WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

ome of the basic methods of outreach that helped to establish the Adventist Church in its early years in Croatia, including the distribution of printed materials, are now being resurrected, according to church leaders in that country.

"More than 3,300 Adventists scattered throughout Croatia have a burden to share their faith with the country's 4.5 million inhabitants-most of whom are of Catholic background," says John Arthur, Trans-European Division (TED) publishing director. "Many evangelistic avenues have been explored through the years, but with the more recent onslaught of secularism and materialism, the church's task is not getting any easier."

Thirteen economically priced books have been published in TED during the past two years. "More than 20,000 Steps to Christ have been sold or given away by our part-time literature evangelists, who now number more than 200," reports Croatian Conference publishing director Miroslav Didara.

Two bookstores have also been opened recently under the name Adventus. The general manager, Dragutin Matak, says, "These outlets provide the public with another window into the church." The shop in Zagreb is reputed to be the country's leading Christian resource center. During the opening of the second distribution center in Split, which has an adjacent reading room and refreshment area, Arthur highlighted the three main advantages of print over many other communicational tools: permanence, accuracy, and convenience.

"Adventus has also acquired a mobile bookstand so that titles can be displayed in marketplaces and on busy streets," says Matak. "This too is proving to be a means whereby we can communicate a message of hope to our people."                    --TED Publishing Ministries Department/AR.

Bus Crash Kills West Cameroon President
West Cameroon Mission president Celestin Rakotoarisoa Herimanana, 44, was killed May 4 in a bus crash while returning to Douala from Yaounde, the nation's capital. He is survived by his wife and two young sons.

Pastor Herimanana, a native of Madagascar, was one of the first graduates of the Adventist University of Central Africa in Rwanda, and after pastoring churches in Madagascar and serving as church president there, came to the West Cameroon Mission in 2001. During the past four years, his work led to the region qualifying for "conference" status within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and, colleagues say, he was a beloved minister in the area.

Administrators in the church's West Africa region had planned to elect Herimanana as president of the church in Chad on May 6, meaning a new assignment for the veteran worker.

Herimanana had gone to Yaounde, a three-hour, 155-mile (250 km) bus trip, on May 4 to pick up a long-awaited visa for travel to St. Louis, Missouri, to attend the 58th General Conference Session in June. According to reports, the bus crashed while trying to avoid an oncoming truck.

More than 100,000 Seventh-day Adventist members worship weekly in Cameroon.                                                --Adventist News Network

44 Youth Killed In Road Accident in Zambia
The Adventist Review has learned that 44 students of Kawambwa High School in Zambia were killed in an accident on April 8. Of those, 18 were Adventist youth.

It was the last day of the school term when 110 students packed into a truck on the way to their respective homes when the accident happened.

According to a witness who survived the accident, the driver of the truck lost control when descending the hill and failed to negotiate a corner. The truck overturned, killing 38 students on the spot, seriously injuring some, while others later died in area hospitals.

Zambia's Vice President Lupando Mwape and first lady Maureen Mwanawasa, led thousands of mourners including bereaved family members at the April 14 burial.                     --Adventist News Network

Adventist Doctor Named Pediatrician of the Year
Lidija Odorcic, an Adventist living in Kocevje, was named Slovenia's pediatrician of the year for 2005 by Viva, a national health magazine. The award recognizes "good work, self-sacrifice, kindness, unselfishness, and philanthropy," and was presented to Dr. Odorcic during a banquet held in Ljubljana Castle on March 31.

"This is not the first time an Adventist doctor has gained the top award in this campaign," says Zmago Godina, president of the Slovenian Conference. "In 1999 another Adventist female doctor, Mila Saftic, was named doctor of the year."

"It is also interesting that the Odorcic family moved to the town [where they live] 20 years ago, although there were no Adventists there at the time," Godina adds. "Thanks to their impact on the community, we opened an Adventist church there in June 2002."

More than 500 Adventists worship in 13 churches in Slovenia, which has a population of about 2 million people.

Goundbreaking Held for Illinois Hospital
More than 500 people attended the March 18 groundbreaking ceremony for the new 6-story, 138-bed Adventist Health System hospital to be built in Bolingbrook, Illinois.

"We are very pleased that the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board has recognized the need for a hospital in Bolingbrook to meet the health-care needs of the growing region," said Ernie Sadau, president and CEO of Adventist Health System Midwest Region. "With this new hospital, residents of the area will have access to quality health care and emergency care closer to home."

The new hospital, which will be built for a projected cost of about $152 million, will fully incorporate Bolingbrook Medical Center and is projected to open in 2008.

NEWS COMMENTARY

God and Psychology-a Natural Fit?

BY JEAN KELLNER, editorial assistant for the Adult Bible Study Guide

hat was once an expansive gap between Christianity and psychology is being bridged-and not everyone is happy about it. According to an article in the May/June 2005 issue of Psychology Today magazine, Christians and the church are getting involved in the kind of counseling once reserved for psychologists.

The two camps haven't always agreed. Sigmund Freud, the "father" of modern psychoanalysis, famously called religion a "pathology," the magazine notes. Christian fundamentalists had little regard for psychology, seeing it as a poor substitute for faith and prayer.

Yet, today's Americans are seeking faith-based counselors rather than signing up for plain old psychotherapy. A booming industry has emerged to answer their prayers. God-friendly counseling reflects a growing divide in America: people are turning away from what Psychology Today called "mainstream cultural institutions," such as psychology, to find solutions for the stresses of modern living.

The appeal of religiously-themed counselors is that believers seeking help from a therapist with a Bible on their desk know that their own faith won't be disparaged: mental health professionals tend to be less religious than the general population, the magazine notes, and most traditional psychological education programs have no courses dealing with spiritual matters. In fact, religious people often complain of secular therapists who view a patient's faith as a problem or a symptom, rather than a conviction to be respected and incorporated into the therapeutic dialogue.

As the church regains the ground previously lost to secular psychology, it is important for us to open our doors and our hearts to the challenges and opportunities this presents. Spirit-filled, gifted, and professionally trained lay members should be included in the ministering role, along with pastors, to address the emotional and spiritual needs of family and community. The church should respond by encouraging all who are called and equipped to enter the special ministry of counseling and healing.

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