Adventist Church President Wilson offers message of condolence for Connecticut shooting victims, community Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 16.12.2012 | International Seventh-day Adventist Church World President Ted N. C. Wilson offered a message of condolence following a mass shooting at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut/USA. News agencies reported that a 20-year-old man shot to death 26 children and adults before taking his own life. "The tragic killing of young children and others in Connecticut fills us with great sympathy and enormous sadness,” Wilson said from Germany, where he is attending a youth meeting. “On behalf of the
Christmas Message 2012 from the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches Geneva/Switzerland | 04.12.2012 | Ecumenism [img id=2481 align=right]He will bring forth justice to the nations... … a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. – Isaiah 42:1,3 What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. – John 1:3-5 (NRSV) The psalmist described the Word of God as a lamp to light our feet, to guide us on the path of life. In Holy
Adventist Church in the Netherlands on Women’s Ordination St Albans/United Kingdom | 15.11.2012 | International Two hundred delegates representing 56 Adventist Churches across the Netherlands spent considerable time discussing a motion on the ordination of women, which eventually passed with a large majority. The action that was taken seeks to involve the Adventist Church in the Netherlands (“Union”) in the current study process led by the leadership of the Adventists Church in North- and South of Europe (“Trans-European Division”) and the time-table for dealing with the issue of a Seventh-day Adventist T
Pastor Wilson is first sitting Adventist Church president to visit Belarus Minsk/Belarus | 14.11.2012 | International In what marked the first visit to Belarus by a sitting Seventh-day Adventist world church president, Pastor Ted N. C. Wilson last week toured Adventist church infrastructure and met with government officials in the Eastern European country. Wilson was on hand for the dedication of a new church center in Minsk built by Adventist pastors from Belarus. Complete with a sanctuary, fellowship hall, apartments for church workers and studio space for the newly established Hope Channel Belarus, the ce
Adventist Church message of condolences in aftermath of Hurricane Sandy Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 02.11.2012 | International Special offering will raise funds for hardest-hit areas of New York Seventh-day Adventist world church President Ted N. C. Wilson this week offered a message of condolence to residents of the United States East Coast in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. “Please accept our sympathy and sadness for the devastation that has taken place, especially in New Jersey and the metropolitan New York area,” Wilson said. “We will continue to pray for members, churches, church organizations and the wider co
Albania: Adventist Church Delegation Met Albania Tirana/Albania | 09.10.2012 | International A Seventh-Adventist Church delegation held a courtesy meeting with Albania's Prime Minister, Prof Dr Sali Berisha. The Adventist representatives were headed by Pastor Branko Bistrovic, president of the church’s Adriatic Union Conference, headquartered in Zagreb (Croatia) In his opening address, Pr. Bistrovic transmitted to Prime Minister Berisha greetings on behalf of Dr Bertil Wiklander, Trans-European Division (TED) President, who visited Albania earlier this year to mark 20 years of offic
Adventist Church inaugurated a medical school in Peru Lima/Peru | 03.10.2012 | Health & Ethics School to serve Northwest South America; Peruvian national is founding dean The Seventh-day Adventist Church inaugurated September 20 a medical school in Peru, the first Adventist school of medicine in the Northwestern region of South America. Church leaders said the School of Human Medicine at Peruvian Union University in Lima expands the church’s capacity for healthcare ministry in Peru and surrounding Spanish-speaking countries, an area with great demand for Adventist physicians. At
Togo: Cape Verdean Adventist pastor imprisoned on dubious charges Lomé/Togo | 03.10.2012 | International Adventist lawyers, human rights advocates pledge to expedite release, exoneration Seventh-day Adventist lawyers and human rights advocates are calling for the immediate release of an Adventist pastor imprisoned in Togo on what they say are spurious charges. Antonio dos Anjos Monteiro was detained in March for conspiracy to commit murder after a Togolese man implicated him and two other Christians, one an Adventist, as conspirators in an alleged blood trafficking network. The accuser ha
