Assuring a commitment religious freedom, the president of the Provincial Government of Azores, Carlos César, affirmed his support for equality of all faiths before the law in a meeting with Seventh-day Adventist Church President Jan Paulsen June 28.

Though the Adventist Church is not large in the mostly Roman Catholic islands of Portugal, César said the church is "highly respected" by the community, Paulsen said. Paulsen said he was also assured that the Adventist Church, a minority, as well as other denominational minorities, are not disadvantaged in any way.

In published reports, César was quoted as admitting there is still "a course of improvement" to be made for accommodating religious liberty rights for students.

Despite the small church membership of 142 people in the islands off Portugal, Paulsen, in the first visit from an Adventist Church president, thanked members in the Azores for their commitment to their church.

"There aren't many people living in the Azores -- this is where you are and where God wants you to be His witness," Paulsen said to a gathering of 55 people. Two days later he addressed a crowd of 3,500 in a rural area of Portugal near the capital, Lisbon, joined by Ulrich Frikart, president of the church's Euro-Africa region, with headquarters in Berne (Switzerland).

"It doesn't matter whether you are 50 people or 5,000 because each of us are only one," Paulsen said. "We are single individuals who are under obligation to be alive for God and for the community where we are."

Paulsen said he thought it was a sense of "celebration" that brought church members together.

"I think that's a dynamic factor for people, particularly from small churches or if they live in isolated locations," he said.

"It is wonderful when you can recognize that even if it's just you and one or two other people standing next to you that you are loved by God, and that God says to you, 'do your best to share this with people you meet where you are,'" Paulsen said.

The protestant Adventist Church (Igreja Adventista do Sétimo Dia) is growing in Portugal with 95 churches and about 8,900 members. Up from 8,300 five years ago, according to church statistics, the increase in membership is slightly ahead of the population growth. [News editors: Ansel Oliver/Christian B. Schäffler for ANN/APD]