the only person receiving amedal.’

As well as serving on the WelshMission Executive Committee, Huedelis an active member of the Cardiffchurch, which she loves dearly. Herofficial role is church clerk, but if youare there on a Sabbath you will findher doing many other things behindthe scenes. Although she hasreceived many comments about hernew and elevated status as an MBE,she prefers to keep a low profile andcan’t really see what all the fuss isabout. ‘I just like to get on with mywork,’ she says.JOHN SURRIDGE

On Friday 21 November 2008 MrsHuedel Morgan-Isaac and her familytravelled from her home in Cardiff toBuckingham Palace where she wasawarded an MBE by Prince Charles.The award was given for Services toMidwifery and Health Care in Wales.

On Sunday 11 January, Huedel,who serves on the Welsh MissionExecutive Committee, was congratu-lated and commended by BUC presi-dent Pastor Don McFarlane. Followingan extensive discussion with Huedel,Pastor McFarlane praised her workand also commented on the surpris-ing number of Seventh-day Adventistchurch members throughout the UK

who have received royal honours fortheir work in the community.

Huedel has worked as a midwifefor twenty-eight years and is current-ly the Clinical Lead for the Midwifery-led Unit at Llandough Hospital,Cardiff. She was nominated for theaward by the managers of the Cardiffand Vale NHS Trust, and the nomina-tion was then approved by the WelshAssembly.

In 1993 Huedel left her hospital-based midwifery work and took upthe challenge of being a CommunityMidwife. In this new role she becameacutely aware of the many difficultiesfaced by pregnant teenage girls. In

MBE for Huedel Morgan-Isaac

Pastor Keith Anson Albury Angela Bryant Brown

Davinia Swaby Nicole Tulloch

The Seventh-day AdventistChurch exists in the heart ofmany communities around

the world, not as merely places ofworship, but as places of refuge,rescue, hope and healing. During themonth of September 2008 manychurches here in the South EnglandConference responded to the chal-lenges set out by the British UnionConference to engage their commu-nities with the sole intention ofMaking a Difference.

BasildonThe Basildon church rose to thischallenge, and on Mother’s day

2008 organised its first outreachprogramme. Armed with three hun-dred tulips and roses, as well asthree hundred cards inscribed with atext or thought and the contactdetails of the church, the memberswent out to the homes around thechurch and gave these flowers tomothers while wishing them a verycheerful day. ‘It was fantastic. Wewere well received. We got postcardsthrough the post the next week saying thank you,’ says TyronneWaldron, a member of Basildonchurch. He further stated, ‘Our pastor and head elder were also stopped and thanked by

members of the community.’Not wishing to rest on its laurels,

the Basildon church, after mucheffort, was finally given a chance tovisit one of the local care homes,Ghyllgrove Care Home. Pastor JerrySmith said, ‘It was much better thanwe ever imagined. The residentswere vocally joyful and made it easyfor the members of our church whovisited to interact with them. At theend of the visit the activity co-ordinator invited us to come everymonth, more frequently if possible –such was the joy felt and expressedby the residents of the home. Wehave now booked to visit GhyllgroveCare Home once a month for the restof the year.’

Over many years the Basildonchurch has held an open-air pro-gramme in the town centre.Unfortunately, in 2008 permission

screened, with blood pressure, bloodcholesterol, blood sugar, carbonmonoxide and Body Mass Index testsbeing done. Comments from thepublic were extremely positive andcomplimentary about what ourchurch was doing.

In addition, the Great Yarmouthchurch has now commenced amonthly Sabbath afternoon servicein an old folks’ home in the town.The first, in August, was very wellreceived. Organised by IzabelaClarry, who is a care worker at thehome and a very active churchmember, it is understood that this isthe only such service being conduct-ed in the town at this present time.

Pastor Michael Walker continueshis public evangelistic seminars inGreat Yarmouth and Lowestoft, onTuesday and Wednesday nightsrespectively, and recently presentedthe Sabbath truth. The church has aregular core interest in both groups.They solicit our continued prayersthat the Holy Spirit will bless theirventure with positive results to theglory of God and the advancement ofhis Kingdom as they endeavour toMake a Difference!

