CONNECTED - SEC CAMP MEETING 2002 - from Catherine Anthony Boldeau

"Connected" was the theme chosen for this year's SEC Camp Meeting held at
the Pontins Holiday Centre, Prestatyn, from Monday 10 to Sunday 16 June.
Rain threatened for most of the week, and the World Cup beckoned our male
membership, but despite this many said, "it was the best Camp Meeting ever".

In previous years, the Commitment speaker in the main service has usually
been from America. However, this year we were blessed with the dignified
calmness of Pastor Solomon Maphosa, President of the Zimbabwe Union. His
messages were deep and inspiring and his mannerisms were inoffensive to all
listening to him. The young people were also blessed nightly. Their speaker,
Pastor Keith Morris from Toronto, expounded the word with insight and
efficiency.

In addition to our two main speakers, Pastor Bryan Craig, Family Ministries
director of the South Pacific Division and director of Family Relations in
Australia, addressed our contemporary service, colloquially known as
"Programme Three" in the marquee. He also addressed the main body of
believers each morning in a Family Life special. The teens were not left out
this year. Their speaker, Pastor Frankie Lazarus in his unique style was
able to hold the attention of the young people for the duration of the week.

The early morning "Prayer and Praise" is always a special time at Camp
Meeting. It is so amazing to see so many of the campers up hurrying at 6.00
am to catch the "early morning blessings" on offer. As usual, they were not
disappointed. To enhance their service, Pastor Maurice Vargas, who is no
stranger to many in London and the Home Counties, led out in special prayer
for healing of both body and soul. In addition to this, he spoke each
morning with power and conviction. If there is one service at Camp Meeting
you should never miss, it is the "Prayer and Praise".

Bible Study is always an important time at Camp Meeting. Dr Daniel Duda,
ably led out in this programme. We are grateful that Daniel was able to be
with us once again to assist us to dig deeper into the Word of God.

The singing evangelist for the week was Theresa Morton, from Atlanta,
Georgia. Theresa has what can only be described as a "voice". Her renditions
of such songs as "The Midnight Cry" and "We Need a Word from the Lord" were
extremely powerful.

Other special features of Camp Meeting included: a concert by a Welsh Male
Voice Choir; an Education feature by Keith Davidson, Education director of
the BUC; "Unity in Diversity", hosted by the Communication department of the
SEC; as well as the usual Camp Meeting TV and a very moving communion
service on the Friday evening. We were also blessed that five of our
licensed ministers were ordained on Sabbath afternoon. Pastors Blake,
Foster, Jones-Lartey, Lombart and Picart had "hands laid" on them as they
officially received the call to full-time ministry.

Pastor Don McFarlane would like to thank all the chairpersons who helped to
make Camp Meeting 2002 a success. His special thanks go to Pastor Humphrey
Walters, who led out in his absence.

Leaders in East Africa Prepare for Territorial Realignment
Harare, Zimbabwe .... [George Mwansa/ANN Staff/ANN]
-------------------------------------------------------
The full executive committee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in
Eastern Africa met in late May for the last time before a significant
realignment of church territory on the African continent takes effect
January 2003.

Pardon Mwansa, president of the church in Eastern Africa, gave a
historical background to the realignment decision, which was approved
by world church leaders meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, in
April this year. He urged delegates to prepare psychologically for what
will soon take place.

Mwansa said he was thankful to God, as well as church leaders and
members of the executive committee, for the "wonderful time we have had
together." He said that although there were still challenges, he could
speak of the relative peace, unity, and harmony that had characterized
the one and a half years he served as president of the Eastern Africa
division, or church administrative region.

According to Mwansa, one of the greatest blessings to the church in
Eastern Africa was been its recent widespread emphasis on the five
focus issues of the division: unity, leadership training, self support,
evangelism, and spirituality.

By January 2003 there will be three, rather than the current two,
Adventist divisions headquartered on the continent of Africa: Western
Africa, East Central Africa, and Southern Africa Indian Ocean
Divisions. The administrative restructuring aims to group areas in
Africa together in a more natural way, and allow for more efficient
management of resources.

Currently the Eastern Africa Division serves 11 countries: Uganda,
Kenya, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, and Botswana. The rate of church growth in this area is one
of the fastest in the world, with membership currently standing at 2.2
million people. Some 4,000 new Adventist believers are baptized each
week in Eastern Africa [ANN]

SALON OFFERS 'CHURCH
IN BEAUTY SHOP'
Customers of a beauty shop ministry in a Louisiana community not only get their hair groomed, but their souls also receive a makeover. According to "The Baton Rouge Advocate," patrons of Full Gospel Exquisite Design in Baton Rouge "are energized and their self-esteem is lifted in between perms, hair weaves, washings and roller wraps," with prayer, gospel music and spiritual help.

When Carla Gaines and her husband, Kelvin, opened the shop in 1987, they wanted to do things differently. "The shop is where we'd do hair and listen to gospel music," Gaines, 37, said. "We'd pray for people and have church in the beauty shop. I would minister to...the people in the shop while getting their hair done."

The couple grew up in the inner-city neighborhood near their shop, and they wanted to provide a service in a salon where people could feel loved and accepted. "That allowed me to groom their hair and their spirits," she said.

