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Adventist NewsLine Set for September Launch

dventist NewsLine, a half-hour weekly television newscast, was launched September 6, marking a new era in international church news broadcasting, say producers of the program. This news magazine program, presented by Adventist Television Network (ATN), will feature headlines, breaking stories, and interviews. The program will focus on church life and mission throughout the world, and give a behind-the-scenes look at the plans and activities of the Adventist Church's international leadership.

"This project is truly a cooperative effort between a vast number of individuals and church entities on every continent," says Ray Dabrowski, communication director and executive producer of NewsLine. He lists the church's communication directors and media centers, such as those in South America, United States, Australia, and Germany, as key partners in helping NewsLine gather current church news. Dabrowski says the newscast was a result of "a lot of prayer, a lot of work, and the combined efforts of many, many people."

"Our aim for this program is to vividly portray the church in action--in all its diversity, and with all its challenges and its joys," he says. Brad Thorp, director of Adventist Television Network, calls NewsLine a "vitally important part of the new ATN weekly programming."

"It's an ATN flagship program with the goal of sharing the latest news of the world Adventist family," says Thorp. "It will help each viewer to understand the wonderful providences God is opening up for the church and unite us even more in our mission. I'm excited with the development of this program and am confident it will be a great blessing to the world church."

Producers of Adventist NewsLine say one of the key values of the program is "internationality"--both in terms of content and distribution. The newscast will be broadcast to more than 13,000 Adventist satellite downlink sites around the world. And although it will be produced in English, NewsLine will be translated each week into 10 other languages.

"It is our hope that NewsLine will not only be a major information avenue for the world church, but that it will help to bind us together spiritually in our heaven-ordained mission of sharing Christ and the three angels' messages with the world," says Ted N.C. Wilson, a General Conference vice president and chair of the ATN Operating Board. "Christ is coming soon, and advanced communication methods must be used to proclaim everywhere with urgency the Advent message and its progress. NewsLine and its dedicated staff will help us do that, through the power of the Holy Spirit."

Adventist NewsLine is a part of the weekly one and a half hours of programming from Adventist Television Network that began in April this year. The newscast will be produced by Adventist News Network at the church's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

For information about receiving ATN broadcasts go to www.adventist.tv. -- Adventist News Network

Adventist Academy in Guam Damaged by Typhoon
Guam Adventist Academy sustained significant damage from Typhoon Chata'an. The slow-moving storm hit the northern end of Guam early Friday morning, July 5, with winds reportedly exceeding 100 mph. John Youngberg, principal of Guam Adventist Academy, said Chata'an damaged about 3,000 square feet of roofing. "The entire science classroom roof was torn off and all the administrative areas were damaged by water."

The school, which serves students from kindergarten through twelfth grade, will begin the academic year two weeks late because of storm damage.

Church Activity Suspended in Eritrea
Government officials in the northern African nation of Eritrea have suspended the operation of a number of church organizations, according to reports from the World Evangelical Alliance. The suspension order, issued in May, applies to all Christian churches that are not Orthodox, Roman Catholic, or Lutheran. There has been no official explanation for the move.

A number of denominations, including Seventh-day Adventists, have reapplied for legal recognition and are currently awaiting a response.

Located on the Red Sea, between Sudan and Ethiopia, Eritrea has a constitutional guarantee of religious freedom, and a long history of religious diversity. Its population of some 4.3 million people includes Muslims, Coptic Christians, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and Protestants.--Adventist News Network

Uzbekistan Adventists Celebrate New House of Prayer
After a decade of work and financial sacrifice, Seventh-day Adventists in Uzbekistan now have a spiritual center of their own in the capital city of Tashkent.

"I think of all the prayers that have been uttered over the years about this new house of prayer," said Rubin Ott, president of the Central Asia Conference, at a dedication service in late June. "Finally this miracle has happened. The Lord is holding up Uzbekistan and Tashkent."

Ott says that religious groups in Uzbekistan are allowed to hold public meetings only in their own buildings. "We can't rent a hall or theater as they do in places like Russia," he explains. Complicated registration laws restrict the work of all religious bodies in Uzbekistan, including that of the Muslim majority.

The new Adventist center, which was sponsored in part by church members in Germany and other countries, includes a large church auditorium, rooms for small group meetings, and a field office for local church leaders.

"We met and prayed about how our church could grow again," says Ott. "Our countries [in Central Asia] have so many laws about what you can do and can't do as a church. But we decided to start focusing not on what we couldn't do but on what we could do."

"For example, in Uzbekistan, we can legally invite the public to our own buildings. We can do health education programs such as Health Expo and stop smoking seminars. We can meet in small Bible study groups as long as we do it in one of our churches. We tried to focus on what is possible, and for the past two years we have once again experienced small increases in membership."

Iraqi Children Attend Adventist Bible School
Eighty-two children attended the Vacation Bible School (VBS) at the Seventh-day Adventist church in Baghdad, Iraq, from June 23 June to July 6, reports Valerie Fidelia, Children=s ministries director for the Adventist Church in the Middle East region.

"Every bit of available space was used during the two-week program," said Fidelia. "Regular workers gladly handed over their offices to be used as VBS classrooms. Thirty-eight church members were involved in the school's success--from drivers to support staff to musicians to Bible school teachers and helpers."

On the final Sabbath, a large number of family and friends gathered with regular church members to encourage the children as they gave a program made up of items learned during the two weeks.

News Notes

Cheryl Losey, a member of the Brunswick Seventh-day Adventist Church, Brunswick, Maine, won first place in the junior harp division of the American String Teacher's Association national solo competition. She was one of 12 winners selected from across the United States.

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