24 September 2026 | Maruševec, Croatia [Neven Klačmer]
By early Sabbath morning, the Adventist education campus in Maruševec, Croatia, was already filling with greetings and reunions. Some had travelled only a few kilometres. Others had crossed borders or returned from Australia, Canada, the United States and elsewhere in Europe.
On Sabbath, 19 September 2026, nearly 700 people gathered in the Albin Močnik Congress Hall for the annual Adriatic Union Conference (AUC) Congress, a day of worship, fellowship, spiritual renewal and renewed focus on mission.
Each year, the Congress brings together the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Albania, Croatia and Slovenia, three countries with different languages and cultural settings. Guests also came from Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia, as well as Adventists from the wider diaspora. This year’s Congress recorded the largest attendance in several years.
A place of memory and opportunity
For many participants, Maruševec adds another layer to that sense of belonging. Generations of students, pastors and church workers have passed through its two Adventist educational institutions, the secondary school and Adriatic Union College, and many now live and serve around the world. Returning for the Congress means returning to friendships, formative years and important moments in their spiritual journey.
Many of those who choose to study there come from non-Adventist families, giving the institutions an important mission opportunity through education, relationships, and everyday school life.
The diversity of the AUC was visible throughout the day. The programme moved between Albanian, Croatian and Slovenian, with the different languages and cultures being heard and seen from the same platform, yet the message was one of belonging rather than separation. Interpretation was available throughout the Congress.
The Congress offered a simple reminder that Christian fellowship does not require cultural differences to disappear. Instead, they can remain visible while being held together by shared faith, hope and mission.
Hope at the centre
The Congress was organised by the AUC based in Zagreb, Croatia, and officially opened by Pastor Zlatko Musija, AUC president. The main guest speaker was Dr Dragan Grujičić, South-East European Union (SEEUC) president, who attended with his wife, Ana Grujičić.
His morning message, “Abundance: The Architecture of Hope”, based on John 10:10, presented hope not simply as the expectation of a better future, but as something that shapes the Christian life today. His afternoon message, “People Who Keep the Door Open”, carried that thought further, towards service, responsibility and sharing hope with those God places around us.
Together, the messages traced a simple movement: hope received, hope lived, hope shared.
That message resonated naturally in a Congress where people from different countries, cultures and life experiences were worshipping side by side. Many participants described the day as a time of spiritual refreshment and an opportunity to “recharge their batteries” before returning to their churches, families, workplaces and ministries.
Looking ahead together
The Congress also gave the Church an opportunity to look across the three territories of the AUC and towards the mission ahead. Delmar Reis, Albanian Mission president, presented developments from Albania, while Zmago Godina, Slovenian Conference president, shared updates from Slovenia.
Slobodan Bobo Marčeta, Croatian Conference president, and his team presented their strategic plan for 2026–2028, with particular attention to the towns and cities with little or no sustained Adventist presence. Their strategy sits within the wider OneVoice27 direction being developed by the AUC and its fields, with each adapting the initiative to their own context. The emphasis, however, is not simply on organising more events, but on helping mission become part of the everyday life of each local congregation.
Different settings bring different challenges, but the direction is shared: stronger cooperation and more intentional mission. This will look different in Tirana, Zagreb, Ljubljana and other towns across the Union, but the shared question remains: How can the hope we proclaim become visible where we live and serve?
When unity could be heard
Music made that unity especially tangible. Congregational singing was led by a worship group from Slovenia, while the AUC choir and the combined Ljubljana–Pula choir united members from churches in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and Pula, Croatia, who sang together despite speaking different languages. Having these different voices become one choir was a fitting picture of a church family united around a common purpose.
There were other musical, youth and pathfinder contributions, and a free meal was provided for all participants, allowing fellowship to continue across the campus between the morning and afternoon programmes.
The event also attracted the attention of Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT), Croatia’s national television and radio broadcaster. HRT recorded parts of the programme for an upcoming feature in the religious affairs programme Zajedno u Duhu (translated as Together in the Spirit), giving its Croatian audience a glimpse of Adventist worship, education, community and mission.
By late afternoon, the campus slowly began to empty. As participants returned home, the message that had been repeated throughout the Congress remained: hope received, hope lived, hope shared.
[Photos: Featured image by Karolina Kovačević is of the Ljubljana–Pula choir. Other images by Neven Klačmer]