SEC participation in World Peacegathering On 26 October 2008, Pastor PetrasBahadur was invited by an Inter-faith group based in Watford to theirWeek of Prayer for World Peace gath-ering. The representatives of twelvemajor religions, including Judaism,Christianity, Islam, Buddhism andSikhism, were invited to presenttheir view about peace.

The interesting thing was thatSeventh-day Adventists were placedseparately from Christianity. Thisgave Pastor Bahadur an opportunityto present the biblical view of peace,which stunned the other presentersand the audience sitting in the hall.

At the end of the programme hewas especially complimented by theMayor of Watford, Dorothy Thornhill.She said, ‘Thank you for the presen-tation which was full of passion. Itwill be great to come to church andhear your sermon.’ The organisers ofthe programme were also astonishedto know that Adventists are very biblically oriented. DR RICHARD DE LISSER

Messenger 13

The South England Conference’s2009 Evangelism Expo tookplace on the Newbold College

campus and at Newbold church onSunday 11 January. Approximately1,000 members from around theConference gathered to learn thevarious methods available to themin their desire to make 2009 the yearof evangelism.

The South England Conferencepresident, Pastor Sam Davis, com-menced the day with a powerfulwelcome. With his use of aPowerPoint presentation, PastorDavis showed that when our heartsare in unison with God, we canbecome truly effective in our evangelising.

Pastor Terry Messenger conduct-ed the devotional which he based onLuke 9:51, 52. Here we saw thatJesus had a passion for seeking andsaving the lost. With his messageentitled ‘A Single Passion’, PastorMessenger demonstrated the impor-tance of our having one single pas-sion, which is to share the goodnews through evangelism. Christfirst prepared his disciples for thetask before they were engaged inevangelism. Likewise, we, too, mustbe prepared.

Within numerous workshops andseminars, the various presenterspassionately introduced differentforms of evangelism to their dele-gates. Presenters highlighted anddemonstrated how best creative,innovative and post-modernapproaches can be used or com-bined with the traditional and con-temporary methods for reaching outto the unchurched.

With as many as fifteen presen-ters, there was a hive of activity as delegates made their way fromone seminar to another, not wantingto miss out. Like a well-oiledmachine, the activities of the day ran smoothly.

The Revd Richard Hardy fromCare for the Family spoke on behalfof the Family Ministries departmentof the SEC. His presentation dealtprimarily with how best we cancommunicate with and engage thosearound us through our deeds. Hardyhighlighted that opportunities pres-ent themselves constantly which canlead us to engage in credible andrelevant ways. ‘Looking up to God,looking out to others and looking

within at self’ were concepts heused to illustrate the approachesthat should be used to reach people.

Pastor Ian Lorek was involved inshowing the Bournemouth church’sfocus on sharing the good news. Heemphasised that ‘there are so manyways to share God’s good news’.The Messy Church, which is a blue-print of Lucy Moore’s version ofevangelising to children and theirfamilies, is a successful methodcurrently being used by the church inBournemouth. Presenter Mrs RomolaLorek described the Messy Churchas ‘an attempt to be church for fam-ilies who might want to meet Jesus’.

Members who attended the Expowere eager to share their experi-ences of the day, and several peoplegave their personal views:

Eddie Sinclair, who attends HighWycombe Sands church, was happyabout the workshop he attended pertaining to Men’s Ministries.

Martin Emmanuel, who is amember of the Plumstead church,attended the seminar presented byBrian Davison which addressedGlobal Evangelism. BrotherEmmanuel was happy to havepicked up some creative ideas onhow to promote his church withinthe community.

Osborne Thomas from theAylesbury church commented on thepresentation given by the RevdHardy: ‘Most of what was presentedcan be adopted. I understand thatthere is truth that can be taught tous from those who do not share allof our beliefs. It is sad that we donot have such an expert within ourown Church but as we focus onreaching out within our respectivecommunities, over time this willchange.’

