Kenya President Commends Adventist Church
wai Kibaki, president of the Republic of Kenya, commended the Seventh-day Adventist Church for its role in combating HIV/AIDS in remarks on November 12 at the State House in Nairobi. Kibaki spoke during a courtesy call by General Conference President Jan Paulsen.
Kibaki said Kenya's government recognizes the role played by the church and encouraged Adventists to make the fight against the pandemic one of its central roles. Paulsen indicated that the church was directly involved in such efforts in Kenya and in other countries; a seminar on HIV/AIDS, held in Nairobi during Paulsen's visit, was part of that campaign.
Kibaki, who became president one year ago, told Paulsen and the Adventist delegation that he appreciated the role of churches in society. He said churches have a role to play both in development and in molding the lives of people. In response, Paulsen underscored the role the church is playing in Kenya, having established a new regional headquarters in Nairobi in 2003, as well as through its health and educational programs.
The meeting between the world church leader and Kenya's president was the first in a series of events during Paulsen's nine-day visit. The East-Central Africa region is one of the fastest-growing Adventist areas; the new administrative territory was inaugurated in 2003.
Addressing the HIV/AIDS seminar, Paulsen challenged church leadership to be fully involved both in preventing further infections and serving in those affected by the disease. Mrs. Kari Paulsen, who accompanied her husband on this trip, also addressed the meeting.
On November 15, the Paulsens, accompanied by regional church leaders, traveled to Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, where they were met by a large number of Adventist members. A crowd estimated at over 30,000 heard the world church leader give a sermon, and more than 300 people came forward during an appeal.
The next day Paulsen inaugurated a new multipurpose building in the city, constructed to house a church and a conference hall with guest rooms and a kitchen. Also opened was the building housing the first Seventh-day Adventist FM radio station in Tanzania, which featured Paulsen in its initial broadcast. Adventist News Network
New Editor for Vibrant Life
Charles Mills, Adventist author and media producer, is the new editor of Vibrant Life, the church's bimonthly health journal. With more than 40 books and hundreds of magazine articles to his credit, Mills currently co-hosts a different "Vibrant Life"-a live, hour-long, call-in radio program on the LifeTalk Radio Network.
While continuing many regular features of the magazine, the incoming editor plans to include a new column, "A Moment with the Great Physician," in each issue. "Without God in the equation," Mills says, "optimum health simply isn't possible."
Mills replaces Larry Becker, Vibrant Life editor for the past eight years, who is now public relations director at La Sierra University.
South Central Conference President Placed on Leave
On November 23, 2003, the South Central Conference (SCC) Executive Committee, placed conference president Joseph McCoy on administrative leave until December 14, 2003.
According to conference officials, the action was taken because SCC, among others, has a been named in two separate lawsuits filed in Indiana and New York. The Review has subsequently learned that the Northeastern Conference was also named as a defendant in both lawsuits, and McCoy and the General Conference (GC) were named on the Indiana suit.
The Indiana lawsuit was filed by Randall L. Woodruff, a bankruptcy trustee for Legacy Healthcare, Inc., in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis on September 25, 2003. In the suit the plantiffs have brought allegations of breach of contract and fraud.
The other lawsuit was filed by Centereach Pharmacy & Surgical Supply Inc. in the New York State Supreme Court, Suffolk County, on March 19, 2002.
In a notice sent to all SCC churches, officials say the conference "will vigorously defend itself against each of these lawsuits and anticipates a positive outcome." The conference executive committee will meet again on December 14, 2003, to consider further actions. In the meantime an administrative committee will handle the affairs of the conference.
Tom Wetmore, an associate counsel of the GC Office of the General Counsel, says, "The GC has had absolutely no involvement in the underlying matters of these lawsuits. It is in the process of asserting all necessary and appropriate defenses."
Union College Offers New Music Major
Piano pedagogy, a new music major now available at Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska, is "the only one of its kind in an Adventist college," according to Ken Hoppman, associate professor of music.
The program was developed to fill a need for students seeking a music major that emphasized studio management. Classes include Teaching the Very Young Music Student (learning styles and methods to reach preschool and early elementary students) and Issues in Studio Management (a practical course on how to set up a studio, market services, and give customer service).
Academy music teachers in more than 20 states responded favorably to an initial inquiry survey sent by Hoppman and Ryan Wells, professor of music, before the program opened. "This is a real connection to the community," Wells said, "Teaching is a service, and we're here to serve."
Adventist Handbell Choir
Performs with Boston Pops
"Ring of Fire," a handbell choir from Tualatin Valley Junior Academy, Hillsboro, Oregon, performed three concerts with the Boston Pops in December. The Christmas special was taped for television airing in December 2004.
In its seven-year history the handbell group, founded and directed by Jason Wells, has played for such significant events as the 2001 Presidential Inauguration; the one-year anniversary 9-11 memorial service in Salem, Oregon, with the state governor; and recently with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra.
The 13- to 16-year-old Ring of Fire musicians will give concerts in more than 15 states this season. Last summer they performed in England, France, Switzerland, and Germany. All but one of the students are from Adventist families.
News Notes
Eric C. Webster, editor of the South African Signs of the Times, recently ran the Peninsula marathon, a distance of just over 42 km (26 miles), completing it in less than six hours-at age 76.
La Sierra University, Riverside, California, was named the top school in the Campus Diversity: Universities-Master's (West) category, according to the U.S. News & World Report's America's Best Colleges 2004 issue.
Ray Hartwell, former executive secretary and ministerial director for the Pennsylvania Conference, was recently elected president of the conference. He replaces Mike Cauley who is now serving as Florida Conference president.
The Central Africa Union Mission has acquired a new radiobroadcasting station, to be installed in the conference headquarters at Avebe, Cameroon. Pastor Jean Claude Nkou was appointed as director.
Members of the Greeneville, Tennessee, Adventist church joined other local community churches in preparing 1,400 Thanksgiving meals for needy families and shut-ins. Dinner packages delivered to homes included a list of the participating churches, along with a contact person's name and telephone number for each church.
Thanks to Skyler Null, a student at Portland Adventist Elementary School, a new class project involves students in helping with delivery of "Meals on Wheels." While home-schooling last year, Null accompanied his grandmother to deliver meals. Now a couple of his fellow fourth-graders share the privilege every Friday.
Fifty Arizona Conference volunteers, including several students from Thunderbird Adventist Academy, built two churches in the Dominican Republic between November 19-30, also conducting nightly evangelistic meetings. Nearly 300 children attended the concurrent Vacation Bible School, said Karl Schwinn, leader of the group. The two benefiting congregations, Faro de Luz and Nuevo Jerusalén, held Sabbath services and baptisms on the final weekend.
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