Reto Mayer, resigning President of the Swiss Bible Society© Photo: private Reto Mayer, President of the Swiss Bible Society, resigns Basel/Switzerland | 27.05.2019 | APD | Switzerland Reto Mayer, President of the Swiss Bible Society (SB), resigned on 21 May, on the occasion of the SB General Assembly in Schaffhausen/Switzerland. Martin Vogler, SB Vice President, and Eva Thomi, SB Managing Director, thanked Mayer for his many years of commitment. Reto Mayer, Adventist pastor and financial expert, works in the European church administration of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Inter-European Division EUD) in Bern/Switzerland. Mayer was elected to the Board of the Swiss Bible Society in 2003 and as President in 2013. Regula Tanner, SB Vice-President, takes over the presidency ad interim for one year.
The Adventist Church in Austria elected two new officers Vienna/Austria | 25.05.2018 | International The 19th General Assembly of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Austrian Union) in Vienna was held May 10-13. The 154 delegates elected two new officers and replaced some of the department directors.
ADRA Health Vaccinator Killed in South Sudan Milton Freewater, Oregon/USA | 01.05.2018 | ADRA An Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) worker was killed on Tuesday, April 24, in Tali County, South Sudan. Agoyo Robert was working as vaccinator for ADRA South Sudan’s Health Pooled Fund (HPF) project although he was off-duty when his vehicle was attacked by gunmen. Others in Agoyo’s vehicle were also injured.
“Contours of European Adventism” Symposium Held in Germany Milton Freewater, Oregon/USA | 30.04.2018 | International Titled “Contours of European Adventism” the third symposium of the Institute for Adventist Studies in Friedensau/Germany took place from April 23-26, 2018. In 21 lectures, Adventist academics from various European and non-European countries (e.g. Russia, Georgia, England, Sweden, France, USA and Germany) presented their contributions.
4,762 Seventh-day Adventists in Switzerland donated USD 13.3 million Zürich/Schweiz | 15.02.2018 | International 4,762 Seventh-day Adventists lived at the end of December 2017 in Switzerland. The number of members has increased by 110 people in one year. Adventists in Switzerland celebrate in 54 congregations and six groups the divine service on Saturday (Sabbath), the biblical day of rest. According to the communications department of the Adventist Church in Switzerland church members donated USD 13,3 million, an average of USD 2,800 per person, for the Adventist church worldwide and nationally. This amount does not include donations for the needs and tasks of the local churches.
The Audacity of Peacemaking - Statement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany on the end of the first World War in 1918 Ostfildern near Stuttgart/Germany | 02.02.2018 | International In commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany adopted the declaration "The Audacity of Peacemaking" ("Mut zum Frieden"). It was published in the February 2018 issue of the church magazine "Adventisten heute". In the statement the leadership of the Adventist Church recommends its members not to participate directly or indirectly in a war.
Adventists in German-speaking Switzerland elected a new church leader Zurich/Switzerland | 14.03.2017 | Switzerland The Adventists in German-speaking Switzerland elected Pastor Stephan Sigg (51) as their new president at their delegation meeting in the Congress House in Zurich on 12 March. Sigg will take over the church leadership from Günther Maurer, who has held this function for two terms since 2009.
Germany: Adventist church leaders condemn ax-attack in regional train Munich and Ostfildern/Germany | 19.07.2016 | International Adventist church leaders in Germany have strongly condemnd an ax-attack on passengers of a train near Würzburg/Germany, that occurred Monday night. At least five people have been injured according to media reports. Adventist church leaders expressed their sympathy to the victims of the assault.
In Cuba, Adventist Church remains hopeful for positive change after U.S. Presidential Visit Havana/Cuba, 30.03.2016 | 30.03.2016 | International Church Leaders hope the Country’s current political condition will continue to be favorable to the Church U.S. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Cuba March 21-22 inspired hope in the Seventh-day Adventist Church on the island. The church believes that a thaw in U.S. - Cuba relations could mean greater opportunities for evangelism and the growth of the church. Aldo Perez, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Cuba, was one of only 20 religious leaders selected by the Cu
Adventist Conference in Germany publishes declaration regarding ordination of women Hamburg/Germany | 10.12.2015 | International The executive board of the Hansa-Conference, a regional church leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the German federal states of Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has published a declaration that regrets the decision of the General Conference Session regarding the ordination of female Adventist pastors. The General Conference Session decided this summer in San Antonio, Texas/USA, that the global 13 Divisions of the Adventist Church are not allowed to ordain female pastors working in their territory. The Hansa-Conference encouraged in its letter female church members to opt for training and service as a pastor in spite of the decision of the General Conference Session.
President-elect of Fiji is an Adventist Christian Suva/Fiji | 21.10.2015 | International For the first time, a Seventh-day Adventist has been nominated president of the south pacific nation of Fiji. Major General Jioji Konousi Konrote, better known as George Konrote, has most recently been serving as Minister for Employment, Labour Relations and Productivity but will need to leave this position in order to take up the presidency, a mostly ceremonial role analogous to that of governor-general in other Commonwealth countries. In an official announcement of the nomination, Fiji
Adventists in Germany publish statement on the current refugee situation Hannover and Ostfildern/Germany | 13.10.2015 | International After a special conference on assistance to refugees, 22. September in Ostfildern/Germany, the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany published a statement about the current refugee situation: “Declaration Regarding the Current Refugee Situation by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Germany“. It emphasizes that the Adventist Church supports the protection of victims of political persecution, war refugees and their right of access to medical care, education and social services. The document also contains recommendations for local Adventist churches to provide aid for refugees and people seeking asylum.