Hyacinth Walker from the Brixtonchurch also attended the seminar onGlobal Evangelism which shedescribed as being motivating andbrilliant. As a freelance Bible worker,she is looking forward to encourag-ing the implementation of some ofthe ideas in the Personal Ministriesand other departments within herchurch.

All in all, it was a very successfuland well-planned event. The kindand professional assistance of theNewbold staff, who did a tremen-dous job in co-ordinating and serv-ing an excellent lunch, was much

appreciated. They also ensured thatdelegates were properly directed totheir various seminar locationsaround the Newbold church andCollege complex.

At the close, Pastor Davisreminded delegates that we arecalled by God, therefore, it is a‘divine invitation’. ‘All are soldiers inthe army of Christ; we should beready and fully equipped for service.’

12 Messenger

SEC Expo attracts 1,000 delegatesby Jacqui Grant, Human Resources manager, SEC Making a Difference!

by Dr Richard de Lisser, SEC Communication director

Two new Business scholarships on offer at NewboldTwo new British students of Business will be able to study at Newbold nextacademic year, thanks to ASI-UK, an organisation of Seventh-day Adventistbusinessmen and women. The confirmed offer was the outcome of a jointmeeting at Newbold College on 18 January between representatives of theNewbold College Business School and the board of ASI-UK. The scholar-ships will go to British students beginning their studies in the academicyear 2009-10.

Newbold Business School recently expanded its offerings with the addition of a new University of Wales Lampeter degree in BusinessManagement. Students for this course are eligible to receive a governmentloan for their tuition. The ASI grants will ensure that students of Businesscan also cover the cost of their living expenses.

Students interested in applying for these loans should contact MarinkoMarkek, course director for the School of Business.T: 01344 407493E: mmarkek@newbold.ac.uk HELEN PEARSON

Ladywood Talent ExplosionLadywood church held its Talent Explosion on 27 December. This was inaid of the church’s building fund. For some twenty years, members haveworshipped in a rented hall in the Ladywood area of Birmingham. Thisyear, amid all the calamities and signs of the times, the Lord has providedan opportunity for us to purchase a building so that we can finally haveour own place of worship.

So on 27 December our own home-grown talent came together andput on a show to remember. There were performances by SylviaSampram, whose spirited rendition of ‘He’ll do it again’ had the audienceon their feet, very enthusiastically requesting a repeat performance. MCsGloria Bishop and Elrose Lindsey managed to raise, in a very short periodof time, over £100 to guarantee that repeat performance! We also hadperformances by Milford Mardenborough, who helped to raise even morefunds with a repeat performance of his rendition of ‘You raise me up’, andDivine Harmony, who blessed our souls with their very own ‘In His Name’,a Divine Harmony original.

All praise, glory and honour to God for the success of the evening. Weask for your continued prayers and support as we embark on this veryimportant project. God said, ‘Let them make me a sanctuary; that I maydwell among them.’ (Exodus 25:8.) KENDREA LEWIS

to do this was revoked. Faced withsuch adversity, a decision was madeto have the programme right outsidethe hall the church uses for worship.Man’s adversity is God’s opportuni-ty! The church delivered a life-changing programme on the streetsof Basildon. They delivered goodgospel music, healthy diets, fruit andvegetable juices, simple exerciseroutines and a wide range of healthchecks. They even had a masseuse!Adverts were placed in a range oflocal papers, and the church waspleased that people turned up on theday to have a difference made intheir lives.

Great YarmouthIn the Great Yarmouth church a verysuccessful outreach venture tookplace on 17 August when a health-screening programme was run at themain shopping mall in the town cen-tre. Over a hundred people were

WANTED: Training Light Bearers orother like Bible study books. Do youhave any of these on your shelvesgathering dust, and would you like tosee them put to good use? Pleasecontact Viv Vine on 01933 275922.

