NOVEMBER 2001

HEADLINES

Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day

Special Report from French Polynesia

New Look, New Name

Click to a Good Thing

November Editorial

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Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day Added to Church Calendar; Action Follows Women's Ministries Advisory Recommendation

The Annual Council voted on September 26 to add an Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day to the church calendar of special Sabbaths. This will be on the church calendar around the world.

The fourth Sabbath in August has been designated; that will be August 24 in 2002. The General Conference Women's Ministries will be supplying material that can be used that day just as it does for the International Women's Day of Prayer in March and the Women's Ministries Emphasis day in June.

Ardis Stenbakken, in speaking to the request which grew out of the Women's Ministries Advisory also held in Silver Spring, MD, USA, in March, said that she was proud of her church for being willing to face the issue of domestic abuse. "As Family Ministries addresses more and more the challenges facing the Adventist family, and as Women's Ministries works to meet the needs of women, it has become more and more obvious that abuse is a serious problem for Christians, for Adventists. Abuse in any form deforms the body of Christ—for the victim, for the perpetrator, and for the church that is left with the hurting members."

Women's Ministries will be working with Family Ministries, Health Ministries, Children's Ministries, Youth Department, and Ministerial Association in preparing materials for the prevention emphasis day. "This is an uncomfortable subject for many people so we want to have as many people involved and advising as possible," states Stenbakken.

The Emphasis Day will provide an opportunity for local churches to address this issue to educate church members and leadership, and to let victims know that their church cares.

Women's Ministries directors in the local churches should plan very early so that this day can be a part of the local church planning. "Work closely with your pastor, keeping him or her informed" advises Stenbakken.

Abuse Prevention Emphasis Day represents a "step in the right direction," said Karen Flowers, associate director of Family Ministries at the General Conference. Family Ministries has already developed a range of resources on this subject that will be of great value as they become more well used at the local level.

In her remarks to the delegates at the Annual Council about this day, Stenbakken said that "We want this to be done in an educating, healthy way, not condemning anyone because both men and women abuse; and men, women, children, and the elderly are victims."

"We must face this evil and name this challenge for what it is—sin. Something that comes from the devil himself. We need to meet this evil with spiritual weapons as well as with support, anger management, shelters, counseling, and the other usual tools," she concluded.

In August Women's Ministries helped to sponsor Helen Pearson of Great Britain, TED, to attend an inter-faith meeting on domestic violence in Dundee, Scotland. The leadership was so impressed when they saw what resources Pearson had from the Adventist church that they invited Karen Flowers to attend, also.

Delegates at this meeting came from all parts of the world to share resources; they developed nine principles of action intended to raise awareness of the abuse issue and to encourage churches to develop effective programs.

We want to encourage all women to be involved in and plan for this special day.

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Special Report from French Polynesia

The following are excerpts from a report sent to Ardis Stenbakken by Odette Ferreira, director of Adventist Colleges Abroad, following a three week speaking tour for Women's Ministries. She is fluent in French so this was very special for these ladies.

The Women's Ministries director, Vasthi Liloux, is an extremely dynamic lady. She can work literally night and day without ever getting tired. She is a lay member who gives a lot both of her time and of her money to the Mission. She is principal at one of the government schools and had just gotten a medal of distinction from the government for outstanding work done for education in Polynesia. I met Vasthi when we were both 17 and had just started college in France; it was fun to work together again.

We had various non-stop seminars starting immediately on arrival, first in different areas on the main island of Tahiti and moving afterwards to the island of Huahine. At first I hadn't understood that in their thinking a main speaker meant the only speaker and also that the list of subjects that I had been asked to present would be enlarged after my arrival. We had meetings every day all day and every evening. I was also told that I had to preach the Sabbath sermons and teach the Sabbath School lessons, tell the mission story, etc.

At the beginning some men started to attend with a suspicious look on their faces. Having felt welcome and having discovered that this was not a feminist meeting but that the subjects were of interest not only to the ladies but to the family and to Christians in general, they started coming in larger numbers until one day they asked to have some meetings just for men. This was the first time I saw this kind of thing at WM conference. Two meetings were then held for men. When we moved to another area, the same men followed to hear us again.

I was happy at the idea of going to other areas where I could repeat the same subjects as the people were supposed to be different. Then I discovered with amazement that many of the people followed us. On the trip to Huahine I saw with surprise that the large plane was full of people coming again for the meetings. Some went by boat. Many joined also from other islands: Bora-Bora, Raiateia, Maupiti, Moorea, etc.

In each city the mayor, advisors, and wives were invited and always sat in the front row. Some meetings were transmitted live on national television. I was interviewed for the TV, radio, and newspapers. I felt a big responsibility and the need to be very perky at all times even though we always got up at 5:00 or 5:30 and never went to bed before midnight.

I also met with the Mission administrators on several occasions. They feel quite isolated being the only French speaking territory in a totally English speaking Division.

The women asked for subjects such as self-esteem, the key to success; the role of women in the church—not ordination, but the need for women to be more involved in church work; one of the meetings had to do with the historical role of women in the Adventist church. They seemed very encouraged by that.

Another subject was dealing with family violence. We had many ladies crying and pouring their hearts out to us. One of the demands was also to discuss about child abuse and incest. I had taken materials graciously given me by WM and Family Ministries, so these very delicate issues could be dealt with in a way that seemed to greatly capture their interest. We also had meetings about the role of men in the family, and many spiritual meetings and prayer meetings. Many non-Adventist ladies and many who had left the church and had not been back for years attended. That was very moving.

The Lord helped so much in every way. We could see His hand in all things. I felt that this was one of the most amazing experiences in my life. I thank God, Women's Ministries, and North American Division for the privilege of participating in such an inspiring event. We need to pray for these beautiful territories and for the kind people there. They have a great interest for spiritual things.

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New Look, New Name!

January 1 brings to mind new beginnings, new start, clean page, another chance to do things right or better. For us in the Women's Ministries department it means a new look and a new name for our newsletter.

Times change and so do we. So our "News from the World of Women's Ministries" will now be called "MOSAIC—Women United in Service for God." Look out for new segments and a new layout.

We promise to give you the same standard of reporting information and valuable material. But we will add new flair and flavor. Look for it next January. MOSAIC—it's coming your way!

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Click to a Good Thing!

If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. But this one has checked out to be a good thing for women in North America. We do not know where else this may be available.

The next time you go online, go to http://www.TheBreastCancerSite.com and click on the "donate free mammograms" button. Sponsors (take a minute to look at them) will provide underprivileged women with access to a mammogram. Early detection is so important.

While you are at this web site, click also on TheHungerSite button as this will also help to send food to the hungry around the world. You can go directly to their site: http://www.TheHungerSite.com

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