Gaines stepped down as a beautician in 1998 to open Miracles by Faith Full Gospel Ministries with her husband and co-pastor. Many of the couples' customers also attend their church. "This salon is different," said Errin Gaines, Carla's sister-in-law, the "Advocate" reported. "They take everybody in. The down and the out, too." [Charisma News]

EX-MORMON TOSSED
OUT OF TEMPLE
A former Mormon who converted to Christianity was barred this week from a Mormon temple in Nauvoo, Ill., because of his "aggressive behavior" during a previous visit. According to "The Des Moines Register," Rocky Hulse first toured the new temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints last month, and at the end of the tour, he asked a temple official where the cross was located in the church.

"They asked me to leave," said Hulse, a minister of Mormon Missions Midwest Outreach Church. "I asked them because there was no cross in the temple, but there were plenty of satanic signs."

Church officials said Hulse was removed from the temple because he was trying to give his interpretation of Mormonism to visitors on the tour and was causing a scene, the "Register" reported. "He is a man very well announced in his agenda, who was asked to leave because of his aggressive behavior," spokeswoman Ann Orton said.

On Monday, Hulse tried to tour the temple again, and a guard asked him to leave. "I showed the guard my military identification," said Hulse, a Navy officer from Denmark, Iowa. "I asked if I was to be thrown out after almost 30 years of protecting the religious freedom of church members." [Charisma news]

'Preachers' Kids' Often Pay Price of Ministry

Magazine survey reveals that many pastors' children never get to know their parents

A pastor's family life is often overshadowed by the demands of ministry, with his children paying the price. According to some studies, 80 percent of "PKs " -- preachers' kids -- suffer from depression and contemplate suicide as a way out, according to "Ministries Today (MT)."

"During my teen-age years, most of my thoughts were of suicide," a 45-year-old pastor's daughter told the magazine. "I saw myself through my parents' eyes. I had no self-esteem and had much insecurity. Depression was my constant friend."

The magazine recently interviewed 25 PKs as well as pastors from various denominations to learn what preachers' children struggle with the most and how the church -- and especially ministers -- can address the often-misunderstood issue.

It found that many PKs never get to know their parents, as many of the adults often bring home the burdens and pressures of ministry and transmit them to the rest of the family. Additionally, many pastors forget to exit "lecture mode" once they leave the sanctuary. "Every time I tried to talk to my dad, all I heard was a sermon," a 39-year-old preacher's son said. "Even at home he was still preaching."

Often all a PK desires is to talk to his father and be listened to without hearing a sermon in return. One 31-year-old PK told MT: "Parents need to learn how to listen more and preach less." When asked if there were anything they wish their parents would have done differently, the No. 1 response was, "I wish my parents would have spent more time at home with me."

The statement substantiates the long-held belief that many ministers sacrifice their families on the altar of ministry, believing that if they are serving God, then God will take care of their families. Although God does care for ministry families in a special way, parents must learn to better balance their time for the sake of family, the informal survey found.

"If you want your family to love ministry, you must make them your priority," one second-generation pastor said. "If you don't spend time with them, your children can be scarred for life and may come to reject or even hate ministry. Your family must be your ministry."

Jack Hayford, founder of The Church on the Way and chancellor of The King's Seminary in Van Nuys, Calif., added: "The children deserve to feel they, not the church, are their folks' priority. They will grow to perceive and profit from this as their parents demonstrate: the provision of time that is solely the kids'; the availability of the pastor-parent at any time the child or spouse calls; and the cultivation of understanding of the child, so that he or she will understand what the family's life is about as servants of Jesus."

Those who do find their calling and purpose do so as a result of their parents' love, dedication and commitment to the Lord, not out of a sense of duty or family obligation. "Some ministry children, I believe, are called to carry on the ministry of their fathers," South Florida pastor Calvin Lyerla said. "But the Spirit of the Lord will always confirm that -- not Mom and Dad."

Minister Risks Jail to Read Bible Near Abortion Clinic **

CNS News -- A Washington D.C. Presbyterian minister and director of the
pro-life Christian Defense Coalition, said he is willing to risk a six
month jail sentence in order to read biblical scripture in front of a
Washington abortion clinic. Rev. Patrick Mahoney said he plans to
violate a 1998 federal court injunction that requires abortion
protesters to stay at least 20 feet away from the entrances to abortion
clinics. The injunction was originally issued by Judge Gladys Kessler of
the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. But
Mahoney blames U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft for asking that the
order be upheld. Mahoney said he plans to challenge Ashcroft and the law
today at the site of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington.

"I'm going to pray and read scripture 25 feet [away] on the public
sidewalk. I am then going to move within 10 feet, which would be in the
20 foot zone and do the exact same thing," Mahoney said. "We feel that
the only way to deal with this is to peacefully go out and exercise our
First Amendment rights, even though we know we may be facing six months
in jail." Mahoney said Ashcroft's decision to try to keep abortion
protesters outside a certain buffer zone stunned Kessler, because the
judge, according to Mahoney, had earlier accused the attorney general of
trying to placate the "pro-choice movement. There's no other
explanation. We were hoping that this Department of Justice would not
politicize abortion. We hoped that this Department of Justice would
protect the First Amendment and protect the free speech rights of
American citizens. We were absolutely stunned that Attorney General
Ashcroft submitted this," said Mahoney.