Korean Court Ruling
May Impact Church
eventh-day Adventists who wish to maintain noncombatant status may have greater difficulty in dealing with Korea's military service requirements following a recent ruling by the Seoul District Criminal Court.
A 25-year-old man, identified only as "Mr. Lee," was fined 2 million Korean Won, or U.S. $1,670, by the court after Lee refused to attend reserve military training. The man was said to be a member of Jehovah's Witnesses, a group whose members refuse military service.
"According to the [Korean] Constitutional Court, freedom of conscience is divided into 'forum internum' and 'forum externum,'" the Seoul district court wrote in its ruling. "The former, which creates and shapes conscience, is an absolute freedom, but the latter, which expresses and practices conscience, is a relative one and can be restricted for the purpose of national security and order."
The court continued: "Conscientious objection based on religious faith is an external expression, the practice of the belief. It contradicts the military duty, which is for the purpose of national security and the basic national obligation required by the constitutional law as well as right of equality. Under a possible threat of military rivalry between South [Korea] and North [Korea], if conscientious objection or alternative service is allowed, [the] number of military objectors will possibly increase to endanger the country."
Hyun-Suh Koo, Korean Union Public Affairs and Religious Liberty director, said, "The court judgment is not reasonable. The 'internal' and 'external' conscience cannot be [divided]. When the latter is restricted the former will be definitely suppressed."
One Seventh-day Adventist member, speaking on condition of anonymity, rejected the court's finding. "This court decision is a misinterpretation of the constitutional law," the church member said. "Courts will continue to give negative rulings to people who put their religious belief or conscience above other laws or regulations unless there are detailed provisions to protect religious freedom. So far there are only constitutional-leveled laws which are very abstract and simple. Legislation of a special Religious Freedoms Act in Korea should be considered as soon as possible."
Glenn Mitchell, the Adventist Church's regional director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, said the ruling sent a signal to people of conscience: "Faith and practice of faith should not be dealt with in separate ways. The court decision gives a very sensitive and important message to everybody, that they should know and protect their freedom of conscience or faith."
Conscientious objection has been a continuing issue in South Korea. About 500 young men, mainly Jehovah's Witnesses, are jailed annually over their objection to military training. In the past two years, Adventist student Young-chul Yoon and senior theology student Hwi-jai Lim were imprisoned for their conscientious objector stance. Following this, five Adventists refused to carry guns on May 19 during their time in the Republic of Korea's mandatory military reserve training.
--Adventist News Network
Missionaries Murdered in Palau
An Adventist pastor, his wife, and their two children were attacked on Monday, December 22, at their home in Babelthaup, Palau. Pastor Ruimar Duarte DePaiva, 42, Margaret Ottoni DePaiva, 37, and their son, Larisson, 11, were killed. A 10-year-old daughter, Melissa, survived and is hospitalized.
Officers of the Guam/Micronesia Mission have sent personnel to support the injured child and assess the situation. The DePaivias, who were Brazilian citizens, moved from Berrien Springs, Michigan, to Palau 17 months ago to pastor the Koror Adventist Church.
New York Adventists Honor Community Leaders
Despite more than 8 inches of snow, the Bethany Seventh-day Adventist Church in Westbury, New York, held a Communication Day appreciation program Sabbath afternoon, December 6, honoring members of the Third Police Precinct, two New York City police officers, a local physician, a fire department commissioner, Nassau County assistant district attorney, a staff writer for the local newspaper, and a county housing representative. During the service they also telephoned to Iraq to expression appreciation to Merrith Ogilvie Knight, a Bethany church member serving there in the U.S. Army.
Members of the Bethany congregation have been praying for the Third Police Precinct since 1998. Pastor John Talbert and local elders also visit the precinct to talk and pray with the officers. "The success of this program has led to other precincts requesting that we include them in our prayers and visits," says Dr. Mary Cameron, communications leader for the church, who coordinated the program.
Invitees to the special service included local assemblywoman Maureen O'Connell, legislator Kevan Abrahams from the First District, two Protestant ministers, a representative from the Islamic Center of Long Island, and a Roman Catholic priest. Clarence Hodges, North American Division vice president, was the worship hour speaker. Northeastern Conference ministerial secretary Benjamin Cummings also participated.
Walla Walla College Awarded $500,000 Grant
The Lindegren Foundation of Eugene, Oregon, recently awarded $500,000 to Walla Walla College, Walla Walla, Washington, to help fund a new administration building, replacing the 111-year-old building removed this past fall.
