WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

or the first time, 2,000 young people from 15 South Pacific nations gathered outside Australia for a regional youth congress, which was opened December 30 by the Hon. Laisenia Qarase, prime minister of Fiji.

The prime minister and Mrs. Qarase interrupted their vacation to welcome congress participants on behalf of Fiji, flying from their home island specifically for this event. Mr. Qarase was greeted with a traditional welcoming ceremony. He thanked organizers for choosing Fiji to host such an event. "I thank them for their confidence in us and for all the hard work they have put into make this congress possible," he said.

For those visiting Fiji for the first time, Mr. Qarase said, "We hope it will provide enduring memories that will bring you back again."

Lead by congress director Pastor Gilbert Cangy, delegates marked a minute's silence and prayed for the millions affected by the Asian tsunami tragedy.

Mr. Qarase thanked the Adventist Church for its work in Fiji, highlighting a current proposal from the church to develop a program for youth in crisis.

Commenting on recent world tragedies, Mr. Qarase said, "It would be easy to envisage not only our youth but an entire planet in crisis. We should always remember that the picture painted by the media -- while undeniably real and genuinely disturbing -- is actually an incomplete one.                                                             --Adventist News Network

Adventists Support Human Rights Day
As hundreds marched through Times Square on December 10, the fifty-sixth anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, people from New York to Vietnam, Botswana to Paris, joined the United Nations celebrations, calling for education and action. Adventists were among those who supported these celebrations.

"Human rights education is much more than a lesson in schools or a theme for a day," said U. N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. "It is a process to equip people with the tools they need to live lives of security and dignity."

The General Assembly dedicated the morning plenary session to reviewing the achievements of the U.N. Decade for Human Rights Education (1995-2004). In Geneva, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said the day "is a call to action in the face of the enormous effort needed to make human rights a reality for everyone. One strategy to achieve that reality is education." Arbour, who met Adventist Church U.N. liaison director Jonathan Gallagher soon after her appointment as commissioner, thanked the Adventist Church for its continued support in speaking out on issues of discrimination and violations of human rights.

Events marking Human Rights Day included the release of ABC-Teaching Human Rights, a practical hands-on booklet for primary and secondary school students that was published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in partnership with the United Nations Economic and Social Council Division for the Promotion of Quality Education. It includes activities that teach respect for others and the environment, information on basic rights and freedoms, and how to fight discrimination.

"For many years the Adventist Church has spoken out for the rights of others," says Eugene Hsu, a vice president for the Adventist World Church who helps oversee the Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty. "So it is appropriate on such a special occasion to say that we will continue to promote human rights for all individuals, including their right to basic education, health care, and religious beliefs."

For more information about the church work at the United Nations, visit un.adventist.org. --Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty/AR.

86-Year-Old Adventist Woman Completes Marathon
Gladys Burrill, 86, made history on December 12, 2004, as the oldest woman to ever complete the Honolulu Marathon. And just over nine hours after crossing the starting line, she finished first in her division. Last year while watching the marathon, Burrill was overcome with the desire to participate. So in January 2004, she began to train so regularly that her neighbors have become accustomed to the sight of her speed walking.

Those who know her are not surprised at her energy and tenacity. Burrill, a member of the Medford Adventist Church in Oregon, has raised six children, is grandmother to 18, and is great-grandmother to 14. She has also climbed Oregon's Mount Hood and explored the part of Alaska that's in the Artic Circle.
                         --Oregon Conference Communication Department/AR.

NEWS COMMENTARY

BY JAMES COFFIN

uring a recent flight to Australia, I sat beside a bearded, long-haired throwback from the '60s. So when the subject of legalizing marijuana arose, I expected him to be a supporter.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

"I have extremely strong feelings about this topic," he told me, his eyes welling and his voice becoming husky. He then described his son's marijuana-induced schizophrenia and its attendant horrors. He revealed his own anguish by saying, "I guess parents are never happier than their unhappiest child. So my wife and I have not had much happiness for several years."

A few days later I learned more of the story of not-so-harmless marijuana-from an article in the Sydney Morning Herald (December 13, 2004).

According to a quote cited from the British Medical Journal, "Exposure to cannabis during adolescence and young adulthood increases the risk of psychotic symptoms later in life." With the average age of first-time users now at 16, use by 13-year-olds isn't uncommon.

Ian Hickie, professor of psychiatry at the University of Sydney, stated in the Herald article that modern imaging techniques show that the brain continues to develop-mainly in the frontal lobes, where many higher cognitive functions take place-at least until the early 20s.

"The earlier the exposure to drugs . . . ," said Hickie, "the more likely it is there'll be harm."

The day I discovered the Herald article, I had lunch with a pastor friend. When I mentioned what I'd read, he said, with evident pain, "That's exactly what happened to my son."

When it comes to marijuana, the scriptural warning of Proverbs 14:12 (NIV) couldn't be more apropos: "There is a way that seems right to a man [at least to far too many], but in the end it leads to death [or a life so diminished that death might be preferable]."

_________________________
James Coffin is the senior pastor of Markham Woods Seventh-day Adventist Church in Longwood, Florida, and director of the Global Mission Center for Secular/Postmodern Mission.

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