In his very personal and powerful2008 year-end message, our GCpresident, Pastor Jan Paulsen, madean appeal to Adventists all over theworld to become involved in thelocal community. Pastor Paulsenspoke of our shared humanity, andsaid that our faith should expressitself in active concern for peoplearound us: ‘I want the world to knowthat our faith inevitably leads us tocare for other people.’

It is therefore always heart-

warming to hear of how Adventistmembers are doing just that in theirlocal community.

At the end of 2008, BBCSoutheast dedicated a special reportto talk about the voluntary andfundraising work of MatthewLombart in Canterbury, Kent.

In its introduction, the reportspoke of Matthew as a 20 year oldwho was ‘devoting his time to serving God and his community’.

Matthew, a busy university

FRED SCHOFIELD (1922-2008) d.23 October. With sadness, membersof the Bournemouth church, alongwith friends and neighbours, met at abeautiful woodland site in the NewForest to hold a short service of re-membrance for Fred Schofield, led byPastor Ian Lorek, and then to commithis remains to the watchful care of theLife-giver. Mr Malcolm Edwards, aneighbour and friend, and Pastor PaulClee, a relative, remembered him dur-ing the service from their different per-

spectives. Mr Edwards spoke movingly about his Christiancharacteristics, his sense of fun, and what many remember of him, hisimmaculate appearance. Pastor Clee spoke of his childhood memoriesof his uncle, and the way he always had time for other people. Fred wasborn in Bolton, Lancashire, and three years later moved to Yorkshire,where his father had work on the railways. In 1934 he was baptised byPastor Craven. During the Second World War he served his country as asick berth attendant and, after the hostilities were over, on 16September 1946, he married Bet. He was demobilised from the navy asa Sick Berth Petty Officer, which enabled him to pass examinations intwelve months to become a State Registered Nurse (instead of the usualthree years). His experience during the War showed him his life work,and he became the first male district nurse, working in many locationsin north England. In 1970 he was invited to St James’ Palace, where theQueen Mother presented him with a medal to commemorate his longservice. He retired as Director of Nursing in Liverpool. Even after theirretirement, Bet and Fred continued to move, from Lytham St Anne’s tothe Borders, Yorkshire, Lymington, and finally to New Milton inHampshire. His lifetime of nursing caused severe back pain for him,about which he was stoical and never complained. For the last fewyears he suffered with a problem with his throat, which meant hestruggled to make himself heard, and this was an embarrassment tohim and stopped him going to church. He died very suddenly after along night of chest pain, and now rests in a beautiful place awaiting thecall of Jesus. Pastor Lorek reminded all who attended of the glorioushope that will relieve the suffering his widow, friends and acquain-tances feel now.PASTOR PAUL CLEE

RUFUS NATHANIEL SWABY(1938-2008) d. 10 November.Well-wishers, friends and churchmembers joined with the Swaby fam-ily to celebrate the life of RufusNathaniel Swaby on Wednesday 3December. The service, which tookplace at Hampstead church, was wellattended. Included in the congregationwere Dr Brighton Kavaloh and Pastors

Des Boldeau and Colin Stewart, plus past and present members of thechurch. Officiating were Pastors Humphrey Walters and David Burnett.The service included a variety of Bible verses read by grandson SeanSavizon, Elder P. Stewart and daughter Sonia Swaby, as well as musicalitems by the Hampstead Choir, Paul Lee and Fiona Pacquette. Tributesby Elder E. Moore and Sister N. Brandy gave an insight into the natureof the man known as Swaby. Other features of the programme includeda slide presentation accompanied by Richard Smallwood’s, ‘Twill beSweet’ and a personal tribute by daughter Janice Savizon. In his addressto the congregation, Pastor David Burnett suggested that Rufus is justhaving a nap as we are so close to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.Rufus was born on 26 May 1938 in Old England, Manchester, Jamaica.He was one of four children of Millicent and Burnell Swaby and hadone sister and two brothers. He attended the local Old England

