Crews working “round the clock” are building the stage for the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s World Session. Teams of movers and fork-lift drivers will operate throughout the night to set up the vast SkyDome–normally the home of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team—for the estimated 60,000 delegates and visitors who will be attending the Session from June 19 through July 8.

“It’s an amazing scene out there,” says Noelle Brannan of Adventist News Network whose reporting booth looks directly out over the stage. “In a short period of time, the SkyDome is being transformed from a sports arena into a vast convention center. It’s fascinating to watch and hear the many different operations—the 16,000 extra chairs set up on the field, the assembly and hanging of the incredible lighting system, the 250-foot stage under construction, and the tremendous noise of the sound system being tested.”

Not only is the SkyDome being readied, but also the extensive halls of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre which will house the many hundreds of exhibitions illustrating Adventist activities around the world.  Agencies such as the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Adventist World Radio, Global Mission, colleges and universities, health institutions, and many others will display exhibits for both the delegates and the general public.

Media interest in the Session has been exceptional, with newspaper, radio and TV news already providing coverage.

“We’re truly delighted with the media response which has featured good reporting on what Adventists believe and how our values impact society,” says Bettina Krause, media coordinator for the Adventist Church. “The number of inquiries illustrates a high-level interest in what is the largest convention ever in Toronto.”

Not only is the Session being built physically, but also spiritually, with an agenda to develop mission outreach and to plan for the future. The Session will feature many devotionals, sermons, inspirational reports, as well as the business of electing leadership and revising the church manual, say Session organizers.