St. Helenian Adventists Encouraged by 2,000-kilometer Journey
Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders on the island of St. Helena—located midway between South America and Africa in the South Atlantic Ocean—say a recent visit by the Youth Ministries director for the church’s Southern Africa-Indian Ocean region is a first for the small, isolated island of some 7,500 people.
Youth leader Eugene Fransch boarded the only means of travel to St. Helena last month—the RMS St. Helena—to make the four-day journey to the rugged volcanic island made famous during Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1815 exile. Fransch, during his visit, inducted seven leaders into the local Pathfinder Club, an Adventist youth service-oriented organization.
John C. Moyce, Pathfinder director for the St. Helena club, says the event marked another milestone: the club, established on the island in 1966, has never before inducted leaders, called Master Guides.
Moyce says it’s crucial for Adventist young people, especially those in remote locations, to get a sense of the global church. Fransch’s visit, Moyce says, sent a message of “we hear you and value you” from church officials to the Pathfinders on the island.
Moyce says he hopes more Adventist church leaders follow the cue of world church president, Jan Paulsen, who recently visited Adventists in the Azores, affirming church members there for their commitment, despite their small numbers.
Though small, the Adventist presence on St. Helena is growing, Moyce says. Of the nearly 100 Adventists in the island’s church membership records, about half live on the island year-round and attend its one Adventist church.
Church leaders on the island report St. Helenan Adventists are actively involved in their community, conducing quarterly prayer breakfasts, sponsoring gospel music concerts, and maintaining a radio presence.
Moyce says the island church wants to ensure St. Helenians, locally referred to as ‘Saints,’ are represented “‘when the saints go marching in.’”