World Church President Calls For Special Prayer

With just three months until the Church's World Session in Toronto, Canada, Dr. Jan Paulsen, president of the World Church, is calling for a special prayer season that "the gathering in Toronto will be marked by the blessing of God and that the Holy Spirit will preside over this world gathering."

"As we near the time of the Toronto convocation, may each Adventist congregation, each Adventist family and every believer spend time presenting before God the work of the Church and its worldwide family of believers," said Paulsen.

In a statement for the Session 2000 News, the world Church leader said that the "Toronto Session is to be a celebration of a strong, dynamic church where all are valued as God's children, where youth are real players and not 'bystanders in waiting,' where the members are recognized as central to its mission, and where all are recipients of God's mercies and His spiritual gifts."

"The General Conference Session is more than a business meeting-it's an occasion to celebrate the truly international nature of our Church, to come together as members of a world-wide family of faith, and to recognize that our bonds of faith, love, and mission are stronger than our differences of language, nationality, and culture."

Dr. Paulsen extended a special invitation to Church members from Canada, the host country. "The Toronto convocation offers a marvelous celebration of fellowship for our believers in Canada, and the thousands of visitors from some 200 countries of the world. We hope that many of our believers in Canada will find their way to the SkyDome. Daily devotionals and inspiring reports from the world divisions in the evenings, as well as special spiritual celebration during both weekends, will provide an opportunity for spiritual refreshing and a renewal of our Christian commitment," said Paulsen.

The Toronto meeting will be "a special" for Canadian Seventh-day Adventists, and especially for the Toronto area. The Seventh-day Adventist work began in Toronto in 1883, when pioneer George Brown began selling Adventist publications in a shop on Yonge Street in the city center. One hundred seventeen years later, the convening of the General Conference Session 2000 will mark another significant milepost in the history of the Adventist Church in Toronto and Canada, as an estimated 65,000 Church members from more than 150 countries around the world meet in Toronto to do appropriate church business, celebrate, and worship together.

On two Sabbaths, July 1 and 8, the World Session planners are preparing a festival of praise, prayer and spiritual messages. The messages and the musical presentations from around the world will focus on the hope and nearness of Christ's return. [Ray Dabrowski]