Secondary School and later went on to learn his trade in carpentry andjoinery at Mandeville Seventh-day Adventist College, now known asNorthern Caribbean University. Subsequent to coming to England,Rufus married Leithie Batten. He continued in his trade for some yearsand, in addition to this, later trained and worked as a radio and televi-sion technician. Rufus was a member of the New Gallery Centre inRegent Street, London, and moved from there in the early 1970s with alarge group of members to establish a new church in the Hampsteadarea. He was an integral part of the Hampstead building team and as-sisted in renovating the interior from the point of demolition to makeHampstead church the building that it is today. Over the years the workcarried out included installing the upper level in the fellowship hall andthe organ room. Rufus was also a former Hampstead Choir member andserved the church as a deacon for a few years. Sadly, Rufus went to hisrest on 10 November following a prolonged illness, and leaves behindhis wife, Leithie, four daughters, Sonia, Janice, Jennifer and Christine, ason-in-law James, and five grandchildren, Danielle, Jasmine, Seán,Ciarán and Catríona. His interment took place at Paddington OldCemetery, Kilburn, following the service. The Swaby family would liketo extend their sincerest heartfelt gratitude to those who worked hardto make the service to commemorate the life of Rufus a memorable one.Thanks also for all the words of condolence and comfort, cards, phonecalls and visits at their time of loss.JANICE SAVIZON

IRENE FRANCILLA PERCY (1918-2008) d. 1 December. Following along and productive life of ninetyyears, Irene Percy passed away peace-fully into the care and keeping of theLord she served so faithfully, sur-rounded by her family. Irene was bornon 21 March 1918 in Clarendon,Jamaica. She started life with the lossof her parents. There seemed to be nofuture for her, but Irene was able tobeat the odds, and in the process per-fect many outstanding roles as wife

and mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, neighbour, but,most of all, a friend of Jesus. Following the passing of her parents, shewent to live with her aunt, and during that time she developed a senseof purpose and a sense of caring for others. She had a practical ap-proach to life and the Lord blessed her with a loving heart and a lovingspirit. The Lord prepared a life partner for her whom she adored. Theirunion produced ten children, nine of whom survived. Sister Percy wasnot only a mother to the children the Lord had entrusted to her, but toanyone who needed a mother. She maintained a daily communionwith God and she perfected the art of prayer. She and her beloved hus-band, Donald, relocated to Derby from London in 1957 and found theirhome church with the Derby Chester Green congregation. Sister Percywas an active member, serving as deaconess and head deaconess, fol-lowed by Sabbath School superintendent and Dorcas leader. Even whiletaking on the role of a working mother and caring for others in thehealth service field, she witnessed daily to all those with whom shecame into contact. Following the passing of her dearly beloved hus-band, she continued her Christian journey, and on 1 December the Lordcalled her home to await his return. She will be sadly missed, not onlyby her immediate family and her church family, but by everyone whoselife she touched. On 11 December she was laid to rest. The funeral serv-ice was held at Derby Chester Green church, led by Pastors EgertonFrancis, Selburn, Fray, Cedric Vine, Peter Sayers and Dr John Ferguson.Sister Percy is survived by her nine children, nineteen grandchildren,thirteen great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. ThePercy family would like to thank all the pastors, her church family andfriends for their support through this very sad time.OLGA MARR

Messenger 15

The picture above shows two boysnamed Nathaniel, both of whomattend Balham church, both decidedto make a public stand for Jesusand, as a bonus, both were born onthe 29th!

Nathaniel Massiah was born on29 October 2002 and was baptisedon 28 June 2008, along with his sis-ter Ashleigh. Kavel Passley-Bennettand Stephanie Ferguson were alsobaptised. Nathaniel Massiah did notallow his age to be a barrier and he said he wanted to be baptisedbecause he ‘wants to continuelearning about Jesus and wants tosee Jesus in Heaven’. When askedwhat he most liked about his bap-tism, he replied, ‘I was happy thatmy Mummy and Daddy saw me givemy life to Jesus.’

