![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/image-17.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nEarlier in the day, I had attended the Spring Meetings of the TED Executive Committee, held in St. Albans, England. The primary purpose of which was for the Treasurer,<\/em> Nendad Jepuranovic, to give an account of the prior year finances. \u201cQuite incredible really,\u201d said Jepuranovic, announcing a record increase of tithe return of 7.3%. \u201cAt the beginning of 2022 we were still in recovery mode from the Covid 19 pandemic! We give thanks to our members for their faithfulness,\u201d he remarked.<\/p>\n Jepuranovic then shared how this faithfulness \u201chelped the TED in its dual roles of supporting the work of the global church (returning a tithe to the General Conference) and of supporting the mission of its constituent Unions and Attached Fields.” Through a process known as tithe-sharing reversion, “the TED returned to the Unions 30% of the total tithe-sharing, to be used for evangelism projects,”\u00a0Jepuranovic concluded.<\/p>\n Christ for Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n Due to the timing of this meeting, a ‘spring bounce’ was in the air, overlapping as it did with the\u00a0Christ for Europe evangelistic initiative. Mission director, Anthony WagenerSmith reported that over 75 venues across TED were open\u00a0for outreach, witness, and evangelism using a variety of traditional and innovative methods to share the Gospel. Some of those venues included initiatives in major cities such as\u00a0Athens, Krak\u00f3w,Budapest, Belgrade, Dublin, London, Manchester, Oslo, Stockholm to name but a few places. In contrast to city evangelism, one group has even been involved in outreach on the remote Shetland Islands. As reported elsewhere in tedNEWS<\/em>, lead preachers and presenters from the General Conference leadership (and from other parts of the world) have collaborated with local congregations to share the gospel.<\/p>\n Fresh from two nearby initiatives and invitees to the Spring Meetings were Pastor and Mrs Alexander and Desiree Bryant, North American Division (NAD) president, who had been leading out in the “Reflecting Hope For a Better Life” series in Croydon, London with the local pastor, Royston Smith.\u00a0Also present was Pastor\u00a0Robert Osei-Bonsu, president of the West-Central\u00a0Africa Division who had been leading out in a series in Lewisham, London\u00a0with local church pastor, Kwadwo Kwarteng-Ampofu.<\/p>\n Heli Otamo-Csizmadia Elected New Stewardship Director<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cFor me stewardship is about my relationship and commitment to God. It is my expression and reaction to His care and friendship,\u201d shared Otamo-Csizmadia reflecting on her new role. \u201cHe has given us the charge to take care of His creation in all its aspects, and all resources. So, I will humbly and gladly help others to discover the joy of committing to our relationship with the Creator.\u201d<\/p>\n Otamo-Csizmadia\u2019s appointment was welcomed by Daniel Duda, TED president, \u201cHeli Otamo-Csizmadia\u00a0\u00a0showed herself as a capable pastor with a good grasp of the different departments of the Church. She brings to her new role a pastoral heart, and language skills that will be a blessing to our fields. We welcome Heli to our team and look forward to a fruitful collaboration.”<\/span><\/p>\n More of You, Holy Spirit<\/strong><\/p>\n Looking out of the cabin window again, more lights from more cities – and a teachable moment. We cannot \u2018pass over\u2019 them, because they represent the \u2018why\u2019 of TED\u2019s mission – to extend God\u2019s love, grow life-long disciples, and multiply communities. This is our purpose, this is who we are.<\/p>\n Those gleaming clusters of lights also reminded me of Ian Sweeney\u2019s (TED Field Secretary) devotional thoughts to Executive Committee members at the start of the day, sharing what he describes as \u2018somewhat unfinished musings\u2019 about the prophecy of \u00a0Joel. \u201cAnd it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh\u2026\u201d (Joel 28). As he considered Joel\u2019s prophecy Sweeney asked an insightful question: \u201cWhy do we want the Holy Spirit to be revealed so much in our time?”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a>Pastor Heli Otamo-Csizmadia, a native of Finland, was elected director of the TED Stewardship Ministries department. Otamo-Csizmadia, who takes the torch from Maureen Rock after her retirement, studied at Newbold College of Higher Education and has served as a pastor in both Finland and Hungary since 1998. Otamo-Csizmadia also has experience in youth work and church planting.<\/p>\n