DATELINE CHANGED IN SAMOA page 3 - RECORD.net.au

NEWS600 women unite to worshipApia, SamoaClose to 600 Samoan women from Australia, New Zealand,American Samoa, USA and Samoa united in prayer andsong to worship God in their own language at the SamoanSeventh-day Adventist Women’s Congress in Apia, Samoa.The Women’s Ministry Department of the Samoas-Tokelau Mission hosted the congress in response to manyrequests for an opportunity to renew and strengthen bondsof sisterhood as women of Samoa, and to reach out to“Touch a Heart and Tell the World”.Seminars and workshops offered insight into the involvementof women in community-based programs.The theme of the congress was “Hold fast to the Master’shands”.Dynamic speakers included a former attorney general, theCEO of a government financial authority and a Catholic nunwho shared her experiences serving God in many countriesof the world.Further inspiration came from the Samoa Victim SupportGroup and some of the child victims, who touched heartswith their music and performance. At the end of their program,all the pastors’ wives were invited to the stage to hugand pray for a child, and sing “Does Jesus Care?”.Other workshops and seminars offered activities invegetarian cooking, healthy nutrition, handicrafts, music andhome worship.Samoa Red Cross trainers demonstrated valuable, basiclife-saving procedures, and the Men Against ViolenceOrganizationsent out astrong messageto jointhe move tostop domesticviolence.Most ofthe presenterswere fromSamoa.Delegates who attended the congress from Cairns,Australia.Elei Faraimo, from New Zealand, presented a spiritualseminar for the women—to bring their family and keep themin the Master’s hands.Misa Emma Kesha, who was recently awarded theQueen’s Medal for her contribution to developing communitiesin New Zealand, took workshops in handicrafts to ahigher level with her skills and expertise.To reduce costs, catering and accommodation weredesigned according to local dining and sleeping practices.Fees were kept to a minimum to allow participation ofwomen from Samoa and overseas.Keeping the motto “Hold fast to the Master’s hands” intheir hearts, the congress ended on a high note of hope andjoy, and the women of Samoa were further strengthened toface the challenges of life.”—Julia WallworkChurch conducts Safe Place trainingBonnells Bay, New South WalesIn a first for the Australian Union Conference (AUC) andNorth New South Wales (NNSW) Conference, Lakesidechurch took part in the newly released Adventist version ofthe Safe Church Training program.More than 25 people attended the Friday night meeting,with more than 40 on the Sabbath afternoon.The training program is based around the Safe ChurchTraining Manual, which draws on material from the NationalCouncil of Churches in Australia’s Safe Churches Project. Itcovers a variety of safety procedures—from child protectionto incident reporting, and duty of care to occupational healthand safety—that aim to enable holistic and safe church ministry.Training is underpinned by the concept of God’s carefor the vulnerable and the challenge of ministry and churchlife being to recognise when people are vulnerable, andproviding care and support for them.Around 40 Christian denominations and church groupsare part of the project around Australia.Pastor Peter Cousins, director of Family Ministries for theconference, and Pastor Daron Pratt, director of Children’sMinistries, are the two trained presenters of the program inNNSW Conference. They both ran the Friday night program.Lakeside pastor CliveNash said, “Earlier inthe year, elder NerolieGate inspired meand the other eldersto do more aboutsafe church awareness.Now we havemade a good start.We have hostedthe first Australian Pastors Nash and Pratt with the new manual.Seventh-day Adventisttraining session with the new manual and I am sure thatother churches will soon follow.”Bob Dale, former general secretary of the NNSW Conference,was instrumental in the creation of a training manualfor the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The importance of anAdventist-specific manual was highlighted to him when heattended a course sponsored by the Anglican Church, and herealised how essential the program was for church leadersand members who are responsible for children and organisingprograms and events.—Adele Nash/SPSrecord.net.au • FEBRUARY 4, 2012 7