Nathaniel Chung was born on 29December 1998 and was baptisedon 27 September 2008, along withOluwakemi Oshodi-Glover, KyleChambers and Lydia Anderson-Monfries. Nathaniel Chung said hewanted to be baptised because he‘wanted to walk closer with God’.His favourite part of his baptismwas, after being baptised, hearinghis favourite song ‘God is here’being sung by the congregation.

The well-attended children’sBible study group has been vital inhelping to nurture the young peoplein Balham church, along with fami-lies, and the church takes pride insupporting all decisions to followChrist. It is also encouraging to seethat, not only are these two youngboys setting an example to the youngand old alike, but many more young

people have dedicated their lives toChrist as a result.

Balham had a very busy summerin 2008. We had another baptism on30 August. Four individuals werebaptised – Lashana Richmond,Benjamin Westfield, Alexa Lewis andJoshua Abrahams. NATASHA SHARMAH

14 Messenger

Same name, same church, samedecision

BBC TV features Matthew Lombart’swork in the community by Ralph Lombart

Three weddings and abaptismFor the last six months of 2008,Wednesfield church members hadmuch to celebrate. On 20 JulyOdelyn Smith walked down the aisleto meet her groom Stephen and thetwo were united as Mr and MrsCostley. Four weeks later, on 17August, Jo Fisher joined her groom,Paul, at the altar, and another couplewere united, this time as Mr andMrs Mitchell. Only four months later,on 14 December, Jo Lothian and Neilwere also united in marriage to

become Mr and Mrs Hubbins. Threeweddings in less than half a year!But it wasn’t over yet. On 27December, two weeks after theircommitment to each other, Jo andNeil made another commitment, thistime giving their lives to God throughthe ceremony of baptism. Pastor E.Francis gave a heart-warming message of rags to salvation andencouraged the couple along withthe congregation to allow God tocontinue to transform their lives.Pastor N. Moses Msimanga, whoimmersed the couple, also gave atouching call of recommitment.

student, nevertheless makes time toserve the less fortunate in his localcommunity. The report focused onMatthew’s work as a volunteerchaplain and also as a singer andfundraiser for various charities. Inthe report, Revd Dr Paul Kirkby, thehead chaplain, described Matthewwith the words: ‘He has a wisdombeyond his years. We are thrilled tohave him as part of our team.’

Patients who had received pas-toral care from Matthew were alsointerviewed about their impressionsof him, and they spoke of how hehad helped them to view life morepositively.

The BBC reporter, Ian Palmer,seemed very impressed with whathe had seen of Matthew’s work inthe community and ended his reportwith the words: ‘Matthew Lombart isa living example in a world litteredwith false idols.’

When asked about his reasonsfor what he did, Matthew answered:‘When I see people hurting, I want todo my part to give them a renewedhope in life.’

If you wish to view the full BBCinterview with Matthew, please go tothe following link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=8rLl0TZ5L2s.

2008 ended on a high for themembers of Wednesfield church withevents moviemakers might want toget their hands on. COMMUNICATION SECRETARY

HomecomingIn a moving homecoming ceremonyfor both parents and the pastor,Zodwa and Benjamin Lenihan pre-sented their son to the Lord in aspecial dedication service on 6December. The service was madeunique by the fact that Zodwa, origi-nally from Zimbabwe, now lives inIreland with her husband, Benjamin,and had asked former Liverpool

pastor, Barry Stokes, to officiate atthe service. Zodwa had knownPastor Stokes for many years as she first studied and then worked inMerseyside and West Lancashire.