An independent foundation established in 1992 by Walla Walla College alumni, the Lindgren Foundation focuses primarily on Christian agencies, churches, and higher education, and has made other grants to the college in the past.
Hawaiian Adventists Witness in Japan
Seventeen members of the Waiola, Hawaii, Adventist Worship Center, along with members of other churches, traveled throughout Japan last fall presenting "The Witness," a musical passion play, and sharing the culture of Hawaii.
Led by Pacific Island Praise director Kalani Poomaihealani and Pastor David Pendleton, they performed in large and small churches of various denominations, and to sell-out crowds in Tokyo. (Admission was charged to cover costs of lighting, sound, and venue.) Most songs were in English, with Japanese translations projected onto screens.
Pacific Island Praise is an interdenominational singing and hula group, "expressly and solely committed to doing evangelism using the art forms of Hawaii," says Pendleton. In one outreach event in Osaka, they performed, by invitation, in front of a Shinto shrine to background reading and singing of biblical passages from the Psalms.
Ninth Adventist-owned Vegetarian
Restaurant Opens in Portugal
A new vegetarian restaurant has opened in Pombal, in the central region of Portugal, the ninth Adventist-owned restaurant in the country. A retired Adventist dentist, Dr. Gouveia, and his wife and daughter operate the new facility.
The Portuguese Union of Seventh-day Adventists operates one restaurant, and seven others are owned and operated by individual church members. Adventists are also involved in promoting health expos and related activities. An Adventist outpatient medical clinic recently opened in the capital city of Lisbon.
The country's growing interest in vegetarian cuisine results from increasing health issues such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Nearly 2,000 Lay Graduates
Complete Evangelism Training
The Inter-American Division's (IAD) International Institute of Christian Ministries, at graduation events held December 3-7 in Mexico City, awarded certification diplomas to nearly 2,000 laypeople who completed personal evangelism specialized training.
Luis Fajardo, director of the institute, says the Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union was the first union in the IAD to complete the training. Twelve other unions in the IAD also offer the certification program.
Graduates of the training program will receive a three-hour academic credit through Griggs University, located in Silver Spring, Maryland.
News Notes
Members of the Boston Berea Adventist Church, after learning from a Kenyan family about the devastation of HIV/AIDS in their home village, adopted the Malela Adventist Church in Kenya as a sister church. They have assisted the villagers with clothing, counseling, medical kits, and other supplies. This past summer a team from the Boston church also conducted evangelistic meetings and youth and adult seminars in that area of Kenya, where 24 percent of the population are infected.
When retired pastor Burton Wright greeted a young family with a new baby at the Walker Memorial Adventist church in Avon Park, Florida, he asked if he might deliver a Welcome Baby kit (offered by Kay Kuzma's Family Matters organization) to their home that afternoon. Over the next year, Wright visited monthly to share the Welcome Baby papers that explain what to expect that month in the child's development. Friendship led to Bible studies together; and the child's father, Juan Barajas, was baptized last summer.
Clarence E. Hodges, vice president of the North American Division since 1993, has been elected president of the Bradford-Cleveland Institute for Continuing Education in Ministry (BCI), located at Oakwood College. BCI was organized by regional conferences to make special educational programs in ministry, administration, leadership, and community betterment available to ministers, laypeople, and the community. College credits will be offered for some courses.
The Wisconsin Adventist Book Center (ABC) was among the top 100 stores for 2003 listed in Christian Retailing, the industry's trade journal. One of 19 ABCs owned by Pacific Press Publishing Association, the Wisconsin store is managed by Rick Claus and is located on a main highway near Madison.
Five members of the Old Tafo (Mile Three) Kumasi Adventist Church in the Central Ghana Conference lost their lives in a tragic traffic accident December 11 while traveling to the funeral of another member's mother. After a charcoal-carrying truck had a flat tire, three vehicles crashed, and 17 persons died, according to Joe Hagan, Ghana Union communication director.
A new regional office, the Caribbean Colombia Mission, was organized in Cartagena, Colombia, on December 5, with Diego Doria Doria as president, Edga Borja Cudriz as secretary-treasurer, and Jesus Fandino as a full-time departmental director. The mission includes more than 21,800 Adventists worshiping in 227 churches and congregations.
Adventist screenwriter Christoph Silber's most recent project, a film titled "Goodbye Lenin," won six top prizes at the European film awards in Berlin earlier this year. Silber says the film is primarily about reconciliation. Active in his Berlin church, Silber sees his mission as reaching to millions of people through his writing ability. --Adventist News Network
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