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- Northern
Bahamas Mission Officers Installed During Convention
When the history of the growth and expansion of the Seventh-day
Adventist Church in the Bahamas is written, the installation of the first
officers of the Northern Bahamas Mission of Seventh-day Adventists will
feature prominently. During the weekend of January 31 to February 2, at
Convention 2003 in Grand Bahama. Pastor K. D. Albury, Pastor Errol Tinker,
and Elder Roderick Sands were installed as President, Secretary and
Treasurer, respectively, of the Northern Bahamas Mission.
In their welcome, the new Mission officers expressed
gratitude to God for his blessings in the past and indicated their wish that
the convention would contribute to their quest for unity and pursuit of
Christian excellence.
The first convention of the Northern Mission started at the
Eight Mile Rock Church, on Friday, January 31, at 7 p.m. West Indies Union
officers and the officers of the Bahamas Conference were among the out-of-town
delegations at the opening service of this historic convention. Mr. Lindy
Russell, Member of Parliament for Eight Mile Rock Constituency, brought
greetings. Dr. W. R. McMillan, Executive Secretary of West Indies Union,
preached.
On Sabbath morning, February 1, the convention moved to the
Shiloh SDA Church in Freeport where the Grand Bahama Academy organized and
conducted the Sabbath School programme. During the divine service, Ron Pinder,
Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health and environmental services,
and Mr. Kenneth Russell, Member of Parliament for the High rock Constituency,
greeted the convention. Dr. Patrick Allen, our Union President, preached a
powerful, soul-stirring message that was well received.
At 4 o’clock Sabbath afternoon, the Inaugural Service for
the leaders of the Northern Bahamas Mission was conducted at the Freeport
Church. The service began with a procession of the Mission Committee and the
platform party. Dr. McMillan, led out in the call to worship. After a prayer
for unity by Pastor Eric D. Clarke, Secretary of Bahamas Conference, Pastor
Ricardo Bain extended a warm welcome to all.
Dr. Allen gave a challenging homily and led in the
consecration ceremony. On behalf of the constituency, the new officers
accepted the challenge of presenting Christ through their lives and ministry
to the community they serve. Dr. Leonard A. Johnson gave the prayer of
dedication
To conclude the convention activities, Pastor Albury, the
newly elected mission president, preached during a live broadcast over Radio
Bahamas ZNS 1540 beginning at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 2, 2003, at the
Freeport Church. All who attended the Convention were blessed and left with a
greater determination to be "United in Wonder of His grace." -Editor
Bahamas Conference Executive Committee to Meet
Members of the Bahamas Conference Executive Committee are requested to
meet Sunday, February 9, 2003, at 9:00 a.m. at the Conference headquarters.
Volunteer Bahamas Adventist Targets
Long Island Volunteer Bahamas Adventist is now into its third week
of operation, thanks to Brother Winston Ash and other committee members: Henry
Moncur, Andrew Hanna, Roger Lewis, Howard Barr, Erskin Oliver, Stanley Major,
Hugh Rollins and Dr. Joseph Evans. At a
VBA Committee meeting held on January 26, at the Hillview SDA Church, plans
were made for the construction of the Stephen's Church building in Stephens
Long Island. It is estimated that it will take 11 days to complete the project
with the required labor force and the materials in place. The following
laborers are required: six (6) carpenters and (6) helpers, two (2)
electricians and two (2) helpers, and two (2) cooks.
Thanks to this committee, most of these have been found and
committed for the Long Island project. This certainly reflects unity of
thoughts and efforts. When there is such unity the possibilities are
limitless.
As there are other projects pending, Volunteer Bahamas
Adventist is looking for more volunteers to sign up. Accordingly, enrollment
forms are now available at the Conference office or from your pastor for all
interested individuals. We remind you that a small contribution of $5 monthly
is required and will be used to assist with travel expenses. This amount may
be paid through your local church or directly to the conference. If it is
placed in the tithe envelope, please mark "VBA Dues." Also, you are
reminded of the need to promote and support the conference-wide Adventure In
Faith offering. As already noted, this offering will be used for capital
development. Your support is needed! - Conference Administration
GO ONE MILLION! A Go One Million Joint
Rally will be held tomorrow, Sunday, February 9, 2003, at 7 p.m. at the
Hillview Church. Don’t miss this exciting Rally with new updates to the
greatest program taking place in the Seventh-day Adventist Church globally.
