Seventh-day Adventist members and leaders in Vermont expressed grave disappointment over Governor Howard Dean's signing into law a bill that gives homosexuals entering into so-called "civil unions" the same rights and recognition as married couples.

A May 2 statement by Pastor Don King, Atlantic Union secretary and communication director and Ben Schoun, president of the Northern New England Conference, was a direct response to the unpopular action taken by Vermont's House of Representatives and the governor's approval.

"As religious freedom activists, we certainly don't wish to deny any human beings their rights, but we also cannot sanction human wrongs," King said. "The measure signed by the governor brings us just one step closer to legalizing same-sex marriages outright, therefore, our constituents feel they cannot support it." The reason, Schoun says, is because Adventist members stand by their Biblical beliefs on homosexuality.

"Seventh-day Adventists uphold the plan of God recorded in Holy Scripture that establishes marriage as a unique relationship between one man and one woman. Intimate relationships between those of the same gender are not included in this plan. We, however, disavow hatred, violence, and other mistreatment of those who have a homosexual orientation or lifestyle.

"Instead, we believe that Christians should minister to these individuals offering the power of the gospel to live within God's plan," he said.

"The term "civil union" as used by the state of Vermont appears to be simply a cosmetic distinction from that of marriage," Schoun explained. "The proposed law will contain the same rights, protections, and privileges as does marriage with the only distinction being the name that is applied to the union of those of the same gender."

The governing body of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination addressed the issue of homosexuality and same sex marriages last October.

Eighty-six thousand of the nearly one million Seventh-day Adventists in North America live in the northeastern United States. They operate one college and more than a dozen elementary and high schools, seven high schools, and dozens of elementary schools, community service centers, and health care facilities in Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and in the country of Bermuda. -Adventist News Network

Tillamook County police have arrested two men in connection with a burglary and arson that destroyed the Tillamook Adventist School in Oregon in the early morning hours of April 26 (see Newsbreak for May 25).

The men were apprehended on May 1 and are being held at the Tillamook County Jail. One of the men was charged with theft and other charged with arson and burglary.

The blaze caused $1.5 million in damage and displaced 74 students. The fire was investigated by the Oregon State Police, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Tillamook Fire District, and the Oregon Fire Marshal's Office.

The United Kingdom Radio Authority confirmed the issuing of a license to Adventist World Radio to operate a 24-hour a day non-domestic satellite radio service. The satellite service, provided by Merlin Communications International, will cover Europe, North Africa, and areas of the Middle East.

"We anticipate that the digital stereo network will be operational June 1," said Don Jacobsen, AWR president, "with testing going on during May. We are delighted with this breakthrough."

During a 24-hour period, 11 hours will be used to feed programs to the leased broadcast facility in Rimavska Sobota, Slovakia, for rebroadcast on shortwave transmitters to the Middle East and Africa, according to Bert Smit, AWR region director for Europe. "This will decrease the time from production to airing," says Smit, "as well as the uncertainty of mailing programs from one country to another."

The other 13 hours on the 24-hour system will be made available to local Adventist radio stations across Europe for relaying their programs from station to station in their own languages, on their own country networks. There are more than 40 local Adventist radio stations in Europe.

The AWR Europe satellite network is the second international network established by AWR. The first one began in 1998 in the Americas, and today supplies Spanish programming to more than 40 Adventist stations.

The tragic death of an Adventist teenager brought an offer of aid from the Catholic Church to the Adventist community in Shannon, Ireland.

Amerley Amarteifio, 18, died from an asthma attack hours after completing her final school exams. Recognizing that many would wish to attend the funeral service, the local Catholic priest offered the Adventist family the use of the Church of Mary Immaculate.

Adventist pastor Philip Rhodes officiated at the service on March 27 with colleagues Pastor Michael Logan and Richard Clark and spoke of his appreciation to the Catholic clergy for their aid in a time of great grief.

"This was a demonstration of the strong feeling of community that brought people of different cultural and religious divides together in shared grief," said Rhodes. "We are deeply grateful for this extremely generous demonstration of Christian charity that has done a great deal of good for the community." - Adventist News Network

The North American Division Stewardship Department Adventists is inviting church members to submit stories about successful investment projects. The stories will be used in a new book on Mission Investment. Send your stories to Ed Reid, NAD Stewardship Department, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, Maryland 20904; (301) 680-8953 fax; or e-mail them to 74532.2067@compuserve.com.

Dale Beaulieu, Columbia Union Conference treasurer, was recently appointed financial vice president of Adventist World Radio, effective June 1. Beaulieu replaces Richard Green who has joined Adventist Risk Management as director of Internal Audits and Investments.

Teodor Hutanu, president of the Moldova Conference in Romania, was recently elected Romanian Union treasurer. The union constituency also re-elected Adrian Bocaneanu president, and Ioan Campian as treasurer.

The New York Conference Native American Campmeeting will convene September 8-10 in Hatch Lake. The program includes worship services, a health emphasis, children's ministries, crafts, and an evening of traditional Native stories around a campfire.

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