More than 40 young adults from Seventh-day Adventist churches in Lithuania, Northern Ireland and Wales recently took part in "Christian Youth Days -- Kedainiai 2004." Kedainiai, a city situated in the center of Lithuania, is an industrial, agricultural an
More than 40 young adults from Seventh-day Adventist churches in Lithuania, Northern Ireland and Wales recently took part in “Christian Youth Days—Kedainiai 2004.” Kedainiai, a city situated in the center of Lithuania, is an industrial, agricultural and business district whose roots go back as far as 1372.
The weeklong project attracted hundreds of young people who had an opportunity to sense the spirit of Christianity, and it played an immense part in building a positive image for the Adventist Church in Lithuania, regional church leaders declared.
“It is very important in such country as Lithuania, where Adventists are often viewed as a ‘sect’ and where the state government will consider the status of the church in the near future,” said Giedrius Rimsa, secretary of the Adventist Church in Lithuania.
Local authorities quickly became enthusiastic about the project and organized an official meeting in the local administration with project leaders. Media coverage in local newspapers and on television followed.
“This week shook the town, really,” said Mantas Kucinskas, local church pastor. “Even when organizing the project I saw wonderful works of God.
“We were supported by the local government, most Christian denominations and individual people. The goals of the project were simple and understandable to the society, [such as] service, sharing experiences, communication and promoting the Christian way of life among youth,” Kucinskas said.
The project included three efforts: cleaning the town streets; fundraising for a child’s operation; and cultural events and socializing. The local government, the mayor and other local office workers were interested in cleaning the surroundings of the town, in advance of celebrations for the city’s anniversary.
Virginija Baltraitiene, another local government official, declared, “We are happy that this program was going on in our town. It is very pleasant to receive such an initiative from different churches. I hope that similar projects will take place in the future and, as a part of our town community, believers from different denominations will show us such an example later too.”
Several cultural events were also organized for town citizens: English language courses, a presentation of Wales and Northern Ireland and their culture, and a Christian music concert to young people, as well as a classical music concert played by a stringed instrument sextet from Riga, Latvia, about 120 miles away. The concert, which ended the event, had an impact on community leaders, organizers said. During the events money was collected for an operation expected to restore hearing to Laurynas Tuskeviciene, a deaf boy in the community.
“I welcome this Christian initiative with all my heart and thank the youth of [the] Adventist Church for the help in collecting money,” said Monika Giliene, chairwoman of the Association of the Deaf and the director of town social maintenance. “That is a perfect example to all of us.”
“We would like to thank ... all the participants of the project for the help in collecting money for Laurynas’ operation. It is wonderful that there are such people,” Jurgita Tuskeviciene, Laurynas’ mother, told local media.
Pastor Kucinskas said, “All we wanted to do during that project was just to invite people to look at Christianity, not from the theoretical point of view, but from a practical one. These were very useful experiences for both the young people from church and for those in the community. We testified to our belief and way of life ... in our works.”