The GO ONE MILLION Kits are here and the concept of
Integrated Evangelism is on the move. Churches are asked to bring their
banners for this grand event. - T. Basil Sturrup, Departmental Director
Dr. Johnson to Speak at Joint
Law Enforcement Service Today Pastor
Leonard A. Johnson, the newly elected President of the Bahamas Conference of
Seventh-day Adventists, will deliver the sermon at the Sixth Annual Law
Enforcement/Civil Servants’ Service today at 4:00 p.m. at the Centreville
Church. The Hon Cynthia Pratt, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National
Security, and Commissioner of Police, Paul Farquharson have been invited to
speak.
Pastor Basil Sturrup is expected to bring welcome remarks,
and Pastor Michael A. Smith is expected to say the opening prayer. Corporal
Donna Humes has been asked to read a passage of scripture. Pastor Jeremiah
Duncombe will offer the prayer of consecration, Officer Levi Lloyd of the
Royal Bahamas Defense Force will give the vote of thanks, and Pastor Michael
Toote will offer the Benediction. Special music is expected to be provided by
the Sentinels, the Pathfinders’ Band and the Centreville Choir. Do attend
this special service.- Bro. Chris Symmonett, Public Relations
A Lay Counselor For Each
Church February is Adventist
Counseling Awareness Month in the Bahamas Conference, sponsored by the
Adventist Counseling Services (ACS). We are happy to introduce ten lay
counselors who have been trained to assist in healing of individuals and
families in our churches. A lay counselor is not a professional, but is
trained with appropriate skills and information to deal with impending crises,
and challenges in an individual’s life. Lay counselors will help broaden the
services of ACS by taking counseling to the people. Each church in Nassau has
been assigned a lay counselor. Most of the lay counselors are assigned to two
churches because there are so few of them at the moment. Each counselor will
be officially introduced to their assigned church by the Director of Adventist
Counseling Services during this month. Lay Counselors will be available for
members to talk to either face to face or on the phone.
You Can Trust the Lay Counselor
Lay Counselors are trained to be ethical and extremely confidential.
They will not disclose any information given to them in confidence by a member
. They will not disclose any information to the pastor, church leaders, family
members or friends unless requested to do so or with proper consent. Although
the director of ACS is the supervisor for lay counselors, they cannot
disclosed any names or specifics about persons without proper consent from the
individuals.
- Churches and Counselors Assigned
Here are the lay counselors and the churches they are assigned to:
Andrew Gilbert - Berea and Ebenezer
Mark Miller - Bethany and Bethel
Alfred Brennen - Breath of Life and Good News
Lillian Rolle - Centreville
Betty Farrington - Francophone and Living Faith
Barbara Carey - Grant’s Town and New Englerston
Mary Brennen - Ephesus
Michael A. Smith - Adelaide and New Providence
Eldora Beneby - Johnson Park and Hillview
Sally Fernander - Philadelphia and Maranatha
More Lay Counselors Needed
We need more lay counselors to be trained. The next training session will
be in a few months. Persons can volunteer to be a lay counselor. However, after
an individual interview, simple psychological evaluation, and a recommendation
from the pastor, a special committee of professional counselor selects those to
be trained. If you are interested in being trained, please call Barrington
Brennen at 3616355 or e-mail at sdacounseling@coralwave.com. The training
involves 30 hours of video sessions by Christian professional psychologists and
five hours by Barrington Brennen, marriage & family therapist; and Dr.
Sandra Dean-Patterson, a psychologist for children.
Education Corner
What a week at Bahamas Academy! This article was submitted late this
week because we were waiting for the outcome of several competitions our
students were involved in.
First of all, the Spelling Bee competition was held on Wednesday, February 5.
