WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

Zimbabwe: Church Leaders
Stress Urgent, Practical
Involvement in AIDS Crisis

BY JULIO MUNOZ, Adventist NewsLine reporter/producer

he time has come for urgent and practical involvement in the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic, Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders told delegates at the first regional workshop on the issue held here last week.

The meeting, sponsored by the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division (SAID), one of church's 13 world divisions, drew experts from around the continent and overseas, as well as denominational leaders from 11 other Christian churches. All speakers agreed that Christian churches--including the Adventist Church--have been late in responding to the crisis.

Pardon Mwansa (right), SAID president, said the meeting was organized because of the staggering number of HIV/AIDS cases in sub-Saharan Africa. Experts say the region is home to 70 to 80 percent of worldwide HIV/AIDS cases, or some 28 million of the 40 million infected persons around the world.

Mwansa believes the church is not immune to those statistics and is in real danger. "Unless the HIV [pandemic] is addressed, there will be no workers to work in our congregations. There will be no church members to pastor. There will be no people to lead. Some of us here will be dead," Mwansa said in his opening address.

Although statistics are available on the number of Seventh-day Adventist members who are infected with HIV/AIDS, in least four countries in southern Africa--Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Lesotho--nearly one-third of the population live with HIV/AIDS.

Attendees praised the open nature of the meetings in which church members with HIV/AIDS spoke publicly--many for the first time--about living with the disease and the stigma they often face in their own churches.

Some attendees raised questions of the safety of touching and being near people infected with the AIDS virus. Experts believe that education is the first step in dealing with fear and stigma, which have kept some church members from reaching out to people with HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Peter Landless, an associate director of the General Conference Health Ministries Department, said, "I've heard talk at this conference which has staggered me. Some of the HIV patients say, 'Well maybe some of the people would feel better if gloves were worn during footwashing.' I find this staggering because it's time the gloves came off in the fight with AIDS."

According to experts at the conference, AIDS is a scourge that is killing millions of people around the world, including thousands of Adventists.

"I have buried people who have died of HIV--church members. There are pastors who are HIV positive, that I know of and counsel with," said Mwansa. "This is not something far from us. This is something that we're dealing with."

Jona Adams, an Adventist member from Harare, spoke of having to deal with "judgmental and discriminating" church members. He said he hoped that this meeting would lead to greater acceptance of Adventist church members living with HIV/AIDS.

Charles Sandefur, president of Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA), said that church leaders were touched by the presence of Adams and other Adventist members with HIV/AIDS. "That changes the whole mood and conversation. It makes this whole workshop experiential and not just informational," he said.

Experts and leaders from other churches praised the Adventist Church for this initiative, which they saw as a significant step towards a more practical role in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Dr. Arthur Ammann, president of Global Strategies for HIV Prevention in San Rafael, California, said the church was making a bold statement by holding this conference.

"It's incredible--as far as I know this is the first denomination that has addressed it as a denomination," said Dr. Ammann. "There have been individual churches that have talked about what to do with AIDS, but I don't know about any gathering where the church officials have so openly had people with HIV/AIDS talking about the issues and listening."

Dr. Ammann says the Adventist Church could be an example to other denominations and have a big impact around the world.

Delegates called on the Adventist Church to continue the work it has been performing around the world. The world church formed the AIDS Study Committee in October 2000 to decide what it could do in response to the crisis.

The Zimbabwe meeting comes in the wake of the recent opening of the new church's Office of HIV/AIDS Ministry in Johannesburg, South Africa. The new office, headed by Dr. Oscar Giordano, focuses on care and vocational training for AIDS orphans and widows, treatment for those infected, and a widespread education and prevention effort in churches, schools, and communities.

Adventist world church president Jan Paulsen said, in an earlier interview with Adventist News Network, that if he has one regret regarding the church's response to HIV/AIDS, it is that an overarching, coordinated approach has come so late in the day. It is a mistake for anyone to assume that this is "not an Adventist problem," he added. "As one of our leaders in Africa said, it would be difficult to find one Adventist family in Africa that has not been impacted by AIDS."

Pastor Mwanza hopes that church leaders and members do not become satisfied with the opening of the HIV/AIDS office or the relative success of this workshop. Although he praises the efforts of the world church headquarters, Mwanza added, "having an office is not making a difference. Having a meeting is not making a difference.

"So we would ask the question: After this meeting will it be much better for a pregnant mother whose child is supposed to be HIV [positive] when that child is born--will we make a difference to that mother?" said Mwanza. "That is what I hope will be used as a basis for us to judge the success of our programs." --Adventist News Network

United Nations Secretary-General
Condemns Killing of ADRA workers
Koffi Annan, secretary-general of the United Nations, released a statement excoriating the actions taken by Liberian rebels against three Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) workers.

