Compassion is spreading across the Northeast of the United States, Bermuda, and beyond the borders of the Atlantic Union Conference. On behalf of our Adventist Youth Ministries Team, we would like to thank you for everything you have done to enable the Compassion Movement to be born and begin to grow and expand right here in our midst.

This past weekend, between 150 to 200 young adults, youth, children, and adults of the Southern New England Conference and the Northeastern Conference participated in Operation Compassion in the City Boston. With the support of both Conferences and lots of young adult leadership for the different projects, the plans were put together quickly after the Boston Marathon Bombings.

Operation Compassion was simple yet effective, as we distributed thousands of roses, across the city, outside Fenway Park, in Boylston St., and at the Copley Square Memorial. Each rose had a card with a promise

that read:

Boston Strong

“do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Other projects included visits to the First Responders with cookies and baked goods, praying for those hurting at the sites of both explosions, spontaneous singing which was soon joined by many bystanders, a prayer chain with hundreds of requests

from people visiting the makeshift memorials, hugs, and a group prayer for the city at the Copley Square Memorial. Some of the church groups present also distributed the book “The Great Hope” (about 1,500 of them).Our young people could not be missed in the city, identified not only by the Compassion Shirts, but also by an unparalleled spirit of Compassion, kindness, and love, we were all over, and so were the roses we gave out, people held on to them dearly, others deposited them in the memorials. As we were driving back later that night, we noticed that Instagram and other social media outlets were buzzing with people commenting on Compassion and thanking us for what we had done. Our hashtags for the day were: #compassion #bostonstrong

  

  We are asking everyone attending to bring a Compassion shirt, if you don’t have a Compassion shirt, we will get one for you.

Many Blessings & and much Love!

Jose

Pastor Jose Cortes Jr., Director

Adventist Youth Ministries Department

The Youth and the Young Adults of the Atlantic Union are: Committed, United & Innovative, in Spiritual Growth, Mission and Leadership

TO:  Church Pastor 

Church Youth Leader/Young Adult Leader

Church Pathfinder Director

Church Adventurer Director

Church Bulletin Clerk

Dear colleagues and companions in Adventist Youth Ministries, each time that Joanne, the boys, and I think about you and pray for you, we thank God for your commitment to God, to His church, and to our younger generations. Together with Milca, here at our office, and each one of your Conference Youth Directors, we would like to thank you for everything you do. I want you to know that we love you!

As we get closer to our Atlantic Union-wide/NY13 Compassion Annual Rally in New York City there are a few things we need to communicate about. Please, read this MEMO carefully and share it with your Youth, Young Adults, Pathfinders, Adventurers, and your Church in general, as we need every Church and Conference in the Atlantic Union on board to make Compassion and the Compassion Annual Rally in New York City a life & culture changing movement for our church. 

1. Compassion Annual Rally & Global Youth Day in New York City (March 22-24)

As you know, on the weekend of March 22-24, thousands of Youth, Young Adults, Pathfinders, Adventurers, Master Guides from all across the Atlantic Union, Northern New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, from around North-America with BAYDA’s iServe Movement, and from each region of the world will descend on the City of New York for our annual Compassion Rally. The objective is to show the Compassion of Jesus to New Yorkers through intentional acts of love, service, and kindness during this weekend. The rally will also help to strengthen our youth, young adults, and children, as they continue to live the Compassion Lifestyle, with the priorities of Jesus 24/7, 365 days a year. It is not the same thing when you see 10, 20 or 100 people practicing compassion and serving together, than joining five to seven thousand to be part of the experience. The Compassion Rally will also serve as a preparation experience before evangelists from all over the world come to New York to preach during the spring, summer, and fall of this year. This Annual Rally will be replicated in other cities across the Atlantic Union in the years to come, and we will expect and request the support from each Church and Conference each time.

Together with the Youth Directors of each one of our Conferences and in counsel with the General Conference Youth Ministries Department, we aligned the Global Youth Day to March 23, to coincide with the our Compassion Rally. In the Atlantic Union, the Compassion Rally and the Global Youth Day will take place on the same weekend.  

Please, pay special attention to the following details:

Program: The program will take place across New York City and the areas affected by Super-Storm Sandy. Each group, club, church, and family will be able to sign up to participate in a Compassion Project. To sign up for a project or several projects, please go to the following link: http://compassion-now.org/annual-rally/project-sign-up-application/. 

