This Week's News: Oct 5 1999
- Church Council Makes Outreach Top Priority
- Adventist Church Statement Affirms Biblical View on Homosexuality
- Japan: Adventists Affected by Nuclear Accident
- Adventist Aid Convoy for Kosovo Includes Mobile Medical Unit
- NASCAR Helps Adventist Community Services
- Church Members Warned Over Fraudulent Financial Schemes
- Adventist Review Goes Online
Church Council Makes Outreach Top Priority
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA .... [ANN]
At its Annual Council meeting on October 4, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's world leadership voted to endorse the setting up of an Advisory Council on Evangelism and Witness.
"We want to have a creative forum on evangelism and witness with a broad mandate and a sharp focus on the things we value highly," said Dr. Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist Church. "This Council will have wide-ranging terms of reference and international composition to examine a wide range of ideas and concepts."
Many Council members spoke in support of this new initiative.
"We were lacking such a body to coordinate outreach strategy, and I want to express my support for this new initiative," said Mario Veloso, associate secretary at the Adventist Church Headquarters.
"Up until now we have been dealing all along with business as usual in our Church," commented Roger Robertsen, leader of the Adventist Church in Norway. "Now we are responding to real needs and objectives for the Church's mission."
The Annual Council, which opened on Tuesday evening, September 28, will continue until October 7. It is composed of 330 Church delegates from around the world. [Jonathan Gallagher]
Adventist Church Statement Affirms Biblical View on Homosexuality
Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A. ... [ANN]
The Scriptural view about homosexuality and the Church's caring ministry were expressed in the "Seventh-day Adventist Position Statement on Homosexuality" as voted by the Executive Committee of the Church meeting at its Annual Council at the Church's World Headquarters.
"The Bible makes no accommodation for homosexual activity or relationships. Sexual acts outside the circle of a heterosexual marriage are forbidden," the statement reads. "Adventists are opposed to homosexual practices and relationships," while endeavoring "to follow the instruction and example of Jesus. He affirmed the dignity of all human beings and reached out compassionately to persons and families suffering the consequences of sin. He offered caring ministry and words of solace to struggling people, while differentiating His love for sinners from His clear teaching about sinful practices."
Commenting, Laurie Evans, president of the Church's South Pacific Division in Sydney, Australia, welcomed the statement. "It not only endorses clearly the biblical position in respect to this matter, but also acknowledges our pastoral responsibility to all groups of people."
"It is so easy to concentrate on the sinfulness of such a practice and forget that there are people who struggle with such temptations, whom God loves dearly, and who need our support and encouragement," he added.
"While we strive to follow what the Bible says, we are also to demonstrate our love to others as Jesus teaches. In the words of the Bible, we are 'to act justly and love mercy,'" said Ardis Stenbakken, director of Women's Ministries at the Church's World Headquarters.
The statement underscores Christian duty to be compassionate and "to treat all persons with dignity and respect, regardless of their personal situations," said Ted Ramirez from Kettering, Ohio, a lay member of the Executive Committee. "Christ died for all of us, and every one of us has a personal role to play in revealing His love and redemption to all," he added.
William G. Johnsson, editor of Adventist Review, and a member of the committee which drafted the statement, said that "such a statement was needed for our Church community and society in general. We are being asked where Adventists stand on this issue."
A need to be responsive to issues affecting the community of which the Church is a part was expressed by Ray Dabrowski, the Church's communication director. "The Church should not remain silent on issues prominent in society, especially when they also touch the Adventist faith community. A Christian church is expected to uphold biblical standards. But it is equally important that as Christians we are always full of grace and compassionate towards everyone," he commented.
The Church maintains a "Christian View of Human Life" standing committee whose purview is to address this and related issues.
The statement was approved on Sunday, October 3. The Executive Committee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland, at its Annual Council since September 28. The meetings will conclude this week.
The full text of the statement follows:
"Seventh-day Adventist Position Statement on Homosexuality"
The Seventh-day Adventist Church recognizes that every human being is valuable in the sight of God, and we seek to minister to all men and women in the spirit of Jesus. We also believe that by God's grace and through the encouragement of the community of faith, an individual may live in harmony with the principles of God's Word.
