Deadly Tobacco Products Devastate Developing World New York/Geneva | 27.05.2009 | Health & Ethics As World No Tobacco Day is commemorated on May 31, 2009, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is calling for increased efforts to control the tobacco epidemic focusing on the developing world, where those least able to combat the deadly and debilitating effects of tobacco consumption are also the ones who are most at risk. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the world. More than 80 percent of the world’s smok
Ireland's 'blasphemy law' worries religious liberty proponents <br> Proposed legislation may restrict freedoms of expression Dublin/Republic of Ireland | 27.05.2009 | Religious Liberty A proposed law criminalizing the criticism of religion in the Republic of Ireland may defy international standards of freedom of speech and indicate a troubling trend toward more state control over religious matters, religious liberty experts say. Members of the Oireachtas (Parliament) Committee on Justice are considering an amendment to the country's Defamation Bill that will effectively ban "blasphemous libel," making it a fineable offense to publish or utter such speech. The article w
Jean Calvin’s 500th Birthday Remembered at French Adventist University Geneva/Switzerland | 21.05.2009 | unknow An international symposium commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Reformer Jean Calvin (1509-1564) was held May 7 to 9 on the premises of Saleve Adventist University, Collonges-sous-Salève (Upper Savoy/France), near Geneva. The "Colloque Jean Calvin" was organized at the initiative of the Dean of the School of Theology, Roland Meyer, Saleve Adventist University (SAU), in close collaboration with US-based Andrews University (Berrien Springs/Michigan), supported by the Geneva Univ
Video conferencing brings Adventist leadership together for Inter-America church business meetings Miami, Florida/USA | 21.05.2009 | International Two weeks after Seventh-day Adventist leaders at the Inter-American Division (IAD) headquarters in Miami (Florida/USA) cancelled its mid-year executive committee meetings due to the health concerns of the Influenza A (H1N1), church business meetings have taken another form: video conferencing. Top church officials video conferenced with 16 of the 17 major church regions administrators to discuss growth, finances, soul-winning, conditions of the church and other pressing issues during a one-h
Church president calls Chinese Adventist faith Wuxi/People's Republic of China | 20.05.2009 | International A rendition of a popular Adventist hymn by a 45-member choir of the Wuxi Seventh-day Adventist Church, "Lift up the Trumpet," welcomed Pastor Jan Paulsen on his first official visit to the People's Republic of China as the world president of the Adventist world church. "I am often asked, 'How are our brothers and sisters in China?' Now, I will be able to say -- they are well and vibrant," Paulsen told the congregation of several hundred gathered in a 108-year-old city-center Protestant church
Adventist president's visit to China first by a top church leader in decades <br> Hub congregations support nearly 40,000 Adventists Shenyang/China | 20.05.2009 | International Two Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Northeast Chinese city of Shenyang illustrate the dynamics of the church in China, where local churches often serve as both ministry and administrative hubs for smaller congregations. The Beiguan Church, with nearly 3,000 members, worships in a building situated in a modern neighbourhood and is often visited by sightseeing tours. Four miles away, the Beishi congregation shares an aging, overcrowded structure with another Protestant church amid a
Nighttime Hurricane Force Winds Topple Buildings and Trees On Pitcairn Island Adamstown/Pitcairn Island, South Pacific Ocean | 11.05.2009 | International Pitcairn Island is today, May 12, struggling to recover from night-time hurricane-force winds on Friday, May 8, which sent small buildings flying off their foundations, broke windows, damaged all the island’s banana groves, and plucked hundreds of oranges from fruit trees. "It was quite a whopper," said Pitcairner Kari Young. "It was the dreaded Headache wind, that is from the direction of Headache (a named geographical spot on the island) in Tedside (a section of land on the island’s northwe
Adventist Church cancels mid-year meetings for Inter-America region Miami, Florida/USA | 06.05.2009 | International Seventh-day Adventist Executive Committee leaders for the Inter-American region, headquartered in Miami, Florida (USA), have cancelled mid-year business meetings scheduled for this month due to the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus, or swine flu. Four countries in the Inter-America region have confirmed cases of the virus, according to the World Health Organization. Mexico's four major church regions cancelled services last week and through the weekend. Adventist schools and universities
Understanding Islam conferences to amp Adventist interfaith outreach - <br> Areas of cooperation include mutual effort against alcohol, other drugs Washington D.C./USA | 05.05.2009 | International Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders say two conferences exploring areas of common understanding between Adventists and Muslims will bolster the church's interfaith outreach. Earlier this month, dozens of international church officials met in Grenada, Spain, to help erode misperceptions of Islam among Adventists and learn how focusing on mutual beliefs -- such as God, creation and healthy living -- can help members of both faiths build meaningful relationships. "We're living in a world w
Pitcairn Island, Fearful Of Flu, Closes Its Borders, Then Opens Them Again Adamstown, Pitcairn Islands, South Pacific Ocean | 05.05.2009 | Health & Ethics Tiny, isolated Pitcairn Island, which a few days ago sent out a world-wide invitation to visit its shores, on May 2 closed its borders due to the world-wide Swine flu scare. Some hours later, island officials downgraded the restriction to allow visitors who pass a local health check. Whereas an emergency meeting of the local population on May 2, resulted in a barring of all incoming maritime traffic, subsequently island officials have decided that yachties will be allowed ashore if they pass
