Enditnow Emphasis Day 2018

In spite of the fact that the Adventist church calender has many special days, most of these days pass without notice. That probably also applies to the Enditnow Emphasis Day, although we are sure that many churches around the world actually do something to raise awareness against abuse and violence on that day. We just don’t hear much about it.
This year’s topic “Words that wound” was addressed in a church service organized by Bettina Omar in Tübingen, Germany, on August 25. A powerpoint presentation showing that demeaning words we hear as children can hurt us a whole lifetime showed how important it is to watch what we say. Even if the words are not meant to hurt, they can destroy self-esteem. The sermon was presented by Abishek Thavamani, a native of India, who was impressed by the material prepared by the Women’s Ministries Department of the General Conference. Realizing that some aspects of his own culture that were considered as normal were, in fact, abusive, he opened our minds to the possibility that things we say might be psychologically traumatic for our partners. Words from the Bible about our use of words recapped the message.
Although no spectacular activities were organized, people were invited to sign a pledge to engage in stopping abuse. It is good that this topic is no longer just an idea of the Women’s Ministries department, but many other departments of the church are joining in to stop abuse – not just against women, but also against children and men, in fact anyone who is at risk. We are thankful that there are men as well as women who realize that it is time to end all kinds of abuse now.
Reported by H.Ottschofski