May 28, 2009 - Miami, Florida, United States...[Libna Stevens/IAD]
Nearly two dozen Seventh-day Adventist representing
Belize, part of the Caribbean and the West Indies, will have the
opportunity to talk with and ask questions of top church leaders from
the church's Inter-American Division (IAD) during the Facing the Issues special program, live from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, on Saturday, June 6, 2009.
The unscripted program, the fourth in a series of
seven, will provide the 22 laypersons and young people who represent
more than half a million church members the opportunity to voice their
questions and concerns regarding the church, its programs and
organization.
Leading the live program as the main host will be
Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America, who will
listen and interact with the special delegates. Church administrators
and department leaders will also be in attendance to provide insight on
a wide range of issues or concerns.
"Facing the Issues is a great opportunity to
meet with the church locally, to allow the church to talk to us so that
we can listen and make adjustments in order to respond to the needs of
the church," says Pastor Leito.
Pastor Balvin Braham, associate ministerial director for the church in Inter-America and organizer of the event, says Facing the Issues will continue to engage selected constituency in strategic dialogue.
"The IAD believes in an integrative strategic
planning process where it listens to the members and embraces relevant
and practical suggestions that they advance to assist in driving its
strategy formulation and strategy for mission accomplishment," says
Braham. "This is one of those programs that directly impacts this
process. It is also a means of empowering the laity for more effective
engagement in the mission of the church."
The Trinidad live dialogue program will consist of
several sections where delegates will ask questions. The host will
interact with the group by asking them questions, as well as the
audience having the opportunity to ask their questions.
Facing the Issues in Trinidad and Tobago
will be streamed live over the internet from the church's University of
Southern Caribbean Universities auditorium on Saturday, June 6, 2009,
at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight's Time (Miami Time).
To view the live webcast, log on to http://www.interamerica.org