Adventists Participate In Memorial Ceremony For UN Staff New York, NY./U.S.A | 06.11.2003 | International As part of the events marking United Nations day on October 24, Adventists participated in a memorial ceremony at UN headquarters in New York that honoured fallen UN staff. The newly-constructed memorial was unveiled by Patel Noble, the only Seventh-day Adventist serving on the UN Security Staff. "Remember here those who gave their lives for peace," are the words inscribed in six languages on a wall of crystal glass that is the centrepiece of the memorial that also includes 191 stepping ston
ADRA Network Commemorates World AIDS Day Silver Spring, Maryland, USA | 27.11.2003 | ADRA Around the world, offices of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) are planning events to commemorate World AIDS Day, annually held on December 1. “A total of 40 million people around the world are suffering from this disease and this past year has been a devastating one. More people died from AIDS last year than ever before and there were five million new cases of HIV reported, 700,000 of whom were children,” said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. “For ADRA, th
Russia: Adventists Among Casualties at Lumumba University Fire Moscow, Russia | 25.11.2003 | International Two Seventh-day Adventist Church members--Ivan Ostrovsky, 18, from Brazil, and Juan Carlos Patamala from Peru, believed to be either 18 or 19--were among those injured or missing in an early-morning fire Nov. 24 that raced through a university dormitory, church sources reported today. Press reports indicate at least 32 people were killed and 139 injured in the dormitory, which was jammed with students from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Ostrovsky, who arrived at the Peoples Friendship Unive
Ecumenical Rites of Passage | 09.11.2003 | Ecumenism NEWS COMMENTARY by Bert B. Beach* The World Council of Churches (WCC) is currently going through various “rites of passage.” The past few years have been difficult ones for this key ecumenical body. The WCC elected a new general secretary, Samuel Kobia from Kenya, in January 2004 to replace Konrad Raiser, who is retiring and returning to his native land of Germany. This is the first time that an African has been elected to head up the WCC. This election highlights the increasingly signif
Adventist Representatives Meet Cypriot President Nicosia/Cyprus | 06.11.2003 | International Two Seventh-day Adventist Church world representatives, Dr. John Graz and Dr. Bert Beach, were among a delegation of 22 members of the Christian World Communions, or CWC, who met with the president of Cyprus, Tassos Papadopoulos, on Oct. 21. The Cypriot leader received a plaque from Graz and told the church leaders of the urgent need for cooperation and reconciliation in Cyprus, which has been divided by ethnic conflict since 1975. During the CWC session, Dr. Beach, who served as secretary of th
North America: Service Response to California Wildfires Thousand Oaks, California/USA, | 06.11.2003 | International With over 100,000 church members residing in the areas threatened by two weeks of wildfires, Seventh-day Adventists in Southern California reached out to neighbors in need during the recent conflagrations. Loma Linda University's vice president for public affairs, W. Augustus Cheatham, says the school provided 24-hour, free medical services for the more than 1,000 people encamped at San Bernardino International Airport. Volunteer personnel included physicians, psychiatrists, counselors, nurse
Africa: Church Conference Aims to "Destigmatize" HIV/AIDS Myths Narirobi, Kenya | 06.11.2003 | International Focusing on prevention and control of the spreading epidemic of HIV/AIDS will be the theme for a conference to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, Nov. 10 to 13. "There's an ignorance about AIDS, [an] ignorance about transmission. There are myths that are being propagated," says Dr. Peter Landless, associate health ministries director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He says the conference is to destigmatize the myths about HIV/AIDS by bringing an understanding of the disease. "[We want to giv
England: The Anglican-Methodist Covenant signed at a national celebration London/Great Britain | 02.11.2003 | Ecumenism The Anglican-Methodist Covenant in England was signed at a national celebration on Saturday 1 November 2003, in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen. Earlier this year the Covenant was strongly endorsed by the Methodist Conference of Great Britain and the General Synod of the Church of England. The service of celebration started at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, in front of an invited assembly from both Churches as well as ecumenical and civic guests. After the historic Covenant was si