The Liverpool church was packedwith friends and family from theUnited Kingdom and the Republic ofIreland, all of whom had come tosee the beautiful service. Beforecharging both the parents and thechurch to help in raising the child inthe admonition of the Lord, PastorStokes gave a short history of thecouple in his inimitable and humor-ous style. This was followed by aprayer and a special dedicatoryhymn sung by Zodwa’s friend,

Michelle Donga,to piano accom-paniment fromClairePuckering. Aspecial fellow-ship lunchattended bymany who hadbeen present atthe servicecapped an alto-gether beautifulSabbath.MERLVIN MOYO

WEDDINGKIDWELL-PAULSaturday 20 December was a very happyday when friends and family gathered to-gether and witnessed the marriage ofJonathan and Ffion, who both grew up inSwansea church. We were richly blessed tohave the presence of three ministers duringthe day. Gratitude to the Revd Wiseman andthe Sketty Methodist Church, to Pastor JohnSurridge, who officiated at the weddingceremony, and to Pastor Adamovic for theprayers of thanksgiving during the party atthe Dylan Thomas Centre. All the ministershave collectively supported and guided Jon

and Ffion during their preparation for thisspecial day. We all congratulated Jon andFfion and wished them well in their rela-tionship with one another and with God.Dr Asu Paul, the father of the bride, gave agood speech at the reception and thankedeveryone for their support. Chris (Jon’sbrother), Duane and Brett (Jon’s bestfriends) shared the groomsmen’s duties bypraising the couple for the years of com-mitment during their many years of friend-ship and courtship. In his groom’s speech,Jon expressed their gratitude to everyonewho has supported them throughout theirlives, and continued by saying that the sup-port of those people helped make their day

even more special. Friends and familiesnear and around the world were also re-membered on this memorable day. It was areally joyous occasion with the spirit ofChristmas. The Swansea wedding day com-menced with a peaceful feeling of theblessed Sabbath. Contrastingly, the end ofthe day was celebrated with some sparklersoutside the building which were enjoyedby the youth and everyone. Digital photosbeing uploaded by the friends and familiescan be viewed on the website. If you wantto see Jon and Ffion’s wedding day photos,please log on to www. flickr.com/photos/jonandffion.LILY KIDWELL

The experts were Dr Clarence Ing,director of the Weimar NewStart programme, and his wife

and colleague, Mrs May Ing, NewStart dietician and lecturer.

Are you taking advantage of theAdventist Advantage? This was thetopic of the AIMS (AdventistInternational Medical Fellowship)day of fellowship on Sabbath 13

December. Although it was so nearChristmas, around fifty Adventistmedics and health leaders spent theday with the Ings. Dr Clarence, withhis years of experience of directingthe Weimar Institute New Start pro-gramme, as well as years of medicalmissionary service, convincinglydemonstrated the advantage thatcommitted Adventists have in men-tal as well as physical and spiritualhealth. Mrs May Ing shared her

experience of the soul-winning potential ofmedical missionarywork, both in the homeand at Weimar.

The next day theNewbold church HealthMinistries team hosted aNew Start for MentalHealth day seminar,where the Ings sharedprecious information onsuch topics as New Start for trou-bled minds, the real way to copewith stress, food and your brain andthe latest news about phytochemi-cals, the wonder substances thatgive plant foods their healing properties as well as their distinctive colours and flavours.

The Weimar Institute was found-ed in 1978 by a group of Adventistphysicians committed to the practiceof medicine, using the truly naturalremedies recommended by Adventistpioneer health reformer Ellen G.White.

They developed the NEWSTARTprogramme, a simple, rational, scientific regime based on eightlifestyle factors: Nutrition, Exercise,Water, Sunlight, Temperance, Air,Rest, Trust in divine power. Nutritionhere is the simple, natural plant-food-based diet that is associated innumerous research papers withlonger life and less disease.Temperance is understood as moderation in the use of all goodthings, such as food and exercise,as well as abstinence from health-destroying substances and habits.This programme has been shown tobegin the process of chronic diseasereversal in thousands of sufferers,particularly those with type two dia-betes and coronary artery disease.Because they feel its benefits veryquickly, people are motivated to con-tinue. It is not an all-or-nothing pro-gramme; one can follow part or all ofit. However, the more completely onefollows the programme, the betterthe results will be.

