NEWSBREAK

Korean Adventist Wins
Military Rights

n the cusp of rising tension between North and South Korea, a 25-year-old Seventh-day Adventist has won the right to serve as a medic in the South Korean Army. On July 23 the Daejeon District Court ruled in favor of Gwan-il Han, who wanted to both fulfill a national service requirement and observe the Sabbath, or Saturday.

"It is religious discrimination that the [military] exam committee didn't [approve] Han's candidacy at the officer appointment exam," the court said in its opinion. Military examiners, in rejecting Han, were "jumping to a conclusion that Han would be an obstruction to military discipline or unity only because of Han's specific religion, although there is no affirmation that Han will violate military order to persist in his religious life," the court declared.

Han qualified for the medic post after an examination of his personal history, as well as passing an aptitude test, physical checkup, and a strength test. When asked whether he would work on Saturday, he said, "I will work more diligently on other working days and consult with commanding officers [in order to maintain my religious belief]." Because of this answer he was rejected as a medic, and in May 2002, Han went to court seeking relief.

Han joined the armed services in February 2002. He told church officials in Korea, "I believe the Lord is listening to our voices and preparing our direction. If we don't give up, all of His will and work will come to pass, however difficult it is to believe this." Hyun Suh Koo, public affairs and religious liberty director for the Adventist Church in Korea, said the victory was an important step for Adventists who want to fulfill national service obligations, he said. yet maintain their beliefs.

"This case gives a green light for Adventists in Korea to address the matters of Sabbath-keeping on military bases and in [other] workplaces, as well as the issues of alternative tests for exams held on the Sabbath and conscientious objection," he said. "We will submit related petitions to the [government's] presidential office, and defense ministry to resolve Sabbath accommodation and conscientious objection issues."

Army officials may yet appeal the verdict, although they have not announced plans to do so. Han's victory received wide media attention in Korea, where the question of religious accommodation and the country's obligatory military service has been a topic of recurring interest in recent years.                          --Adventist News Network

Television Documentary on Desmond Doss
Being Produced
"The Conscientious Objector," a 99-minute documentary about Seventh-day Adventist World War II Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Desmond T. Doss, Sr., is nearly completed, according to Fred Knopper, who chairs the Desmond Doss Council of the Georgia-Cumberland Conference.

"The Sabbath and Desmond's refusal to kill, the two commandments that are most significant in this story, permeate the documentary," Knopper says. The film has been in production for over three years and is scheduled to be completed soon.

Terry Benedict, the Adventist owner of a company called Chaparral West, Inc., produced the film. The executive producer is Gabe Videla, also an Adventist, whose company, Special Effects Unlimited, does special effects for major motion pictures. They have received a formal contract proposal from a PBS affiliate for a national broadcast of the documentary.

Knopper notes that a half-hour abbreviated version was shown at several camp meetings this summer.

"As soon as the documentary is completed, there will be showings in given areas," says Kenneth Mittleider, a member of the Desmond Doss Council. "Union papers will notify their constituents of the dates and places."

London Evangelistic Series Yields 96 Baptisms
The British Union Conference reports that a three-week lay-evangelistic series held in London's Hackney district resulted in 96 people joining the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

The "Power in the Park" series was conducted by Mildred Robinson of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands who believed to be the first lay Adventist female to hold a major evangelistic series in Britain.

About 700 people attended nightly. The crowds swelled to 1,100 on the weekends. Four different baptisms were held during the three-week series and a total of 96 people were baptised.

Alongside the evangelistic events there were many other activities for the public, including a café selling a wide assortment of vegetarian foods, a fun day with bouncy castles, mechanical bull, merry-go-round, live music, food and health checks, a community football tournament, a health drive, and a gospel music concert.

Adventist Hospital Counted Among America's Best
U.S. News and World Report recently recognized Grandview Hospital and Medical Center (part of Kettering Adventist HealthCare, of Dayton, Ohio) as one of America's Best Hospitals.

The annual list, published in the July 28-August 4 issue ranks it 34th in the nation for respiratory disorders and 35th for reheumatology.

Another Adventist hospital, Florida Hospital, based in Orlando, was recognized in nine categories.

Whitecoat Reunion Marks 30 Years
The 30th anniversary reunion of 2,300 Adventists who participated in he United States Army's Whitecoat Project will be held October 3-5 at the Frederick (Maryland) Seventh-day Adventist Church. The program includes a public forum on bio-terrorism defense hosted by U.S. Congressman Roscoe Bartlet of Maryland.

Several government leaders will be honoring the Whitecoat veterans with commendations and proclamations. For information contact Art Walls (909) 796-1388 (awall@earthlink.net) or Frank Damazo (301) 662-4502 (thedamazos@aol.com).

News Notes

The Society of Adventist Communicators (SAC) will hold its annual convention October 9-12, 2003, in Orlando, Florida.

Registrants of the 2003 convention will enjoy networking opportunities as well as breakout session on topics such as media training, conducting a radio interview show, writing humor for a church audience, and much more.

SAC is committed to networking Seventh-day Adventists in North America who work in the communication industry as writers, editors, videographers, web designers, broadcasters, and many other fields.

For more information, visit their website at www.adventistcommunicator.org or www.plusline.org.

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