"[He] strongly condemns the killing of Emmanuel Sharpulo, and Musa Kita, Liberian nations, and Kaare Lund (pictured right), a Norwegian national, three humanitarian workers of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), who were brutally killed in eastern Liberia on February 28, 2003," said Fred Eckhard, spokesman for the secretary-general. "The secretary-general extends his deepest sympathy to the families and colleagues of these three humanitarian workers, and demands that the government of Liberia determine the exact circumstances under which the incident took place, and bring the perpetrators to justice. He further calls on all parties to the conflict in Liberia to reinforce measures taken to ensure the protection of civilians, including relief workers."

Emmanuel Sharpulo, acting ADRA country director for Liberia; Kaare Lund, ADRA director for Norway; and Musa Kita, ADRA 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.

Paulsen Meets Orthodox and Roman Catholic Leaders in Serbia
In a meeting with church members in Belgrade, Serbia, Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, made an appeal that Adventists continue to be actively involved in the mission of bringing the gospel to all people. Everyone is invited by God to serve in His mission, Paulsen emphasized.

During his visit to a part of the world where the church is seeing membership growth, Paulsen met with two key religious leaders, stressing mutual respect and recognition between communions.

In a visit to Serbian Patriarch Pavle, head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Paulsen heard the patriarch underline the historic past of the Serbian people, and his concern that Orthodox churches in Kosovo are destroyed with little hope of being rebuilt.

Mutual respect must continue between the Adventist Church and the Orthodox Church in Serbia in order to protect religious liberty, Paulsen said. The conversation between the two leaders was informal, amicable, and cordial, and covered brief exchanges on world affairs as well as the Adventist perspective on health.

Paulsen also visited Stanislav Hocevar, Roman Catholic archbishop of Belgrade. The prelate's numerous questions about the faith and theology of the Seventh-day Adventist Church gave Paulsen an in-depth opportunity to explain the church's understanding of Bible teachings.

"Many people came to meet the world church president," said Radisa Antic, president of the church's South-East European region. "Our believers especially appreciated Pastor Paulsen's focus on church unity and developments in the world church. They went home enriched," Antic said.

Other areas that Paulsen visited included Novi Sad, where he addressed a large group of church members in the newly inaugurated church, as well as Athens, Greece, and Paphos, Cyprus, where he addressed the opening session of the "Building Bridges of Understanding" conference on Adventist-Muslim relations. --Adventist News Network

Adventist Risk Management Establishes
New Insurance Entity
Adventist Risk Management, Inc. (ARM) recently announced the establishment of a new insurance company to serve Seventh-day Adventist organizations located in Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Gencon Insurance Company International, Ltd., a captive insurer and wholly owned subsidiary of Gencon Insurance Company of Vermont, is 100 percent owned by the General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists. Each of these companies exclusively insures the risks and exposures of the church in its charitable activities. Gencon Insurance Company International, Ltd., is the first Gibraltar-licensed insurance company to be formed by a United States-based corporation.

Robert Sweezey, president of ARM, stated that it was necessary for the church to establish a new insurance company to reduce operating costs and meet the regulatory requirements of various European countries. After reviewing several potential European domiciles, Gibraltar was selected because of its favorable environment and financial structure. Penny Murray-White, assistant secretary and resident captive manager, says Gibraltar is a favorable domicile for captive insurance operations. "Compared to other jurisdictions we have the flexibility of establishing all types of insurance companies and captives. Our overheads are generally lower than those of other domiciles, and our ability to write direct has increased our appeal," she said. Sweezey estimates the church will be able to save significant cost by operating its own European captive compared to the previous fronting program.

Inter-American Division Launches
Family Ministries Certification Program
The Inter-American Division (IAD) recently launched a Family Ministries Certification program in both Spanish and English, a first for this division. The IAD is the only division other than the North American Division to offer such a program.

The program's objective is to train and certify family and women's ministries directors at the field and church level, pastors and their spouses, elders, and professionals in twelve areas of family life. The program takes two years to complete. Certified individuals can then conduct monthly seminars in local churches to educate members in the best ways to deal with family issues.

"The response to this program has been overwhelming," says Gordon Martinborough, family ministries co-director for IAD. Martinborough runs the certification program with his wife, Waveney, also co-director. "It reinforces the concept that since both the family and the Sabbath were given in Eden, we as repairers have a sacred obligation to be restorers not only of the Sabbath, but also of the family."

News Notes

The Adventist radio station VOAR, based in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, has taken its ministry Canada-wide on Bell Express Vu, a home satellite provider that reaches over 3 million people. VOAR offers a 24-hour radio service that is now available to anyone in Canada who subscribes to Bell Express Vu service.

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