WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES
INDIA: Maranatha Nears 750th Milestone for Church Construction
aranatha Volunteers International (MVI) is approaching its 750th church to be constructed in India since beginning work in the country in 1998. Based on the maximum capacity of each church design, the effort has yielded approximately 250,000 additional seats for the Adventist Church membership in India.
In 1998 the Southern Asia Division had a reported 225,000 members. Today,
Ron Watts, president of the Southern Asia Division, estimates that the numbers reach 825,000.
"We have 3,000 congregations that are meeting without a house of worship, meeting under the trees or meeting in the street," says Watts. "And they feel disgraced by this; they feel they're living in dishonor. . . . When we visit villages, they don't ask for the other things. The one thing they ask for is 'Please help us to have a place where we can worship God.' " --Maranatha Matters/AR
Paulsen to Meet University Students
via Global Telecast, "Let's Talk-Again"
Better communication between Adventist young people and church administration is the goal of two initiatives from the office of world church president Jan Paulsen.
On September 13 at 2:00 PM Paulsen will meet with students on the campus of Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, for what is being described as an "open, no-holds-barred discussion of issues of concern to Adventist young people." The one-hour conversation, called "Let's Talk-Again," is a follow-up to last year's "Let's Talk" telecast, which included teenage members of the church. It will be broadcast live by Hope Channel to the Americas, and will be rebroadcast later in Europe, the South Pacific, and Africa.
"I recognize that many, many of our young people feel distanced from the church-they feel as if they don't have a voice, they don't feel that they have been heard, they don't feel that they have been understood," says Paulsen.
"But I want them to know that the church cannot be defined and cannot survive without them."
During the satellite event Paulsen will also launch a Let's Talk Web site, designed to continue the dialogue between his office and Adventist young people. It will be found at www.letstalk.adventist.org.
For information on downlinking the program for your campus or church, go to www.hopetv.org. --Adventist News Network/AR
SWITZERLAND: New UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights Meets Adventists
After outlining her perspective on her new role as United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva on July 28, 2004, Louise Arbour met Adventist Church UN liaison director Jonathan Gallagher and UN liaison volunteer intern Juan Perla. Gallagher and Perla presented Arbour with a DVD entitled "Doors to Freedom," outlining the work Adventists accomplish in areas of practical contributions to humanity.
During the Geneva meeting, Commissioner Arbour, a former Canadian Supreme Court judge, said that as she viewed the human rights landscape "the fight against terrorism is a dominant theme," and that "some of the measures enacted to fight against terrorism are themselves a serious challenge to human rights." Considering these "very dangerous setbacks," Arbour added that she wanted to not only address the emergency human rights situations but also those of an ongoing nature, so that "we will not be so much at the mercy of acute situations that we neglect the chronic."
Asked by Gallagher for her perspective on religious freedom, Arbour asserted that it was important that freedom of religion or belief not be treated as a secondary right, "one that can be modified or changed depending on the situation." All such rights would receive attention under her mandate, she added.
Until June 2004, Arbour was a member of the Supreme Court of Canada. She was appointed to the Court of Appeal for Ontario after having served as a trial judge for the High Court of Justice for Supreme Court of Ontario since 1987. --Public Affairs and Religious Liberty/AR
Iraq Update
According to Middle East Union secretary-treasurer Homer Trecartin, after the recent attacks on Christian churches no damage to Adventist churches or injuries to church members have been reported. The situation, however, "certainly does increase the climate of fear and insecurity in the area," says Trecartin. --AR
News Notes
Emile A. (Gus) Brodeur, former publishing director of the Far Eastern Division (now divided into the Southern Asia-Pacific and Northern Asia-Pacific divisions), died at 87 on July 10 in Loma Linda, California. Brodeur began his career as a literature evangelist in 1946. He left the U.S. to go to Indonesia in 1951, and then later went to Singapore. He retired in 1980. Brodeur was preceded in death by his wife, Helen, and is survived by his two sons, David and Larry. --AR
Rio Lindo Adventist Academy sponsored the first North American academy mission trip to Albania. During the school's spring break on March 16-29, 2004, eleven students and three sponsors assisted with the refurbishing of a kindergarten/preschool located in the capital city of Tirana. ADRA-Albania assisted with the project. For more information on participating in similar mission trips to Albania, contact elidon@adraalbania.org. --AR
The Board of Directors for the Bradford-Cleveland Institute (BCI) has approved plans to build a new complex on the campus of Oakwood College. The BCI facility will contain a 500-seat auditorium, four classrooms, and administrative offices. The General Conference, the North American Division, Oakwood College, and the Regional Conferences of North America are all financially supporting the project. --BCI News/AR
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