BREAKING NEWS

GC Official Applauds the
U.S. Congress For Signing the Sudan Peace Act

he director of legislative affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist world church has applauded the action of the United States Congress in passing the Sudan Peace Act.

In a recently released statement, James Standish says: "The Sudan Peace Act is the fruit of a concerted effort by a disparate coalition of faith groups who are working tirelessly to bring U.S. pressure to bear on the Khartoum government to stop brutal persecution of people of faith in that nation."

Bush signed the Sudan Peace Act into law on October 21. In a statement released by the White House, he said, "The Act is designed to help address the evils inflicted on the people of Sudan by their government--including senseless suffering, use of emergency food relief as a weapon of war, and the practice of slavery."

More than two million people have been killed and four million displaced since 1983, and there has still been no significant movement toward peace. There have been reports of more than 150 bombings of civilian targets, destroying lives, property, infrastructure, and disrupting humanitarian-relief activities.

The Adventist Church has actively worked to stop persecution in Sudan. The church's annual World Report on Religious Freedom lists Sudan among the nations with the most severe restrictions on religious liberty. This past spring in Geneva, Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations liaison director for the Adventist Church, expressed the church's concern to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights over the horrific violence against Christians and animists in the country.

The Adventist Church's South Sudan field, located in Uganda, has more than 4,000 members, while its Sudan field office, in Central Khartoum, has more than 5,000 members. In a population of more than 37 million, only five percent who are Christians.

President's Visit Highlights Korea's Vibrant Church
Dr. Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, concluded a six-day visit to South Korea on Nov. 12, saying that the Adventist Church there is "full of life" and focused on mission.

During his visit, Paulsen met with church members and leaders of the church in the Northern Asia-Pacific region who had gathered in Seoul for year-end meetings. He also visited several Adventist institutions, including a publishing house, Seoul Adventist Hospital, the headquarters of the church in Korea, and Sahmyook University.

The Adventist Church in South Korea is well-known for its network of 33 English language schools, which serve as the church's most effective way of sharing the Adventist faith in the country's urban areas. More than 47 percent of South Korea's population lives in cities, where church leaders say that traditional methods of outreach are largely ineffective. But many Koreans--especially young people--do have an interest in learning English as a second language.

During his visit to the administrative headquarters of Korea's Adventist language institutes, Paulsen learned that so far this year, 250,000 students from across South Korea have enrolled in these language schools. According to administrators, many students become interested in learning more about Christianity. Last year, more than 800 were baptized.

Paulsen also visited the military demarcation line that marks the border with North Korea--a country which since 1953 has effectively been shut off from the rest of the world. When North Korea closed its borders, the Adventist Church had a community of some 800 believers there. Since that time, however, there has been little word on how the Adventist group has fared under North Korea's Communist regime. According to international human rights organizations, the government of North Korea tightly controls religious expression, and the majority of church groups that existed before partition have since been dispersed.

Church leaders in South Korea say however that there are now signs of a political thaw between North and South, and they hope soon to be reunited with fellow Adventists in North Korea.

While visiting the demarcation zone, Paulsen commented on the humanitarian assistance the Adventist Church has been able to provide North Korea, a country suffering desperate shortages of food, medical supplies, and other basics of everyday life. "The Bible says that when Christ looked on the crowds, He had compassion," said Paulsen. "And we as His followers must do same for the people of North Korea." Paulsen also noted that a heart surgery team from the church's Loma Linda Medical Center, United States, has visited North Korea a number of times over recent years to perform urgently needed surgery, and help train local medical staff.

In August, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency opened a bakery in Pyongyang, the capital (see this issue's cover story), that provides daily bread for more than 25,000 hungry children. --Adventist News Network

Adventist-Released Song Listed in
Christian Radio Top Five
A song written by Seventh-day Adventist songwriter Dawn Bailey made the list of the top five Christian songs in a London-based competition that ended this month.

Titled Rejoice, the song has aired on Christian radio stations in London, and features the voices of four girls from the Wilmslow Adventist Church in London. "The song was written specifically to be performed by children," Bailey says. "They give a youthful vibrancy to the Christian message. In this song I have tried to give youth an insight into the joy they can have with Christ in their lives. This is a great opportunity to glorify God with the talents and gifts that He has given to us to honor Him and to present His message to young and old."

The song competition, sponsored by Premier Radio, an inter-denominational Christian radio station operated in England, and by Yamaha Kemble and DM Music for Churches, ended Nov. 9 with a final competition held at Westminster Chapel, Buckingham Gate, London.

News Notes

In September, 2002, Chile Adventist University was granted full government recognition through a decree issued by the national ministry of education. This represents the culmination of a process begun in 1990 that involved a period of institutional mentorship under the guidance of three older national universities. With an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students, this university, in operation for nearly 100 years, currently serves a constituency of more than 100,000 Adventists in a country with a population of 16 million.

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