USA: Columbia Union Constituents Overwhelmingly Affirm Women Pastors Through Ordination Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 31.07.2012 | unknow Report by Taashi Rowe* After two hours of presentations from multiple levels of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, as well as 90 minutes of discussion, delegates to the Columbia Union Conference Special Constituency Meeting voted on July 29 an historic motion—“That the Columbia Union Conference authorize ordination to the gospel ministry without regard to gender.” According to a statement released by the union it means that the union executive committee will no longer deny requests from con
On ordination questions, Adventist leadership appeals for orderly process Silver Spring, Maryland/USA, | 29.06.2012 | International The world leadership of the Seventh-day Adventists has issued a highly unusual “appeal for unity” to regional administrative units of the church that have either taken or are considering independent action regarding the ordination of women to gospel ministry. The request comes in a statement issued on June 29 in response to actions by several union conferences, including two in North America. The union conferences, the key constituent elements of the church’s worldwide General Conference (GC)
Warmth, Honesty mark Adventist-Mennonite Dialogue Basel/Switzerland | 01.06.2012 | Ecumenism Representatives of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and the Mennonite World Conference met in dialogue May 28-31 at the Study and Conference Center Bienenberg near Basel, Switzerland. The four days of conversation were characterized by both Christian warmth and frank exchange of perspectives. This was the second round of dialogue based on the theme, “Living the Christian Life in Today’s World.” The first series of conversation took place June 28-July 1, 2011 at the Adventist c
Ahead of ‘World No Tobacco Day,’ a call to rekindle Adventist anti-smoking efforts Geneva/Switzerland | 30.05.2012 | Health & Ethics Seventh-day Adventists need to reprioritize their historic anti-tobacco message, church health officials say. At the forefront of the smoking-cessation movement for decades, the church’s efforts have lately lost their edge, says Adventist world church Health Ministries Associate Director Dr. Peter Landless. The challenge to regroup comes as anti-smoking advocates gear up for this year’s World No Tobacco Day. The annual emphasis day, observed May 31 and sponsored by the World Health Organiz
Seventh-Day Adventist church delegation visit China Shanghai/China | 11.04.2012 | International The president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, Pastor Ted N. C. Wilson, and other Adventist church leaders, are in the middle of a 10-day official visit to China, seeking to strengthen ties between the global Adventist family and an estimated 400,000 Adventists in the People’s Republic of China. Joining church president Wilson are G. T. Ng and Robert Lemon, Adventist world church secretary and treasurer, respectively, along with Jairyong Lee, president of the denomination’s Northern
Adventist leaders offer condolences on death of Coptic Pope Shenouda III Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 20.03.2012 | International Leaders from the Seventh-day Adventist world church’s department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty offered condolences to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria on the passing of Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. Shenouda died on March 17 at age 88 after serving four decades as patriarch. "The Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department offers it
Order of Merit to Jan Paulsen Oslo/Norway | 03.02.2012 | Persons Former Seventh-day Adventist world church President, Dr. Jan Paulsen (77), has been appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit. The announcement from the Royal Palace states that: “H. M. The King has appointed Jan Paulsen Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit for meritorious work for the good of humanity.” “I am totally surprised and very honoured by this recognition coming from H. M. The King of Norway and his councillors,” said Jan Paulsen. “It warms my heart that t
In Nigeria, escalating religious conflict impacts Adventist Church Abidjan/Ivory Coast | 24.01.2012 | International The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nigeria is seeing a drop in church attendance and some church closures amid worsening religious conflict in the country. An upsurge of attacks against Christian churches by the extremist group Boko Haram beginning late last year has led to ongoing sectarian violence between Muslim and Christian groups in northeast Nigeria. Adding to the tumult, the country’s government recently eliminated energy subsidies, doubling the price of gasoline and inciting nati
