Mandeville, Manchester:

The Church has been urged to play a pivotal role in the lives of Jamaica's young people.

During the recent 100th Centennial celebrations of the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, held in Manchester, Adventist leaders implored the Church to get more involved in the affairs of the nation "so as to propel new hope for our young people."

The celebrations, which lasted for three days at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Gymnatorium, were held under the theme 'Ebenezer! Hitherto Hath the Lord helped Us'.

Keynote speaker Pastor Noel Fraser, past president of the West Indies Union, said Jamaicans should obey the Ten Command-ments of God. He also urged church leaders to make sure that they too continue to keep the commandments and help Jamaica to be a better, peaceful, and Christ-like country.

Ten Commandments

"When God was making man, he made us with ten fingers and ten toes, so that we can remember God's Ten Commandments," Pastor Fraser said.

Pastor Matthew Bediako, guest speaker at the divine hour service and Secretary of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, also implored the Church to be positive avenues of change for young people.

"Our young people are facing great danger; the Church must be the avenue of positive change," he said. The Church, he said, has implemented many programmes such as the Pathfinders and Master Guide programmes that help Adventist youth to stay focused.

Recognition ceremony

The celebrations culminated with a Recognition ceremony, awarding 100 people for their invaluable contributions to the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, including those who served at the West Indies Union Conference, current presidents with more than 15 years service, former Presidents and leaders of conferences, missions, and union institutions.

Peter Kerr, President of Turks and Caicos Islands Mission; Dr. Herbert Thompson, NCU presi-dent; and Jeffery Thompson, president, Cayman Islands Conference, received awards for more than 15 years of service to the West Indies Conference.

The West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists that started in 1906 now consists of the Bahamas, Cayman, Jamaica and the Turks and Caicos Island with a membership of 10,636 in 173 churches, healthcare institutions, publishing houses and educational institutions and other church-based institutions serving these communities.