Generational Change in Adventist Publishing House Switzerland Zürich/Switzerland | 21.09.2015 | Switzerland The General Assembly of the Adventist Publishing House in Switzerland met on September 8 and decided a generational change in the management. The Adventist Publishing House in Switzerland, founded in 1929, publishes only literature in German but sells also products in French, Italian and English.
Statement on the Tragic Shooting in Charleston, South Carolina Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 19.06.2015 | International The president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, Daniel R. Jackson, issued the following statement on June 18, 2015 in response to shooting death of nine people at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Charleston, South, Carolina: “The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America is heartbroken by the senseless killing of the Reverend Clementa Pinckney and eight other worshipers during Wednesday evening service in their church. We are saddened by the hea
USA: Tornado Rips Through Train Carrying "Adventist World" - The Kansas storm delays shipment of 50,000 copies to four U.S. states. Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 21.05.2015 | International Thousands of "Adventist World" magazine subscribers will have to wait a few weeks longer to receive their next issue after a tornado tore through a freight train carrying the magazines to the U.S. West. The tornado struck the train loaded with 50,000 copies of the Adventist World’s North American Division edition as it passed through the U.S. state of Kansas last weekend, associate publisher Claude Richli said. No injuries were reported, but the tornado derailed about 100 train cars on the
Seventh-day Adventists in North America Call for Peace in West Baltimore Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 28.04.2015 | International In response to the growing number of demonstrations following the funeral of Freddy Gray who died tragically in Baltimore, Maryland, the Administration of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, issued the following statement on April 28, 2015: «The Seventh-day Adventist church in North America is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Freddy Gray and the heartache it has caused his family and the Baltimore community. We extend our deepest condolences and continue to pray for his f
Adventists Rush to Help After Deadly Quake Rocks Nepal Kathmandu/Nepal | 26.04.2015 | International Seventh-day Adventist doctors and ADRA workers sprang to work in Nepal after a powerful earthquake killed more than 1,800 people on April 25. The Adventist Scheer Memorial Hospital in Banepa, 15 kilometers east of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, was overflowing with patients injured by the 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which struck around midday about 80 kilometers from Kathmandu. The quake, which lasted about 10 minutes, flattened entire neighborhoods in Kathmandu, but the Scheer Memorial Hospita
Francis is the first pope to visit a Waldensian Church Vienna/Austria | 26.03.2015 | Ecumenism According to the two-day program of Pope Francis' visit to the Piedmont from 21 to 22 June, he will be the first pope to visit a church of the Waldenses in Turin/Italy, according to a media release by Kathpress. It is envisaged that first thing on Monday morning, the second day of his trip, Pope Francis will meet Waldensian dignitaries in the Protestant church in the city center of Turin for 90 minutes and they will pray together the Lord's Prayer. "This is a gesture of brotherhood in a new e
Adventist Church Offers Condolences After Plane Crash in France Berne/Switzerland | 25.03.2015 | International A Germanwings Airbus A320 plane carrying 150 people crashed March 24 in the foothills near Digne-les-Bains, in the Alpes de Haute Provence in southeastern France, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters. Valls said he fears those aboard the flight from Barcelona (Spain), to Dusseldorf (Germany) may be dead. French President Francois Hollande also said no survivors were expected. „The conditions of the accident are not yet clear but lead us to believe there will be no survivors," H
Adventist Church Offers Condolences After Terrorist Attack in Paris Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 09.01.2015 | International The church also thanks France for protecting religious freedom. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has sent condolences to France and praised its government for supporting religious freedom after an apparent militant Islamist attack on a satirical magazine killed 12 people in Paris. “On behalf of the Seventh-day Adventist world church and its president, allow me to convey to you our deepest sympathy in connection with the terrorist attack on the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris on Jan. 7,” the
News Agency APD Switzerland celebrates 40-year anniversary Basel/Switzerland | 04.12.2014 | Media End of November the congregational Adventist News Agency of Switzerland (Adventist Press Service / German: Adventistischer Pressedienst - APD) celebrated its 40th anniversary. The agency was founded in 1974 on the initiative of the journalist Christian B. Schaeffler in Basel/Switzerland. APD appeals with its services primarily to secular media (print and online media, radio, television), the ecclesiastical press and other institutions of public information. In 2004 APD Switzerland was reorganise
Adventist Pastor in Ukraine released after 20 days of detention Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 17.10.2014 | International Sergei Litovchenko, pastor of the Horlivka Seventh-day Adventist Church in eastern Ukraine, has been released and is being reunited with his family after 20 days of detention. Local Adventist Church and family members would like to thank Adventists and others who have prayed for his freedom throughout the ordeal. “We are very happy to know that Pastor Litovchenko is in good health” said Garrett Caldwell, spokesman for the Seventh-day Adventist Church. “We must continue to work and pray fo
Reto Mayer, resigning President of the Swiss Bible SocietyReto Mayer, resigning President of the Swiss Bible SocietyReto Mayer, resigning President of the Swiss Bible Society
