NEWSBREAK

Clifford Sorensen Becomes AUC Interim President

he Atlantic Union College (AUC) Board of Trustees appointed Dr. N. Clifford Sorensen as interim president of the College beginning March 5.

No stranger to higher education, Dr. Sorensen (right) was president of Walla Walla College in Washington State for 10 years. Neither is he a stranger to Atlantic Union College, having served as interim president in 1996. Sorensen, who has been retired for over 10 years, also served as president of Columbia Union College in Takoma Park, Maryland, from 1990-1992, and has had another stint as interim president at Walla Walla College in 2002.

Dr. Sylvan A. Lashley departed the Atlantic Union College presidency on March 4 after serving in the post for seven years. Lashley was slated to complete his service as president on May 31, but graciously agreed to move up the date to allow the interim president to meet with the commissioners of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) on March 6. AUC appears before the NEASC accrediting body concerning its ongoing accreditation, and Dr. Sorenson will lead AUC in the implementation of any NEASC recommendations.

When asked what his next step will be, Lashley simply says, "I have no regrets, and I welcome this opportunity to complete my law degree which I began about a year ago. I feel that higher education law will utilize my 18 years of experience in higher education and will also provide me with a new challenge for the future."

Under Lashley's tenure, student enrollment grew and stabilized. Fund-raising also doubled during this period, providing funding for the restoration of Thayer Mansion, a historic building that houses the music department and performing arts center. AUC's endowment also grew, and student scholarships increased annually.

Before coming to AUC, Lashley served as president of Carribean Union College in Trinidad and West Indies College (now Northern Caribbean University) in Jamaica.

Three ADRA Workers Killed in Liberia
The officers and staff of Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) today are mourning the death of its three slain workers who were recently killed in Liberia.

Emmanuel Sharpulo, acting country director for Liberia, Kaare Lund, director for Norway, and Musa Kita, chief driver were killed in an outbreak of rebel fighting on their way to a Norwegian-funded ADRA refugee shelter project in the area of Toe Town, in eastern Liberia.

Fighting along the border between Liberia and the Ivory Coast caused 2,500 Ivorian and other West African refugees to flee and displaced an estimated 8,000 people from the local community.

"ADRA workers operating in war-torn regions are increasingly at risk of being in harm's way, but are dedicated to relieving the suffering of refugees and others affected by war," says Charles Sandefur, ADRA International president.

"Emmanuel, Kaare, and Musa were doing just that when they lost their lives, and we honor their commitment to demonstrating God's love in war-torn Liberia. At the same time, we recognize that each of them derived an invaluable source of strength and courage from their families, and we mourn with them at this time."

ADRA commended the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for coordinating and carrying out the search for the agencies workers under extremely dangerous conditions.

In the words of Kaare Lund, as recorded in his trip report upon his return from Liberia late last year, "Technically, we ought to withdraw from all of Liberia, but they need help more than any of the others we are working with. If everyone pulls out, theirs is a destiny no one deserves! We should press on."

Emmanuel, Kaare, and Musa each leave behind a legacy of healing and hope that will live on for generations to come through the lives of those whom they served.

Andrews University Students Sign Anti-War Statement
Eighty six faculty members and 122 students at Andrews University have signed a statement against unilaterial war on Iraq. The statement is being printed in the campus newspaper Student Movement and sent to members of Congress and the White House, reports Shanelle M. Henson, an associate professor of mathematics.

Adventist Church Releases
Annual Religious Liberty World Report
The fourth annual Religious Freedom World Report, based on information gathered from Adventists in 201 countries, was released on February 3 by the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL).

"Our goal is to promote values of religious freedom and to give a voice to all those around the world who are suffering for their faith," said John Graz, PARL director. "These individuals should know that their fellow believers are actively trying to raise international awareness on their behalf."

The new world report provides a great deal of information about religious freedom to readers in a user-friendly way. Countries are categorized on a scale of one to five, with five indicating the worst situation--no religious freedom at all. This year's report highlights nine countries in category five and 24 countries in category four.

"Religious freedom is still a major challenge, and the report is intended as a resource for human rights organizations, other international agencies, governments and church entities," said Graz. The report will be passed onto the United Nations and other relevant authorities, said Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations liaison director for the Adventist Church.

"The U.N. special rapporteur for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Abdelfattah Amor, has expressed his appreciation for past reports and used such documentation in his work to reduce religious freedom violations," Gallagher said.

According to the report, difficulties faced by Adventists are similar to those encountered by other religious minorities. In Turkmenistan, for example (a category five in the World Report), there are only 500 Adventists in a country with a population of five million. These Adventists, as well as other religious minorities, are facing serious persecution. Adventists in Turkmenistan have been arrested, fined for meeting together, and had their literature and tapes confiscated. In November 1999 the only Adventist church building in the country were destroyed.

The world report also focused on other countries where religious freedom is a growing concern. In other parts of the former Soviet Union religious intolerance is spreading. Strong movements to involve the state in religious affairs are increasing, and draft laws on traditional and non-traditional religious organizations are being considered. Parts of India are also giving cause for concern. New legislation on conversion and evangelism is a development that can restrict religious activities and is targeted at minority groups. Among the positive trends is the new approach of the French government towards religious minorities.

"We encourage Adventists to become more involved in the fight against religious intolerance, and to share the World Report with those they feel can make a difference for religious freedom," Graz concluded.

The 2002 World Report is available by March 16 at http://parl.gc.adventist.org.

Euro-Asia Division Makes Literature
Available in More Languages
Millions of citizens in Central Asia and the Caucasus Mountain region can now read Seventh-day Adventist books in their native languages.

During the past nine months, Adventist books on health, family, and spiritual topics have been translated into the dominant languages of Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan. Until now, the church in Euro-Asia had printed most books only in Russian, Ukrainian, or Moldovan.

"Our pastors and members were begging for materials in other languages, but we had nothing to give them," says Wilmar Hirle, publishing director the Euro-Asia Division. "So we set a big goal last year: to translate at least three books for each of these eight countries where Russian is not the major tongue. We didn't even know where we would find translators in some countries. But somehow, with many miracles, we reached the goal and even surpassed it. Many of the books are already printed."

Most people in former Soviet nations can understand some Russian, but that is changing as new generations grow up speaking the original national languages of Central Asia and the Caucasus region.

Nadezhda Devyatkina, who directs Adventist publishing in Central Asia, says that of the 55 million people living in her territory, more than 30 percent do not read Russian. "We have two urgent needs," she says. "One is for literature in local languages, but the other is for literature evangelists who can speak these languages."

Hirle says the next steps will be to continue translating other books and to develop new materials that more precisely meet the needs of various people groups. "We need to do even more," he says. "People need to read about God in the language that touches their hearts."

News Notes

The Southern and Inter-Atlantic Unions of the Inter-American Division sponsored an evangelistic rally in late January. As a result of baptisms occurring in several cities in southern Mexico over the same weekend, a total of some 6,000 persons were baptized.

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