Travis Knowles and Tanesha Miller, both grade-eight students, represented
Bahamas Academy in this BAISS contest. Unfortunately, they did not win. However,
they represented their school well. The competition went for 13 rounds. The
majority of students held their own and remained in the competition until Round
7 where many students were eliminated. Travis was eliminated in Round 8 and
Tanesha was eliminated in Round 9.
We have every right to be proud of these students because I was personally
amazed at the level of difficulty of words these students were asked to spell. I
believe many adults have trouble spelling some of these words. Let's see if you
can spell these words: p-e-n-i-t-e-n-t-i-a-r-y; c-h-r-y-s-a-n-t-h-e-m-u-m; p-r-i-m-o-g-e-n-i-t-u-r-e;
c-h-a-r-t-r-e-u-s-e! How many would you have gotten right? So we say
congratulations to Travis and Tanesha and many thanks to their coach, Miss
Jeneve Bailey.
By now I'm sure you know that our basketball teams did not win the BAISS
championship games held during the week. However, both the girls' and boys'
teams received trophies for being runners-up in this year's series and this is
in addition to being pennant winners. This has not dampened the spirit of the
teams or the students, however. The support they gave to the teams and the march
and awards ceremony on Thursday were tremendous. We said from the start of the
playoffs that no matter what the outcome of the games was, we still consider our
students to be champions and we treated them as such. The awards and accolades
they received on Thursday showed them in a tangible way how proud we are of them
for the tremendous strides they have made in the past two years. We are proud of
them not only for the way they played, but for being true ambassadors for their
school, for the sacrifices they made with their time and energy, for the
discipline they demonstrated, and the positive sportsmanship they displayed at
all times.
There are so many people who helped to make our week at Bahamas Academy so
special. First of all, we want to thank our Conference administrators for their
unwavering support. We want to thank our teachers and students who showed up
every night to cheer for their school. We want to thank our parents who were
also there to show support. We were also extremely happy to see the support we
received from alumni, former students, and church members who don't even have
students at our school. You cannot imagine what your presence and encouragement
meant to us. We cannot forget to thank three very important people, without whom
we would not have come this far: Jeff Rodgers and Pastor T. Basil Sturrup for
working with the junior boys, and of course, our Head Coach, Winston Symonette,
for working with the senior girls and boys. Finally, we need to thank Almighty
God, who gets all the praise for all we've accomplished! -Lynn C. Smith,
Principal
Bahamas Academy School Board to Meet The
school board of Bahamas Academy will hold its meeting on Thursday, February 13,
2003, at 4:30 p.m. in the Board Room at the Conference office.
Adventist Counseling Awareness
Month
Video Series on Homosexual
Roots & Recovery There will be three special video presentations
dealing with homosexuality on Wednesday night, February 19 and 22, and Saturday
night, March 1, at the New Englerston Church beginning at 7:30. The first video,
"Understanding Homosexuality: Roots and Recovery," is presented
by Sy Rogers, a former homosexual and one of the United State foremost speakers
on the subject. He will help you understand the causes of homosexuality and the
recovery process. The second video, "Counseling the Male Homosexual"
is presented by Joe Dallas. The third is "Answering the Pro-Gay
Theology" also by Joe Dallas. These videos will be informative, and
spiritually and intellectually stimulating.
Andrews University Singers Grand
Concert in Nassau. There will be a grand
concert by the Andrews University Singers (AU) on Sabbath afternoon, March 15,
at 4:30 P.M. at the Hillview Church. AU Singers is a multi-national choir of
some of AU’s best voices with South African born, Stephen Zork as director.
Bahamian Marguerite Brennen, a physical education and music major at Andrews,
will be singing in the choir. Bring an offering.
New Adventist Business
Newsletter There will be a new monthly Adventist Business Newsletter
to complement the Sabbath Logos beginning Wednesday, February 19. This
newsletter is designed to share secular and business news that is not published
in the Logos. It will only be distributed at the third Wednesday or Sunday night
service of each month. You can send all your business news to sdalogos@coralwave.com
or call 341 4021. If you are selling property, car, need a job, promoting, job
vacancy, promoting your new business, or requesting information of any kind,
then send your information to Adventist Business Newsletter. Persons are asked
to pick up the Newsletter from the conference office between Tuesday, February
18, and Wednesday morning, February 19, to be distributed in the churches.
