BY BETTINA KRAUSE, General Conference News Director

n armed group entered an Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) compound in southern Sudan March 8, killing a woman and a 12-year-old girl from a nearby village and taking four local ADRA workers hostage, report international news agencies.

Reports of the attack are sketchy; officials at ADRA's international headquarters have indicated that ADRA is working very closely with the United Nations and other appropriate organizations and will be monitoring the situation carefully.

Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders, meeting at the church's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, had special prayer March 13 for the families impacted by the tragedy. They also prayed for a quick, peaceful resolution to the hostage situation.

ADRA, an independent humanitarian agency present in more than 120 countries, has operated health care, education and other development projects in southern Sudan since 1984. Sudan has been torn by civil strife for almost 20 years; an estimated two million people have already lost their lives in what has become known as one of the world's most entrenched trouble spots. -–Adventist News Network

GC Considers Statement on Government
Funding of Faith-Based Initiatives
A statement of principle regarding government funding of religious organizations was considered March 6 by the Administrative Committee of the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.

The statement, entitled "Consensus Statement of Concern Regarding United States Government Funding of Religious Organizations," affirms basic principles of the proper relationship between church and state. It is intended to provide a background for further consideration of the issue of direct government funding for the social welfare programs of religious organizations.

The statement was prompted, in part, by a growing public debate in the U. S. over a government plan to expand its funding of so-called "faith-based initiatives." A White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives was created under executive orders issued by President George Bush on January 29.

On the same day, Bush announced his plan to vastly increase the level of public funding available for religious organizations to pursue social welfare initiatives. Under the plan, funding must be used solely for humanitarian, rather than religious, purposes.

Additional Resource

Complete text of GC Statement

The Adventist Church's statement of principle, recorded in the minutes of the Administrative Committee, recognizes "the natural involvement of eligious groups" and governments in "seeking solutions to social problems."  But it also emphasizes "the fragility of religious freedom" and the paramount need to safeguard the independence of both government and church.

According to the statement, the Adventist Church will pay special attention to three areas of vital concern when evaluating any state program that has the potential to impact the church/state relationship.

First, the autonomy of the church must not be compromised--"the church must remain free to be who and what it is." Second, the statement points out the danger that religious groups may become dependent on government largess, thereby compromising their independence or "the authenticity of their witness and voice."

Finally, the statement affirms the ideal of neutrality, or non-discrimination--that governments must never differentiate between acceptable and unacceptable religions.

The statement was developed by the public affairs and religious liberty executive committees of both the Adventist Church in North America and the General Conference.

Clarence Hodges, public affairs and religious liberty director for the North American Division, says  religious organizations play an essential role in providing humanitarian care and essential social services. "But, as a church, we also recognize our responsibility in holding up the separation of church and state as a bedrock principle," Hodges says. "This working statement is a step toward developing guidelines for properly evaluating government funding programs that may impact the relationship between church and state."

John Graz, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Adventist Church worldwide, says the church has a long heritage of both promoting proper boundaries between church and state, as well as advocating religious freedom as a fundamental human right.  The current consensus statement, he says, does not represent "the end of the road" on this issue, but provides a statement of principles that will guide future discussions.–Adventist News Network

Bangladesh: Adventist Church Doubles in Size
The number of Seventh-day Adventists in Bangladesh has more than doubled in the past five years to more than 25,000, according to Isaac Bairagee, coordinator of the Adventist Church's Global Mission initiative in that country. 

Speaking to an Asian Global Mission advisory in Bangkok, Thailand last week, Bairagee described the wholistic outreach work of lay members known as Global Mission pioneers. One hundred and fifty pioneers have been trained to help needy people in villages throughout Bangladesh, and a further 50 pioneers will be trained this year. They go into villages in teams of two and help sick people using simple treatments; teach basic principles of healthful living; teach people who have no other access to formal education; help the elderly; and share the love described in the Bible.   

Bairagee also reported on the work of Adventist International Mission Schools (AIMS), which operate in nine cities with more than 80 teachers and 1,000 students. Each school now has a church group associated with it. 

"We must pay tribute to the Bangladesh government for maintaining religious freedom," says Dr. Mike Ryan, director of Global Mission for the world church. "Although Christianity is a minority religion in that country, Seventh-day Adventists have been given room to make a tremendous contribution to education, health, and spiritual development. 

"One of the most exciting projects is the new academy, orphanage and training school--the Bajitpur Maranatha Adventist Seminary--which has been operating for two years now, thanks to generous North American donors and Maranatha Volunteers International. This project is providing a hopeful future for many Bangladeshis."

More than 130 million people live in Bangladesh, a country one third the size of Japan. Annual flooding, which often covers up to one third of the nation, routinely destroys crops and makes economic development difficult. It remains one of the world's most densely populated, yet poorest, nations. -–Adventist News Network

CUC Mock-Trial Team Competes
With University of Maryland
Columbia Union College’s mock-trial team competed for the second year in a row against the five-time national champion mock-trial team from the University of Maryland. In the closely contested case, the Maryland squad was declared the winners by a panel of three area attorneys acting as judges.

Sponsored by the CUC Center for Law and Public Policy, the exhibition tournament was the second of its kind to be held on an Adventist campus, following CUC’s upset victory over Maryland last year. The event adhered to rules of the American Mock-Trail Association. CUC was unable to enter the regular mock-trial competition due to Sabbath conflicts.  

News Notes
Calling All Military Families. If you are an active duty or retired military veteran, Adventist Chaplaincy Ministries invites your family to the annual Seventh-day Adventist Servicemember’s Retreat June 21-24 in Lake Chiemsee, Germany.

Featured speakers include Rear Admiral Barry Black, Navy Chief of Chaplains, and Ken Rogers, campus chaplain for Southern Adventist University. The cost for the retreat is $200 per person, including rooms and meals. To register, e-mail Frankfurt Servicemen’s Center director Donald Troyer at troyer@aol.com.

New Church Manual. The new 2000 Church Manual is now available for sale. The book includes numerous changes voted at the 2000 General Conference session in Toronto, including changes to the chapter on marriage, divorce and remarriage. To order the Manual, call (800) 765-6955.

Correction. In the article about the Calexico Mission School in California, “Mission is Its Meddle Name” (February NAD edition), teachers Sue and Tom Smith were incorrectly identified. The Adventist Review regrets the error. –Editors