For more information about theNEWSTART programme or AIMS,contact splattmcdonald@adventist.

16 Messenger

SunsetSunset times are reproduced with permission from

data supplied by the Science Research Council.

Lond Card Nott Edin BelfFeb 6 5.00 5.12 4.59 4.57 5.13

13 5.12 5.25 5.13 5.13 5.2720 5.25 5.37 5.26 5.28 5.4227 5.38 5.50 5.40 5.43 5.56

MESSENGER SUBSCRIPTIONSCost to member supplied in bulk to churches £6.

Single copy subscription by post £13.Overseas airmail £27.50

MessengerVolume 114 • 3 – 6 February 2009

EDITOR: D. N. MARSHALLDESIGN: DAVID BELL

COPY FOR No. 5 – 16 February 2009Copy should be sent to the Editor, MESSENGER, TheStanborough Press Limited, Alma Park, Grantham,

Lincolnshire, NG31 9SL. Tel: (01476) 591700.Fax No: (01476) 577144.

Email: Editordnm@mac.comSend high resolution pictures to:dbell@stanboroughpress.co.ukABC Sales line: (01476) 539900 Mon-Thurs only, 8am- 5.30pm.

www.stanboroughpress.com

The Editor may alter, clarify, précis or expandarticles sent to him if he thinks it necessary.Published fortnightly on Fridays by the BritishUnion Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Printed in Denmark.Visit the BUC website at: www.adventist.org.uk

ISSN 0309-3654

ABC BOOK SALESFebruary8 Harper Bell 10.30am-2pm22 Stanborough School 10am-2pm

March1 John Loughborough 10.30am-2pm7-8 Dublin/Belfast

ABC Shops Watford, BUC. Due to the recent fire, the ABC shop in Watford is closed until March

Advent Centre, Sundays 11am-3pm

Weimar New Startexperts visit Newboldby Dr Clemency Mitchell

org.uk or clemency@themitchells.eclipse. co.uk.

For orders for the missionary book ofthe year, phone 01476 591800 fromweek commencing Monday 2 March.

British Union Conference Extraordinary SessionNotice is hereby given that the BUC Executive Committee has called a one-dayExtraordinary Session of the British Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventiststo be held on Sunday 17 May 2009 in the Stanborough Park church,Stanborough Park, Watford, Hertfordshire, commencing at 1pm. Delegate registration will commence at 10.30am. The sole item on the agenda is the consideration of proposed amendments to the BUC constitution. E. C. Lowe, Executive Secretary

BUC Health Ministry & CREATE Nutrition Initiative

Renewing our VISION for Health(A dietary perspective)

Sunday 1 March Time: 10am Registration

Programme: 10.30am-4.30pm (buffet lunch included)

Come, experience, be inspired, motivated and transform your health (one step at a time)!

Renewing our VISION for Health (a dietary perspective) is an interactive seminarand workshop day aimed at all Health Ministry leaders, Health Committee mem-bers or individuals interested in health, diet and long-term lifestyle change. Wewill look at the links between spirituality, current scientific research and dietaryhealth, have inspirational, practical cookery demonstrations, and discuss healthchallenges faced in our churches. Be motivated to transform your health and thehealth of your church and community with practical dietary and lifestyle changesfor life-long change. Be inspired.

We will cover:• Food, mind, body and spirituality

• Benefits of a plant-based diet• Health challenges in churches

• Cookery demonstration and interactive learning• Motivating, transitioning for long-term lifestyle change

• Goal-setting for personal health goals

The day will include seminar, cookery workshops, and interactive learning.Refreshments and a buffet-style Moroccan-themed vegetarian meal will be provided. Supporting material will be available.Cost: £25 (including meal and materials).

Event location: Stanborough Centre (adjacent to Stanborough Park church), 609 St Albans Road, Watford, Hertfordshire, WD25 9JL

Contact: For registration contact Faye Weeks at: email: fweekes@adventist.org.uk, tel: 01727 872 162.

SPONSORED by Health Ministries BUC