A Church of Color
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You really don't have to try hard to find color here. Blue, purple, neon pink and bright yellows don't even begin to tell of the rainbows. |
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[photo by Melita Pujic]
You really don't have to try hard to find color here. Blue, purple, neon pink and bright yellows don't even begin to tell of the rainbows. In the exhibit halls, people are roaming everywhere, and you can hardly make your way even five feet down the rows without bumping smack into it -- the Adventist Church is full of color.
With more than 400 institutions, churches, schools, lay ministries and commercial ministries from around the globe, they're here to share their resources with each other in the hopes of further expanding a growing church. Each little -- and sometimes not so little -- area of ministry has its part, and is here at the Seventh-day Adventist Church's General Conference Session to add their small, but vital, pixel to the ultra-high resolution in this vast rainbow.
The nice young Korean man at Sahmyook Foods is giving out soymilk samples. He explains that they offer a variety of soy products with worldwide distribution centers.
Someone from the Michigan church region is giving a health demonstration with a bottle of Mountain Dew, bowl of sugar, and empty glass goblet. The game is "guess how much sugar is in a serving of soda," which, according to those watching in awe, is more than one realizes.
Penny Shell's zeal for supporting women in ministry is evident. She quickly hands a bag, from the Women's Resource Center at La Sierra University in California, in which to place new materials.
It's nearly impossible to visit all of them, even if you do have 10 days to do it. After all, the Heritage Singers are celebrating 35 years, and offer their gift of music in the way of Cds and videos. Kitchen and Home Showcase feature handmade craftsmanship, and Annie's Fancy Hats begs women to don a new color (and what a variety).
Artist Elfred Lee is sitting directly in front of the Bibleland Studios exhibit, demonstrating his painting techniques. You should see his work.
Little Folk Visuals provides materials for early childhood education, and their goal during Session is to help Third World countries get products "as cheap as we can get it to them."
People are speaking in American Sign Language (ASL) at the Adventist Deaf Ministries booth. In a church with hundreds of deaf members in North America alone, their ministry is vital.
Then there's the schools -- Loma Linda University is celebrating their centennial; Andrews University has a lush exhibit with a computer kiosk set at each area, representing each of their schools; and Southern Adventist University boasts a modern set, complete with plasma screens and high bar stools for people to relax. Peruvian Union University is here; so is Bogenhofen Seminary.
Some may say it's lavish -- money wasted. And perhaps there's a little truth to that in some cases, but as one looks a little closer, the meaning behind these stories comes alive.
"So many people see us who never [would be able to] come to Loma Linda University. It's the closest they'll get," says Dick Weismeyer, from the Loma Linda University office of public affairs.
"I don't think it's wasting money. It's a way for people around the world to gain first-hand knowledge" of LLU, says Carolyn Cales in the LLU office of advancement. They are "so thrilled," she says, to learn more about it. "It's a much more cost-effective way for them [to learn about LLU] than for us to go around the world. It's a way to serve the church."
Is this large, walk-through virtual campus self-serving? "In a sense, yes, because we're looking for more students. If you think offering an Adventist education is self-serving, then yes," says Kenneth Hart, MD, with the LLU Social Action Community Health System.
Rebecca May, director of university relations at Andrews University, says they will use their booth again -- and again, which is the case for many booths. Some are reruns from Sessions past; some have added on to become more appealing, and to update their ministries.
It's all quite amazing. You'd really have to see for yourself -- to get a glimpse of what the Adventist Church is doing around the world.
Bright colors -- pink, blue, green -- dot storefronts, and people are looking brighter these days as a result. Pink, especially, is "in," at least in North America. Some even say pink is the new black.
So what color is the church? Is it faded? Or do bright colors -- purple, pink, red, yellow, orange -- dot its hallways? From the swarms here at America's Center -- and the ministry realized in the ocean of exhibits -- there is a vast array of all of them.
Now that's "in."
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