The Italian Adventist youth started the New Year with a national meeting, held in Cervia, Italy, from 5 to 7 January.
Over the weekend of Epiphany, the Adventist Youth Congress was held at the "Vita e Mare Village Hotel", in Cervia. The 75 participants, staff included, were fostering an atmosphere of cheerful communion on the premises.
The spiritual guest was Daniel Monachini, president of the Federation of Adventist Churches of Southern France, who was much appreciated by our young people for his ability to cast the biblical message in a narrative of intense personal experiences.
Being Adventists “from the heart”
Daniel opens the event by telling us some anecdotes about his childhood spent in Belgium, a country not always welcoming to the many Italians who have come there for work since the middle of the last century. In him, however, the memory of a local Adventist reality, made up of hospitable 'adoptive aunts' and 'little brothers' with whom it was possible to share a toy, is still alive. A happy oasis 'detached' from the general climate of distrust of those years. Even today, we should be able to experience this same inclusiveness among the wooden benches of our communities. We do not always succeed. We struggle in what could be our global mission as Adventists, which is to 'do humanity', to build bridges. The risk of feeling more like 'exclusive owners' than witnesses of the Truth could generate closure and prejudice towards those who think differently.
Saturday morning opens with the praise of songs like 'I come to your throne', 'People like us' and 'Prince of peace'. We split into family groups, mingling with old acquaintances and new faces. In keeping with the theme of the congress, "What kind of Adventist are you?", we introduce ourselves, confiding in each other our fears and dreams. We discuss in the wake of some feedback posted in the common Telegram chat, inherent to the considerations our host has just made. We write down, anonymously, on a piece of paper the questions that most challenge us as "GA" (acronym for “Young Adventists”, ed.) and entrust "the pinch" to Daniel's practical wisdom.
In these three days, we analyse some unprecedented aspects of the term 'heart', a word that, in the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, is primarily the seat of decision-making, to which the emotions then refer, in a coherent thread linking the head with feeling. Speaking of Holy Scripture, we meet two great characters, Daniel and John. Even before their roles as prophets, they are above all 'men of the heart'. Both are 'much loved' by the Lord. One is non-conformist, but capable of fully integrating himself into Babylonian society, while remaining firm in his principles; the other, whose name is gloriously associated with the final revelation, shows all his need for empathy in the gospels, resting his head on Jesus' chest.
We consolidate the friendship with the mutual exchange of 'sweet gifts', to be followed by a final recreational evening with quizzes, endurance tests and challenges to the sound of karaoke tracks.
Acknowledgements
The participants thanked the conference staff, Alan Codovilli, Field Director; the animators, Jos Nuňez, Naomi Guelfo, Romina Perrone, and Ismaele Di Maggio; the young people who dedicated time and enthusiasm to the musical part; and the volunteers who zealously translated into Italian sign language (Lis) and made the programme accessible to everyone!
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