We have included a paper copy Sample of the Compassion Projects Sign Up form, yet we need you to fill the form out online. If you are not Computer-Savvy, please find someone to help you to sign up online.

There are projects for each day of the weekend, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, & SUNDAY. You and your group can sign up for a project each day. If your group can only do one of the days, it is OK, the vital thing is that no one spends the weekend without showing Compassion. It is OK to come and participate Saturday all day, or Friday and Saturday, or Saturday and Sunday, or all the three days. Worship time during the weekend will take place by groups, as the majority of the time will be used doing good to others. During this weekend, we will not attend a sermon, we will be the sermon through our actions.

Compassion Prayer & Candlelight March Against Violence: On Sabbath, March 23, the Compassion projects will start early in the day because at 2:00 PM, we will gather at the Cadman Plaza Park (North Section) in Brooklyn for the Compassion Prayer & Candlelight March Against Violence, which will begin at 3:00 PM sharp. Can you imagine thousands of Adventist Youth, Young Adults, Pathfinders, Adventurers, Master Guides, Medical Cadets Corps & AYES Corps, walking together, escorted by the New York Police Department (NYPD), praying for our city, carrying banners with Compassion slogans, singing, giving out Compassion Cards, and Flyers against violence? We need everyone to turn out for the march.

During the March we will pass by the following landmarks and each group will be able to pray for the city and the people these landmarks represent. We will cross the Brooklyn Bridge and interact with thousands of New Yorkers and tourists, then we will pass by the New York City Hall, the World Trade Center, and close our march by lighting our battery operated candles with a song and a prayer for the City of New York at Battery Park, overlooking the Statue of Liberty. As we met with the NYPD, they mentioned that we must be ready for many bystanders and tourists to join our march, they do this when they see a just cause, and ours definitely is a just cause.

Candles or glow-sticks will be provided to each registered participant, as well as a Compassion T-shirt. We are working on ordering a mini Compassion Flag for each registered participant, as well.

We would love to have all of our Pathfinder Drum Corps and Bands from across the Atlantic Union present to play throughout the march. A Registration form for Drum Corps & Bands is online together with the volunteer project selections. We would also like to encourage your group to bring American Flags, International Flags, Christian Flags, Pathfinder & Adventurer Flags, as well as banners with good Compassion thoughts and slogans against violence in our communities, violence against children and women, among others. This march does not have any political agenda, neither is it to condemn other religions, it is a time to pray and show Compassion to the City of New York. Banners, which may be offensive will not be allowed in the march.

Lodging for Groups Coming from Outside New York City: If your group is coming from far away, outside New York City, there are churches and schools in the area whom are more than willing to provide lodging for your group, in some cases they may even be willing to provide you with a sack lunch, but just in case remember, your group is responsible to bring sleeping bags, as well as provide for your group’s food throughout the weekend.

To sign up for lodging, please go to the following link: http://compassion-now.org/annual-rally/lodging-request/ 

Transportation in the City: We are requesting that during the weekend, your group and all groups participating in the Compassion Rally use public transportation. It will be a tremendous witness to have thousands of Adventists riding the subway, singing together as we travel, and treating people with Compassion on public transportation. If we all travel in cars, vans, or private buses we will be hiding from the people we want to reach.

The city of New York provides free public transportation on the subway for nonprofit youth groups. For more information and to apply for free transport, please go to the following link: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dycd/html/resources/transportation_program.shtml

Pick Up of T-shirts & Compassion Weekend Materials @ Compassion Rally Headquarters: Our Headquarters for the Annual Compassion Rally will be at the Greater New York Adventist Community Services Center located on: 41-26 58th Street, Woodside, NY 11377. Registered Youth Groups participating in the Compassion Annual Rally will be able to pick up their Compassion Rally gear and materials at this location, beginning Monday, March 18. If any of the groups coming from outside of the New York Metro Area is not able to pick up shirts at the Headquarters, please contact us at the Atlantic Union Conference Adventist Youth Ministries Department so we may be able to make special arrangements. From March 18-24, there will be a line at the Headquarters where you will be able to call, if needed, the number is: (718) 565-0850.

