From the President: Alban Matohiti

It is my privilege to wish our Seventh-day Adventist family in Sydney a happy New Year. I hope and pray that 2022 will be a blessed year. We have left behind the many challenges of 2021, including the lockdowns and the implications they had on our local churches. Our pastors and elders have done a great job leading our congregations during this challenging time.

This coming year is going to be exciting. There are a number of events that I am really looking forward to. Our year will start with Think Tank 2022. Most of our churches have already started working on the list of delegates for that event. I am really excited about the possibilities Think Tank 2022 holds. This will be a time when we can come back together and look at the present and future challenges and direction of our churches and conference. I encourage delegates to engage with the question that we have sent to you through our local church leadership. It is important for us as leaders to know and understand the local church challenges.

The second highlight of the year will be our constituency meetings. We plan to have two of them in 2022. The first is in April, and it will be a short meeting, enabling us to vote to have the main session online in case there is another lockdown. We will plan to have our regular session in August. Please make both of these meetings a matter of prayer. This morning in my personal devotions,

I came across Psalm 40:4: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord.”

As Seventh-day Adventists, we have a clear picture of the challenges the future will bring. The Bible is very clear about it, and Jesus is very clear about those events in Mathew 24. I take this opportunity, brothers and sisters, to encourage each one of us to make faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ a priority for this year. Whatever challenges we may face, I invite you to trust in the Lord our God. Our hope and confidence are in Him at all times and in all circumstances. He will bless each one of us as we continue to trust Him each day. He has led us so far and will continue to lead us firmly during this year.

May God bless you all.

Alban Matohiti

Next content deadline 04 MAR http://bit.ly/intraSyd

Questions to think about for Think Tank 2022

• How have the 5 key focus areas been experienced in your church since our last Think Tank in February 2020?

• Is there a change that COVID-19 has introduced to your churches that you would like to keep?

• What has changed in your church since Think Tank 2020? (positive and challenging) And what should we reconsider going forward? As a church and as a conference?