Housing Needed for Singers. Volunteers are
needed to house members of the Andrews University Singer in their homes from
Thursday night, March 13, to Tuesday morning, March 18. Please call Barrington
Brennen at 361 6355 or 393 2818 to assist. The singers will provide their own
transportation and meals.
Adventists Newsline on 3ABN
Bahamas Academy students who rescued their neighbour from dangerous dogs will
appear on Adventists Newsline on Sunday, February 9, at 2:30 p.m. on 3ABN
Meistersingers to Meet
Today All members of the Meistersingers
are encouraged and requested to attend a very important meeting today at 6 p.m.
at the Centerville Church House. -Audrey Dean-Wright, President
Youth Corner
! Masterguides Training sessions
will be held at Berea on Sundays at 7 a.m. Persons interested are asked to be on
time.
! Persons wishing to become certified National Youth Leaders are asked
to contact Mr. Ray Jennings at 356-4684. (This course is offered by the Ministry
of Youth, Sports and Culture and begins Tuesday, February 11, 2003, at the Pan
Am Building)
! All Masterguides and Masterguides in training who are interested in
attending the WIU Masterguides Camporee in Nassau, April 15 to 23 are asked to
sign up urgently. Registration forms are available from your local youth leader
or from Kerry-Ann Cargill at the Conference.
! All A.Y. Pathfinders, Adventurers, and Masterguides leaders are
asked to attend a Youth Ministries meeting tomorrow, Sunday, February 9th,
at 4 p.m. at the Berea Church.
! Join us Sabbath afternoon,
February 22,nd at 4 o’clock at the Berea Church for a service of
dedication and commitment for all Youth Leaders.
! Adventurers’ Camp will be held in the Cayman Islands, July 27 to
August 3, 2003. Parents of Adventurers interested in attending are asked to
contact your local church Adventurer leader. Names of persons attending are
needed immediately. - Pastor A. E. Burrows, Departmental Director
‘ACTS’ ACTS
would like to extend a special thank you to those who contributed goods for our
visit to The Good Samaritan Senior Citizens Home. We would especially like to
thank Agatha Moncur and the youth of Berea S.D.A church.-Tamara Burrows
Certified Professional Secretary Certification Program Persons
interested in singing up for the Certified Professional Secretaries’
certification program through the College of The Bahamas are asked to call A.
Miller at 323-6543.
CPA Examination Passed
Congratulations are extended to Mr. Paul Lewis, a graduate of Bahamas Academy,
who has received acknowledgment that he successfully passed the CPA examination.
We join the Maranatha Church Family in congratulating Paul, who is now employed
at Price Waterhouse and wish him success in his future undertakings. - Pastor
Hugh and Mrs. Olga Roach
Women’s Ministries Get
ready! Get ready! Get ready! February 14 to 16, 2003, Women’s and Children’s
Ministries workshops with Sister Iris Henry from West Indies Union will be
conducted. You can’t afford to miss this. Be there!
The Weekend of activities will begin with a Communion service at the Grant’s
Town Church on Friday, February 14. The Sabbath service will be held at the
Berea Church beginning at 11:00 a.m. Sabbath afternoon from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. a
Leadership seminar will be held. Venue to be announced. On Sunday, February 16,
the weekend will culminate with a workshop at the Bahamas Academy gym from 9:00
a.m to 1:00 p.m. - M. Knowles, Departmental Director
Help Wanted The Publishing Ministry
has opening for honest, faithful members of the SDA Church who are willing to
work. You will determine your income. Call 341-4021 for more details.
Cat Island Homecoming 2003
The annual Cat Island SDA Homecoming will be held during the Easter weekend.
Persons interested in attending are asked to contact Bro. Norman Seymour or Bro.
Cephas Ward at 324-6744 or 361-7428 on or before Feb. 3, 2003.
Sun sets
today at 5:59 p.m. Sun sets next Sabbath at 6:03 p.m.
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