FOCUS ON THE NEWS

Remembering Jim Cress

James Andrew Crest
August 30, 1949 - November 26, 2010

James A. Cress, 60, Ministerial Secretary for the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists since 1992, died on the evening of November 26, 2009, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

"Cress was a great support to Women's Ministries, encouraging women everywhere to use every available gift and resource for hastening the great day when Jesus returns. We thank Jim for his vision, his voice, his love, his passion, and his personal financial support to the women around the world," says Raquel Arrais, General Conference Women's Ministries associate director.

Heather-Dawn Small, General Conference Women's Ministries director said, "One thing I thank God for each day is for the support that my brothers in the church and in church leadership give to Women's Ministries. There is one man who is a great example of the support our brothers give us, and that man was Jim Cress. Elder Cress was a friend, a counselor, and a colleague; but more than that he was a man of God. A man who was not afraid to stand up for what he believed in, and he believed that God has called women to serve side by side with their brothers to finish God's work in this world. He spoke out many times in support of women in ministry, women in leadership, women in service, and I thank God for this man, His son, His leader. Elder Cress will be missed, but our lives are greatly blessed because he touched them. "I thank God every time I remember you..." (Phil 1:3).

Training for SUCCESS

Euro-Africa Division

In October the fourth and last Women's Ministries leadership certification level for women and pastors´ wives with leadership potential was held in the city of Sofia, Bulgaria. In addition to certificates, 52 women received lots of love, encouragement, and support from Christiane Vertallier, Women´s Ministries director of the Euro-Africa Division.

The women feel more confident and stronger as leaders in the church. "We ask God to open many ways and doors before us and the people we work with in order to ‘touch hearts and tell ,the world' about the great sacrifice of Jesus. We long to lead many souls to God´ s kingdom which starts here and now," according to one of the attendees.

-Source: Sofia Emilia Stoykova

Inspired for MINISTRY

East-Central Africa Division

The fourth West Congo Union Women Ministries Congress was held in Université Pédagogique Nationale, in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of CONGO in August. More than 500 women attended and every day at least 70 men visited.

The theme was "Daughters of God: High Purpose in Life and Noble Destiny." The speakers came from the West Congo Union Mission office and some specialists from the UN Gender Office, the National Election Commission, and the Congo Lay Organization. The topics addressed included prayer, gender based violence, self esteem, and finances. Many workshops provided time for sharing and testimonies by the women.

The program finished with a parade of women in uniform from all the districts with their young women in youth uniform; the program ended with the distribution of certificates.

-Source: Aurelie Dipo Mugiraneza, WCUM WM Director