Florida Conference News

The Winter 2007–2008 issue of Florida Focus is now available for download in Adobe Acrobat format.

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On Friday, December 28, a special communion service will link Adventists across North America in a service of joyful dedication. Join Don Schneider and some of your favorite musicians as they celebrate a New Year’s Communion Service, “From the Heart.” Share the evening with your entire North American Division church family at your local church, on Friday, December 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern. It will be repeated two hours later. No pre-registration is necessary.

Instructions for participation:
Plan enough time before the program begins to conduct the ordinance of humility and for people to be back in their seats before the beginning of the program for your area. You also will need to plan enough time to quietly distribute the emblems of Christ’s sacrifice during the service and be finished with that by 15 minutes before the end of the 1-hour program. There will be no break or signal to do that since there are so many different sizes of churches and they would each require a different amount of time. Elder Schneider will begin speaking at 15 minutes before the end of the program, and will lead out in partaking of the emblems just a few minutes after that, so that all those watching from across North America can participate together in this event of spiritual renewal.

More about the program:
Roscoe Howard, North American Division Secretary, and Fred Kinsey, Assistant to the President for Communication, plus musicians Marc and Andrea Judd, Gale Jones Murphy, Scott Reed, Adrian Presley, Del Delker, Sandy Wyman Johnson, Stephanie Kinsey and Tim Davis will participate in the special event planned to bring a spiritual emphasis to the conclusion of 2007.

This event, carried live on the HOPE Channel, will unite hundreds of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in North America in the experience of rededicating their lives to Jesus at the same time. If you do not receive the Hope Channel at your church, or if you have shut-ins who would like to participate from their homes, it will also be carried live, in streaming video, via the Hope Channel web site at www.hopetv.org.

Rebroadcast dates and times (EST) for Hope TV are as follows:

December 28—10:00 pm
December 29—6:00 pm
December 30—11:00 am
December 31—8:00 pm
December 31—10:00 pm

The 2007 NAD Christmas show, Christmas at Cadillac Jack’s, has been so well received by some television programers that the Division is being paid in some cases for the right to air the program. The program will air on several major television networks and independent stations. Trinity Broadcast Network (TBN) will begin airing the show starting on December 18 at 9:00 p.m. PT [December 19, 12:00 a.m ET]. The Hallmark Channel’s showing is on Sunday, December 23 at 10:00 a.m. ET and PT. The Hope Channel will also be airing the show beginning on Friday evening, December 14, at 9:00 p.m. ET. Other Christian networks and secular stations will be carrying the show as well. Check the North American Division’s web site for listing information.

The program is based on characters introduced in last year’s show Love’s Pure Light. However, this year’s program was filmed on location in various areas around Southern California, transformed to appear as snowy Nebraska. The show was shot in high definition. It was written by Jeff Wood, who also directed, and Donald Davenport and features the vocal music of Michelle Tumes. In addition to Joseph Campanella and Ruta Lee, the touching story also features performances by Mary McDonough who was one of the Walton children, and Talia Shire, the Oscar-nominated actress.

Church members are encouraged to contact any network or station they watch the show on and tell them of their appreciation for airing the show.

Fred Kinsey
Assistant to the President
for Communication
North American Division of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church

Today’s kids are setting a new record, but it’s not one we should be proud of. Young people today might actually live shorter life spans than their parents!

Childhood obesity is reaching epidemic proportions and making headlines across North America. Experts are calling it the gravest public health threat of our time, impacting the lives of millions of children. Fueling the crisis are sugary snacks, fast food, and the sedentary lifestyle accompanying a generation brought up on computer games and videos.

Voice of Prophecy tackles the tough issues of “Keeping Our Kids Healthy” in the 21st century by exploring the Bible’s timeless answers for eating right and staying active. Throughout the week beginning January 7, Pastor Lonnie Melashenko shares insights straight from the Scriptures to help parents and other family members keep the waist lines of their loved ones under control. Pastor Lonnie also speaks of biblical solutions for helping kids maneuver through this fast-paced world and dealing with the stress of being young, which often leads to poor eating habits.

To find a local radio station airing the Voice of Prophecy daily broadcasts, visit www.vop.com or phone 1-800-SDA-PLUS.

Providing input to this Voice of Prophecy series was Joseph G. Herman, a medical journalist who has researched and written on many health-related topics, and who recently became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.