‘Thank you, Tramelan!’: 150 Years of Church Mission in Switzerland

The village of Tramelan, Switzerland, home to the first Seventh-day Adventists outside North America, welcomed missionary John Nevin Andrews 150 years ago. Tramelan has been a traditionally welcoming land for Christian communities.

On Friday, July 5, Seventh-day Adventist leaders including General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson, the Tramelan mayor, and representatives of various Christian faiths participated in a celebration of that milestone.

The meeting was held in the first Adventist chapel on European soil. About 60 guests celebrated the event. Olivier Rigaud, president of the Swiss Union Conference of the Adventist Church, and union secretary Stephan Sigg introduced the speakers.

The first speaker was Mario Brito, president of the Inter-European Division (EUD). He shared the story of the historic church building with the attendees.

Brito was followed by Tramelan mayor Hervé Gullotti, who told about the important role of the churches in the village’s life. “Even though some disagreements have existed in the past,” Gullotti said, “today, the different churches speak together and help each other.”

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General Conference president Ted N. C. Wilson speaks at the historic Adventist chapel in Tramelan, Switzerland, on Friday, July 5. [Photo: Raphael Nagler, Inter-European Division]

Attendees of the Tramelan anniversary celebration witness a tree-planting ceremony outside the historical Adventist chapel. [Photo: Raphael Nagler, Inter-European Division]

An newly planted apple tree commemorates the arrival of the first official Seventh-day Adventist missionary to Europe 150 years ago. [Photo: Raphael Nagler, Inter-European Division]

A sign at the foot of the newly planted apple tree reminds people of the 150th anniversary of Adventist mission in Europe. [Photo: Raphael Nagler, Inter-European Division]

In his remarks, Wilson said he was touched by the spirit of religious liberty that Switzerland enjoys. Based on texts from the Bible, he showed that the same mission that drove the ministry of Andrews is the one that should compel us today to keep moving forward. “It is a mission that calls us to help our neighbor as much as possible in every facet of life and not only spiritually,” Wilson said.

In the last part of the program in Tramelan, Benjamin Calmant, a theology student and author of a work on the subject, presented the historical context in which the so-called Sabbatists settled in the area.

At the end of Calmant’s presentation, the celebration moved to a former orchard. David Jennah, president of the Adventist Heritage Tramelan Association, whose purpose is to develop activities that seek to value the historical chapel, invited Wilson and Gullotti to plant an apple tree as a symbol that, from its roots to its fruits, the mission must keep moving forward.

To commemorate Andrews’s arrival 150 years ago and as part of the celebration, Rigaud placed a sign by the newly planted tree to commemorate the occasion. During a later refreshment time, a group of Adventist pastors met with representatives of the Reformed Church, the pastor of the Evangelical Church, and the Officer of the Salvation Army from Tramelan.

The evening ended with a spiritual welcoming of the Sabbath at sunset. Those who stayed enjoyed singing hymns and a message by Wilson.