Rejoicing Along The Way

The late British politician and journalist William Francis Deedes’ first royal wed- ding assignment was to cover the journey of the newlywed duke and duchess of Kent, George and Marina, who married in 1934. Deedes was instructed to travel on the same train the couple would take from London to Birmingham, where they would start their honeymoon. The train would stop at each station to allow well-wishers to greet the newlyweds. “It seemed an odd mission, and I inquired what precisely was required of me,” Deedes wrote more than 50 years later. The editor didn’t doubt for a second. “You are to report the rejoicing along the way.” And that’s precisely what Deedes did.*

There is perhaps no better image to describe what I try to do as I write, rewrite, edit, interview, and report on Adventist news from around the world. Sharing the joy of those “marching to Zion” is an often challenging but always deeply reward- ing enterprise. Far from what-ifs and hypothetical discussions, sharing news is telling stories of God in action, lifting up the name of God. From India to Japan to Rwanda to the Canadian Arctic, I have seen God at work in the world.

Those many stories are both a daily online presence at Adventist Review Media and a major element of Adventist Review and Adventist World magazines. They serve for both information and faith building; they may tell of finding God, of miracles of physical healing and spiritual hope, or of leaving the comforts of home to serve in the most challenging and heartbreaking circum- stances. Online and in print, news works to keep the family of God healthy: church members read and realize that those who love God are all interconnected. And being connected boosts our sense of belonging, our desire to stick around, or our motivation to do our part for God’s cause.

Monthly, through the pages of Adventist World, the news division contributes a half dozen pages of both news in brief and full-length stories—news in depth—to the world church, and Adventist Review at least twice that amount: stories of mem- bers facing unspeakable challenges to Sabbath- keeping, of fierce persecution, of natural disasters. Or reports of events that bring together church pastors, young outreach volunteers, health-care executives, and humanitarian agency managers as they exchange their joys, dreams, and occa- sional tears.

I’m blessed to be part of this bridge-building and witnessing enterprise, and I’m intrigued to think that through my sharing a news story the name of the Lord is lifted high.

* William Francis Deedes, Words and Deedes: Selected Journalism 1931- 2006 (London: Macmillan, 2006), p. 394.

Marcos Paseggi is senior news correspondent for Adventist Review Ministries, keeping us and you aware of what is happening.