Between April 23rd and May 1st, 2025, Adventus University in Cernica, in collaboration with the Inter-European Division, organized an Erasmus project in Vienna, right in the heart of Austria, to explore key topics on Women in Church and Society. It was the first time that the Women’s Ministries Department had the opportunity to reach out to University students in a special way.
The topics focused on several core themes, including:
- The history and philosophy of Women’s Ministries within the SDA Church
- The contributions and legacy of great women in general and in Adventist history
- The purpose and mission of Women’s Ministries today
- Strategies for ending violence against women through the ENDITNOW Project
- Women of the Bible
- What is my place as a woman?
This collaboration provided a meaningful opportunity for intergenerational learning and spiritual growth, highlighting the vital role of women in ministry and community leadership. The students of the university had the opportunity to discover how they can become actively involved in service within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, particularly through the Women’s Ministries department – a department with extraordinary potential to reach people from various social groups.
These seven days brought them at least one step closer to the calling God has for each individual. There were training sessions with remarkable women who, through both their words and their way of life, introduced the students to a living Jesus – full of compassion and deeply involved in the lives of people, especially women.
The accompanying professors – Eliza Spătărelu, Cristina Albu, Laura Maftei, and Gabriela Diaconu – together with the guest speaker from the Division, Dagmar Dorn, director of Women’s Ministries, and Elida Oncea, the Women’s Ministries leader in the Austrian Union, brought genuine value and depth to this entire experience.
In addition to the training sessions there were also excursions to some of the city's cultural treasures – places rich in history, art, and beauty. On Sabbath, the group attended Romanian Adventist churches in Vienna. On Friday evening, they held a program at the Meidling church, where each study group and year level contributed poems, songs, instrumental pieces, and heartfelt messages to the program. Then, on Sabbath morning, they joined the other Romanian community in Vienna where they immediately felt at home. This was a week in which the students laid down their barriers and truly connected with each other to learn what it really means to serve God.
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