BY WILLIAM G. JOHNSSON
he Adventist Review staff spends much time in prayer together as we plan and prepare the weekly church paper, but during the months immediately ahead our petitions will take on a new focus. We invite you to join us.
Some time ago we told you of a plan titled Hope in a Time of Despair (May 2002 NAD Edition)--a name suggested by Mrs. Melodie Homer, widow of the copilot of United Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. The plan is to send the Adventist Review every week to the 3,000 or so families that lost a loved one on that fateful day.
Adventists throughout the North American Division have responded enthusiastically to the idea. Some read the editorial and mailed a donation; others heard of the plan at camp meetings and other gatherings and wanted to help. Although some funds are still needed, we are about to make a start.*
We will begin this ministry to grieving families in late August. The first issue they receive will be our undated special issue "Where Is God?" published earlier this year, accompanied by a letter from Mrs. Consuelo Velasquez, who lost her husband in the collapse of the World Trade Center towers. The second issue these special people receive will be the September NAD Edition, which will feature the anniversary of September 11.
It's understandable that some of these families, for various reasons, may prefer not to have the Adventist Review come to their homes. Mrs. Velasquez' letter will provide a telephone number so that they can cancel without hassles.
I initially wrestled with the Hope in a Time of Despair concept. Is the weekly Review an appropriate vehicle to reach out to these special people? was the critical question. After carefully weighing matters, listening to the arguments of the staff, and praying, I am convinced that it is.
The Review began as a paper sent primarily to nonmembers. James White wrote all the material for the first issue, called The Present Truth, had 1,000 copies printed, and mailed them out. But the little group of which he was a part numbered only about 100.
Our church has grown greatly since then, and the Review now serves as primarily a vehicle for Adventists. But many nonmembers also see it on a regular basis-we know this because we receive letters from them.
I appreciate the church's outreach journals, such as Signs of the Times and Message. Without devaluing the ministry of these publications, the fact is that many people today, especially those of a secular mind-set, are not interested in theology. They are looking for a place to belong rather than a set of doctrines to believe. The Adventist Review by its very nature offers them such a place: a warm, caring place, and a family with a clear sense of identity and mission and opinions of their own (as the letters in the Review demonstrate).
Readers from the September 11 project will not understand everything they find in the Review. On the other hand, people today do not try to read every word of a magazine. We hope, however, that they will grasp enough to know what a wonderful, loving, feisty fellowship we have in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. And what a marvelous God we worship-for that is the ultimate purpose of the project.
In the editorial office we will be doubly sensitive as we prepare the Review, knowing that these special people will see the issues. Without backing away from our mission, we will keep alert to the manner in which we express the Adventist faith.
Over the years many people have become Seventh-day Adventists simply by reading the Review. It's still happening today. We hope and pray that some from these 3,000 families will join us through this ministry.
Will you join us in earnest prayer as the Review goes out to these homes? Will you make this an ongoing petition throughout the next 12 months?
*Make donations to Adventist Review and send to: Hope in a Time of Despair, Adventist Review Office, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600.
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William G. Johnsson is the editor of the Adventist Review.
