NEWSBREAK
Russian Church Destroyed
in Suspicious Fire
suspicious fire burned down a Seventh-day Adventist church in the northwestern city of Novgorod September 25, according to church officials there.. The fire also destroyed books, records and archives and yielded enough water damage to render the building unusable. The congregation, which has 98 worshippers, is seeking an alternate location.
According to Stanislav Bazilo, pastor of the church, congregants arrived at the scene at 5 a.m. to find the church in ruins. Earlier, a guard at a neighboring construction site noticed smoke coming from the building and called fire brigades.
"The police discovered that the locks on all the doors were broken," Bazilo tells Adventist News Network. "They even found the crowbar with which the locks were broken."
No motive for the suspected arson has been given, and police inquiries are continuing. However, Bazilo notes that "next to the site of the church there is a construction site for a service station."
Bazilo says he will ask city authorities to help in seeking a worship location. The local Baptist leader visited the fire scene as a sign of solidarity with the church. Adventists may ask their Baptist friends to use one of their sanctuaries on a temporary basis.
A historic city, Novgorod's late 10th century embrace of Russian Orthodox Christianity led to its establishment as a major Orthodox center. In 2001, statistics showed that 4,500 people worshiped weekly in 85 Adventist congregations in the northwest region of Russia. --Adventist News Network
150 Years of Sabbath School
Celebrated Where it All Began
"Sabbath school isn't an institution," says Jan Paulsen, General Conference president, "it's an experience." As keynote speaker in the worship service on Sabbath, September 27, at the Jefferson Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church in Rochester, New York, Paulsen led out in an all-day celebration of the 150th anniversary of the church's Sabbath school program.
In 1853--only a few years after the first group of Sabbath-keeping Adventists was formed in Washington, New Hampshire--James White, one of the founders of the Adventist church, organized the first regular Sabbath school in Rochester. Today, an estimated 20 million people around the world use the Sabbath School lessons prepared and published by the church making it one of the largest continuous, regular Bible study programs in the world.
"As a discipling tool," Paulsen added, "Sabbath School is an invaluable instrument in the hands of the Holy Spirit."
The special day marked the initiation of a wave of major events scheduled around the world throughout October and November to celebrate Sabbath school's 150th year. Featuring the theme "Nostalgia for the Future: 150 Years of Sabbath School," these events will highlight Adventism's rich heritage as well as its hopeful future.
"Our intention in this approach," says James Zackrison, General Conference Sabbath school director, "is to look backward to the origins of this important work as well as forward to the breathtaking possibilities that it offers." --Adventist News Network
United Nations Religious Committee
Hears Adventist Religious Freedom Concerns
Attorney Mitchell Tyner, representing the Adventist Church, spoke to the United Nations (UN) Religious Committee and highlighted concerns addressing religious freedom and international law. "Religious liberty is an individual right which needs greater protection," said Tyner. "Courts and judges should not be allowed to mandate what religion is and to define religious activities."
Tyner also added that international documents that appear to protect religious liberty are weak and rarely protect religious minority observances because of the lack of protection against unintentional burdens to practice religion. The requirement for governments must be to either show the burden is really necessary or to make accommodation for religious practice.
Tyner spoke to the Non-governmental Organizations Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief held at the United Nations church center on September 25, addressing representatives of many religious-based and other civil organizations. Don Shriver, president emeritus of Union Theological Seminary, also spoke on the theme of the development of religious freedom throughout history. "Religions out of power demand liberty, religions in power demand uniformity," stated Shriver. "Our challenge is to keep our variety of religious beliefs in some kind of unity."
"Religious liberty concerns are important to both the Adventist Church and the wider society. Through our presence at the United Nations we are able to share our convictions regarding religious freedom and to support such fundamental human rights," said Jonathan Gallagher, UN liaison director for the Adventist Church, who was also in attendance.
The UN/NGO Committee on Religion or Belief was recognized by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1991. One of its goals is to support the UN special rapporteur's initiatives against intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief; and appeal to the UN Sub-Commission on the Prevention and Protection of Minorities and the UN Commission on Human Rights to take appropriate actions against intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief. This Committee also helps in the development of an annual report on the worldwide situation of freedom of religion or belief.
AdventistBookCenter.com Surpasses $1 Million Mark
AdventistBookCenter.com, owned jointly by the Pacific Press and Review and Herald Publishing Associations, recently passed the one million dollar sales mark. The website's sales have grown from zero to over a million dollars in just four and one-half years. This year's sales alone could exceed $500,000, says Susan Harvey, vice president for sales and marketing at Pacific Press.
Due to the tough economy many Adventist Book Centers (ABCs) are seeing flat sales and even some decrease in sales. Yet despite this, AdventistBookCenter.com is continuing to grow as sales steadfastly increase each month. The website's growth actually benefits the local ABCs since they fulfill the orders coming from the website. The website's growth also means people who wouldn't otherwise visit an ABC store are buying Adventist books, enabling the publishing houses to reach more people with God's message.
News Notes
Suruj Deo, associate treasurer of the Fiji Mission, was elected treasurer of the same mission. She is the first woman to serve in that capacity. One of only 300 Adventist Indians in Fiji, Deo has worked for the church in that country since 1980. "Women can work in any field," says Deo. She replaces Taoi Semiti.
Audrey Boyle Andersson was elected secretary of the Swedish Union Conference. She is the first woman to hold this position in Sweden. For Andersson, a native of England who has had a marketing and communications consultancy in both countries, the new position represents "a coming together of my two passions. One is to work for the Lord and the other is work with developing communications and media." She hopes to use media to reach the 8.8 million people in Sweden, and then have "local churches and real people" establish contact with those interested. She replaces Per Bolling.–Adventist News Network
Elaine Giddings, 95, professor emerita of Andrews University, died Friday, September 26. Giddings taught speech (now communications) for more than 20 years and chaired the department for many of those years. She was honored last year as one of Andrews University's 100 Women of the Century.
Oyaw Abdwahd Ukash, a security guard for the Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA) Somalia office in Gedo, Somalia was shot and killed on September 14, 2003 while traveling with coworkers from El Wak, Kenya to a project site in Dhamasa, Somalia.
"He was very committed to his work and would even perform other tasks not included in his regular duties," said Ferdinand Njue, project coordinator for the Gedo Water Project. "We are devastated and deeply saddened by this loss, but are grateful for his dedicated work for our organization."
ADRA Somalia is collaborating with the Kenyan Government and Somali Authorities to ensure that the situation is addressed appropriately. ADRA Somalia's field operations in Gedo have been suspended until an in-depth assessment is completed.
Lily Pavlenko, a student at Minnetonka Christian Academy (MCA) in Minnesota, painted an acrylic painting as part of a class assignment to depict "what God means to you." Choosing John 8:12, Pavlenko completed the assignment and the painting was displayed as part of MCA's annual art gallery. A man from the community came often to look at the painting commenting on how peaceful it was. He later purchased the painting and donated it to Parker Hughes Cancer Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, where it was auctioned for $2,500 to benefit the continued search for a cancer cure.
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