STAY UPDATED on Last Minute Details: Stay up to date and well informed with last minute details through our website, www.compassion-now.org and our Compassion Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/CompassionNowMovement/ 

2. Meeting with Youth, Young Adults, Pathfinders, & Adventurer Leaders in the New York Metro Area (Sunday, March 3 at 2 PM at the Ephesus Adventist Church, especially for GNYC, NEC, SNEC/Southern Connecticut, & NJC/AEC/Northern New Jersey)

As your Youth Director has already announced and as you have probably seen online, we will be meeting at 2 PM, this Sunday, March 3, at the Ephesus Adventist Church. The purpose of the meeting is to have an Orientation and to make sure that we are all on the same page regarding the Compassion Rally. We need your presence during the meeting.  

If you are not the in the New York City Metro area, do not worry, we will update all the information on the Compassion Website: www.compassion-now.org 

   

Through we are gearing up for the Compassion Rally, please keep in mind, Compassion is a lifestyle, it is not just an event. Compassion is a movement of thousands and thousands of youth, young adults, children, and adults. To facilitate and help you and your group to stay inspired and equipped for a lifestyle of Compassion, we have our website with daily inspiration and Compassion Tips, weekly blogs and small group lessons, Compassion Day Ideas for the second Sabbath of every month, and many other resources. Stay in touch via our website: www.compassion-now.org. 

  

Many Blessings & and much Love!

Jose

Pastor Jose Cortes Jr., Director

Adventist Youth Ministries Department

The Youth and the Young Adults of the Atlantic Union are: Committed, United & Innovative, in Spiritual Growth, Mission and Leadership

TO: Pastor

       Youth & Young Adult Leader

       Churches in the Atlantic Union Conference

Dear Colleague & Friend:

I am praying that with the blessing of God, 2013 will be your best year ever, together with your family, your youth, young adults, and the entire church family.

The reason for this brief note is to remind you of our GodEncounters Conference for Young Adults (ages 18-35) to be held at Camp Winnekeag, on the weekend of February 1-3, 2013. It has been announced since last year on different outlets, but I just wanted to make sure that I touched base with you, as the gatekeepers and ministry enablers and leaders of the local church. 

GodEncounters is an annual life-changing event attended by hundreds of Young Adults and Young Professionals of the Atlantic Union. It is a time for spiritual, emotional, physical, vision, and mission renewal. A weekend of healing, when lives are changed and decisions are made for Christ. It is also a perfect opportunity for Young Professionals and Young Adults to invite their non-Adventist friends. This year, a special emphasis will be placed on Compassion and how Young Adults can become a vital part of the mission of their local church, by living a life of compassion with the priorities of Jesus.

Together with each Conference Youth Director of the Atlantic Union, we are committed to the Empowerment, Deployment, and Multiplication of our Young Adults. When Young Adults and Young Professionals work for the Lord, next to their Pastors and Churches, awesome things can happen. We want to see these things happen in our midst, in our churches, not in the future, but now. I really appreciate your help in getting the young adults of your church to GodEncounters. With the blessing of God, they will go back closer to Jesus, and ready to make a difference together with you. 

Devon Franklin

This year, we have two special features, which our young adults will enjoy big time: (1) Devon Franklin, the Senior Vice-president for Columbia Pictures will be our Featured Speaker; he is an Adventist Young Adult, he recently spoke about his Adventist Faith and his love for the Sabbath on national TV with Oprah. He has an awesome testimony; (2) We will partner with “Stop Hunger Now” to pack 12,000 meals during our time together. These meals will go to people who are hungry in America and throughout the world. An added bonus is that we will have separate breakout sessions for Collegiate Young Adults and Young Professionals. 

The necessary information is included (Poster & Registration form). If you need to get in touch with us, feel free to check our website www.AUYouth.com, or call our office at the Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries at (978) 368-8333, extension 3016. Regular updates about the event will be posted on our website, which was previously mentioned, and our Facebook Page: Atlantic Union Adventist Youth Ministries.

Please make this information available to the Young Adults, College, University Students, and Young Professionals in your Church. Have your church sponsor a group, so they can make it. The spiritual, networking, and relationships opportunities of GodEncounters are invaluable. 

I am grateful for the opportunity to partner with you in ministry. Your input, prayers, and love are always appreciated and are definitely reciprocated.

Many Blessings & and much Love!

Jose

Pastor Jose Cortes Jr., Director

Adventist Youth Ministries Department

The Youth and the Young Adults of the Atlantic Union are: Committed, United & Innovative, in Spiritual Growth, Mission and Leadership