Andres Ploompuu, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Estonia, was among a group of religious leaders who met with Alar Karis, the president of Estonia, on December 20, 2021.
The meeting lasted for an hour. Among the topics discussed by religious leaders and the president was the mental health of youth and children, Ploompuu reported. Church leaders shared an overview with the president of the activities and initiatives that various denominations have taken in this area.
The report to the president included a review of the Adventist Church’s activities in the country, Ploompuu reported.
“I emphasized that often, people overlook the role of the churches in maintaining a good mental health balance,” Ploompuu said. “We always try to engage young people in different activities to help and boost their mental health.”
Ploompuu explained that Youth and Children’s Ministries are vital for the Adventist Church.
“We have departmental leaders who work daily in these departments, and we also have a well-functioning Pathfinder movement,” he said. “I told the participants that we are looking for ways to host the Trans-European Pathfinder Camporee in 2023 in Estonia, where thousands of participants would come from all over Europe.”
This kind of presidential meeting was the second one for Ploompuu.
“We also met up with our previous president, together with the members of the Church Council. It was an enjoyable encounter, and the hour that we could spend together just flew past.”
The Estonian president inquired about the relationships between different denominations.
“It was nice to hear all of the heads of different churches proclaim that we have good relationships while we all have our own mission. This kind of Council of Churches we have in Estonia is not seen in many other places in the world,” Ploompuu said. “It was a day of building bridges. The president was exceedingly friendly, and it was obvious that he really was interested in hearing about the role of churches in our society.”
Besides Ploompuu, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has two other representatives in the Estonian Council of Churches. In addition to the main Council, there are also several sub-councils where the Adventist Church is also represented.
The original version of this story was posted by the Estonian Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