Seventh-day Adventists believe that sexual intimacy belongs only within the marital relationship of a man and a woman. This was the design established by God at creation. The Scriptures declare: "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Gen. 2:24, NIV). Throughout Scripture this heterosexual pattern is affirmed. The Bible makes no accommodation for homosexual activity or relationships. Sexual acts outside the circle of a heterosexual marriage are forbidden (Lev. 20:7-21; Rom. 1:24-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-11). Jesus Christ reaffirmed the divine creation intent: "'Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning the Creator "made them male and female," and said, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?" So they are no longer two, but one'" (Matt. 19:4-6, NIV). For these reasons Adventists are opposed to homosexual practices and relationships.
Seventh-day Adventists endeavor to follow the instruction and example of Jesus. He affirmed the dignity of all human beings and reached out compassionately to persons and families suffering the consequences of sin. He offered caring ministry and words of solace to struggling people, while differentiating His love for sinners from His clear teaching about sinful practices.
Japan: Adventists Affected by Nuclear Accident
Tokai, Ibaragi, Japan .... [ANN]
A Seventh-day Adventist school and church members were affected by the release of radioactive material by a nuclear reactor at Tokai Village in the Ibaragi Prefecture, about 110 kilometers (70 miles) northeast of Tokyo on September 30.
As a result, a nearby Seventh-day Adventist elementary school, Kujikawa Saniku Shogakko, was closed. According to the school principal, Katsuya Mochizuki, the Adventist school is located 7 kilometers from the nuclear plant. One of the school teachers lives within 1 kilometer of the plant. Furthermore, a few students are from Tokai Village. One student's family was evacuated. Mochizuki said, "We will continue to keep our school closed until safety is assured."
In the same compound as the Adventist school, there is an Adventist church with around 90 members. A few members live in Tokai Village. Pastor Yoshihiro Atari of Kujikawa church said, "Although it is really a frightening incident, our church is fortunately located at a site that does not get the wind from the incident area. Therefore, the church service on the Sabbath, October 2, was regularly conducted. I sympathize with the farmers in this prefecture. In fact, some of our church members are farmers. Vegetables and fruits of this area are not sold, because the general public is afraid of radiation in spite of an official statement saying they are safe to use."
A chain reaction triggered by Japan's worst-ever nuclear accident occurred at the plant owned by Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. The situation is now under control after the initial accident, which is believed to have started when a worker piled too much uranium into a container, with the result that it reached "critical mass" and started a nuclear reaction. Forty-nine people, mainly plant workers and emergency personnel who responded to the accident, were exposed to radiation. The three workmen present when the accident happened were still in serious condition, with some experts saying their chances of survival were slim. They were suffering from "sunburn-like" symptoms.
"We believe it is a severe situation, and there are concerns about radiation in the surrounding areas," top government spokesman Hiromu Nonaka told a news conference Thursday.
After the incident, those who live within 10 kilometers (6 mile radius) of the plant were ordered to stay in their houses and not to go out. About 150 people in homes near the plant were evacuated. Train service was halted and farmers were warned not to harvest their crops until they could be tested for safety. The 241 schools in Ibaragi Prefecture were closed from the next day, October 1.
On the evening of October 2, after a careful investigation of radiation, the Japanese government lifted its evacuation order for people living within 350 meters of the site of the accident, saying it was safe for them to go home, and pledged to look at ways to prevent similar disasters. Schools began to open again starting October 4.
Tokai Village has a population of around 34,000 people and is home to 15 nuclear-related facilities. [Tadaomi Shinmyo]
Adventist Aid Convoy for Kosovo Includes Mobile Medical Unit
Watford, England .... [ANN]
An aid convoy comprising 14 tons of medical and other needed aid, together with a mobile medical clinic, left Stanborough Park on Thursday, September 30, bound for Kosovo. The mobile medical clinic is an exciting joint project funded by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency ADRA-UK and the SOS Bosnia charity. It will be handed over to ADRA-Kosovo upon arrival and will be put to immediate use bringing much needed medical care to the citizens of Kosovo.
Accompanying the convoy are ADRA drivers David Balderstone and Harry Wilby, together with Dr Elaine Laycock and drivers from SOS Bosnia. Helping to co-ordinate the arrival of the convoy in Kosovo is Bob Kitchen, who is currently serving as Logistics Officer with ADRA-Kosovo.
