IMPRESSIONS
            General Conference 1995 Session
     
By: Owen Troy
	We are very grateful for Shirley Burton, Jean Thomas, Olson Perry,
C.A. Murray and Willie Taylor, who have provided the NAD view of the
General Conference Session.
	I thought it would be acceptable for me to give my biased and unbiased
views of the Session.  When we arrived here the week before the session
started, we were extremely impressed with the size of the convention
center.  The first Sunday I was that my pedometer indicated that I had
walked more than five miles inside the complex. So we were happy to
take the suggestion of Gerard Latchman that we should rent a bike,
which incidently was the best bargain, (32 gilders/week) seen in
Holland.
	Since the church in Utrecht was not large enough to accommodate the
personnel that had arrived before the session started, we had church
services in one of the rooms in the complex.  We especially enjoyed the
music of the choir from the Russian Seminary.  They are good!
	Setting up the session was a major operation.  Just setting up the NAD
booth took much longer than anticipated because of the long distances
in the complex.  If you were missing one part, the walk to get the part
is extremely long with out bike.  In addition the NAD's VCR; which was
the center of the NAD booth was stolen.  When they got the shipment out
of customs there was only an empty box.  One of the Pentium Computers
for the session was also stolen. The uneven floor complicated setting
up NAD the display.  It was designed for a level floor.
	We have been extremely pleased with the personnel who have manned the
booth.   We can be thankful for the dependable way the NAD workers and
spouses took care of the booth.  Whenever we checked to see that
everything was okay, the person assigned was there.
	There were more booths than ever, and in the commercial section it was
possible to purchase nearly any item you could think of.  They sold
clothing, food, books, curios, vibrating chairs, old coins, sound
systems, stones, etc.  Both the display and commercial sections of
booths were usually filled with people.  The city of Utrecht even set
up a booth with live grass, wooden walkways and a calliope etc.
	NBC & CBS in many cities, would envy the TV production studios. They
have produced fantastic programs and the staff is to be highly
commended for their outstanding programs.  You have probably seen much
of their work on satellite.
	Across the walkway from GCTV, AWR and ARN personnel has been working
under, what they call, the best facility ever used at a General
Conference Session.  They also have done an outstanding job.
	The total number of accesses to all the news placed in the Utrecht
section of the CompuServe library has exceeded 15,600 on Friday
morning.  This does not include the vast number of message sent from
this complex.  It is probably one of the most outstanding and useful
changes in this session.  We don't know how we did without CompuServe. 
Nearly 3000 new packets have been distributed during the session at the
CS booth.  The nightly news conference of CompuServe have been well
attended, and others say they were listeneing.
	One of the interesting aspects of this session is the way the
microphones were placed.  At Indianapolis Session there was
considerable confusion when a large number of mics were set up.  So it
was decided that this time there would be only three mics on the floor.
One mike is for those who are for the proposition, one for those
against, and one for those wishing to make a "point of order."  The set
up caused considerable opposition, but in the long run it has proven to
be most effective, even though some have to walk a long way to get to
one them. To compound it, the "point of order" mike is a marathon run
from the other two.  One speaker ran so fast, he could hardly talk when
he got there.
	The early elections came very quickly, but as I write this on Friday
morning, while they are still discussing items from the Constitution &
Bylaws committee, there are still a number of items jet to be reported.
 At this session two Division presidents were relieved of their
responsibilities. (Nortey of AID and Wolf of SAD).  Nortey's name was
brought before the delegates, but was referred back and the president
of Nigeria was placed in that position.
	David Newman was replaced by Dwight Nelson, but today we have received
word that he has not accepted the position.  It always pains me when
people are put out at a session, so my sympathies go with them.
	To me, one of the major issues of the session was the position of
Division Departmental Directors.  Unfortunately they (since I am
leaving at the Year-end Meeting) are no longer members of the General
Conference Committee and no longer elected, but appointed until another
person is appointed.  While we did our best to keep the Dirs.. position
as it was, by a large majority this position was defeated.  Associate
Departmental Directors in the General Conference will be elected at
General Conference Sessions, but not members of the GC. Exec.
Committee,. Division Dept. Dirs.., who have been on the same level
previously, now will be appointed at the meetings involving personnel
from their division only.
	We have just received word that the Poland government has voted to
grant full Sabbath privileges from sundown Friday to sundown Sabbath
for Adventists.  The higher body voted 73 for and one abstention.
	Of course the major item in the minds of most delegates to this
session was the request of the North American Division for the option
to decide on women's ordination.  More faxes were sent after the vote,
from this session, and more CompuServe messages were uploaded, than for
any other item.  It's interesting to note that one section of the
delegation stated that the presentation from the platform for the
motion was the most logical and reasonable, when the rest of us know
that the logic was weak in several areas and not sufficiently Bible
based.  (Who said this is an unbiased article.  Using the privilege of
lame duckism.)
	Incidently, after the presentation of McClure, Damsteegt, Dederen,
(For, Against, For) I thought that they had announced the benediction
because it seemed as if everybody was getting up to leave.  But instead
they were all heading for the microphones.  By far, the largest number
of people ever wishing to speak at a General Conference session, were
standing to speak to the motion. By my calculation, about one eighth of
those wishing to speak, (alternately against and for [an equal
number]), were able to speak in the time allotted.  For those who are
not here and think that the against side had many more speakers, the
lines appeared to be equally long.
	One of the fine features of a GC session is the music.  We have been
privileged to have some of the greatest.  No other group produces
better music than the SDA church. (Unbiased opinion).  But we have been
enjoying an additional blessing.  Since the sun goes down considerably
later than the meeting, musical groups put on impromptu performances in
locations in and outside the complex.  It gives you a great feeling
about your church family.
	They are expecting a huge crowd tomorrow.  Already tour groups have
arrived and more are coming.  We filled the auditorium last Sabbath,
plus nearly filling the extra halls.  I have heard that they have
ordered several thousand more chairs.  They were practically all used
last Sabbath.
	The press coverage has been extensive.  There is a definite advantage
in being located in a smaller city.  Every morning Ray Dabrowski has
held a news briefing and approximately 25-30 attend each day, including
ARN, AWR, TV and AR.  There has been a definite time advantage for news
to US.  As I write this, it is about 4:30 am EDT, so we still have time
to reach you before you get to the office.
	Among other things, you might like to know that we are keeping more
than 80 pentiums busy.  They will be shipped back to the office. There
are more than 105 TVS which are spread throughout the complex, and
probably enough cable to reach the US.  A whole lot of things went
wrong, and some of the insiders said there was a lot of
disorganization, but I am sure that the vast majority of those
attending, are really excited about the session and think it is great
Haven' even heard a lot of complaint about the distance they are living
from the complex.  The train system does an outstanding job.  Nothing
like AMTRAC.
	Over all, it has been a great session, in spite of the degradation
of the Division Departmental Directors.