The ADRA-UK office has been very busy over the last couple of months with an aid convoy having recently returned from the Nis Psychiatric hospital and a further trip to Croatia planned for the end of this month. It is important to facilitate these aid convoys prior to the onset of the winter months. [Paul Tompkins]
NASCAR Helps Adventist Community Services
Rocky Mount, North Carolina, USA ... [ANN]
NASCAR drivers lent a helping hand to the disaster relief efforts in North Carolina when they sent their tractor-trailer trucks filled with relief supplies to the Adventist Community Services' (ACS) warehouses in Rocky Mount. NASCAR is an official organization of American stock-car racing.
A total of 61 trucks arrived last Wednesday and unloaded clean-up and building supplies in an effort to ease the strain on families whose homes were badly damaged or destroyed by floods from Hurricane Floyd. The relief trip, called "Hayride II, Racing for Relief," started in Charlotte and ended at the ACS warehouses.
"Things have been busy here. We had 61 trucks arrive Wednesday, 31 arrive on Thursday, and over 10 more arrive on Friday," said Verdie Culpepper, ACS Disaster Consultant at the North Carolina warehouses.
Hurricane Floyd, which brought 20 inches of rain to eastern North Carolina, is expected to surpass Hurricane Fran, which did $6 billion in damage in 1996, as the State's costliest natural disaster. Blamed for at least 47 deaths, Floyd's flood waters destroyed or heavily damaged at least 3,000 homes and about 1,500 people remain in 18 American Red Cross Shelters.
ACS is currently operating two multi-agency warehouses in Rocky Mount, funneling goods to over 50 distribution centers throughout North Carolina. According to warehouse managers, there is no need for water or used clothing. The greatest need is for cash donations.
"We are starting the second phase of our operations here-rebuilding and starting anew. Many people are living in motels or government trailers. They don't have room for that many goods. We need cash right now," said Culpepper.
ACS, the community action agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, is nationally known for its work in disaster response. In agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other disaster response organizations, ACS serves as a lead agency in establishing and operating donated goods and relief supplies warehouses. ACS is a member of the inter-agency association National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. [Darren Johnson]
Church Members Warned Over Fraudulent Financial Schemes
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA .... [ANN]
Seventh-day Adventists were warned at the Church's Annual Council on October 4 to beware of fraudulent financial schemes designed to take advantage of members and the Church.
Speaking to the 330-strong delegation, Attorney Robert Nixon, lead counsel at the Adventist Church World Headquarters, warned of a number of "affinity frauds" being perpetrated and that Adventists were sometimes victims.
"Our church members must be made aware of the dangers that exist today, and we must take action to protect the flock from these financial wolves," he said. "Where there's money, such wolves will come sniffing."
He warned about "pyramid schemes" that promise great returns but instead defraud people of their hard-earned savings. Pastors must not endorse private financial schemes, nor should churches be used for their promotion, he said.
Nixon mentioned one scheme that promised up to 3000% a year, while another promised $10,000 every month for life in return for just one "donation" of $10,000. He referred those who wished to know more about current financial scams to the Investor Education section of the website www.nasaa.org.
Adventists have always maintained strong belief in philanthropic giving and financial responsibility and encourage careful examination of any investment scheme. [Jonathan Gallagher]
Adventist Review Goes Online
Silver Spring, Maryland, USA .... [ANN] The general paper of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Adventist Review, went online on September 30.
This is the first time in its 150-year history that the Adventist Review has been available on the Internet, and signals a "new day" in the paper's contribution to the mission of the Adventist Church, comments William Johnsson, editor of Adventist Review.
"Now many more will have access to what we believe is an essential resource to members and students of the Adventist Church," says Johnsson. "By accessing the Adventist Review through our website at www.adventistreview.org, anyone can view items from the current issue as well as past copies. It's another way of making it available to a wider readership. We also anticipate that we will gain more subscriptions as people get a taste of what the magazine is and want to have a copy in their hands. This subscription feature is also available on line."
"This action places the Adventist Review into a wider arena," adds Carlos Medley, news editor. "Over time will we be adding more features, and it also means we can be timely in our response to news and current issues."
The Adventist Review serves the whole membership of the Adventist Church worldwide which now numbers in excess of 10 million. [Jonathan Gallagher]
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