, writing from
Cavite, Philippines, with additional reporting by Adventist Review staff
A branch office of
the Ellen G.
White Estate has opened at the Adventist International Institute of Advanced
Studies in the Philippines, the second such facility to be established outside
the U.S.
The branch office contains copies of Ellen White documents and other historical materials from
the main office at the world church’s General Conference headquarters in Silver
Spring, Maryland, and it will provide AIIAS seminary students as well as local Adventists and non-Adventists alike
with increased opportunities to study the church’s heritage, Adventist
officials said.
“Elevating
the research center to an estate branch has been a dream of mine for several
years as this [AIIAS] is a General Conference institution … eligible to have a
branch office,” James Nix, director of the Ellen G. White Estate in Maryland,
said at an inauguration ceremony on Sabbath, June 28. “What we are doing is
acknowledging what you already know — that international students come to AIIAS
to prepare to work for the Lord’s cause.”
The
Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies was among 13 Adventist
universities around the world that hosted an Ellen G. White Estate research
center until the upgrade to branch office took place. Only one other non-U.S.
university has a branch office, Adventist University of Africa in
Kenya. The other branch offices are at Andrews University in Michigan, Loma
Linda University in California, and Oakwood University in Alabama.
The
Ellen G. White Estate was created by the last will and testament of church
co-founder Ellen White and has a mandate to act as her agent in the custody of
her writings and the handling of her property.
“The importance of having a branch
office here on the AIIAS campus is because of the seminary," AIIAS
President Stephen Guptill said in a statement on the institute's
website. "It serves as
the place where our pastors and Bible teachers are trained for this
region and really, the whole world.”
Reuel
Almocera, director of the new branch office and an assistant director of the
White Estate, said the branch office has been incorporated as the Center for
Adventist Research, a new organization with an expanded vision to collate
local, indigenous and resource materials on Adventist heritage in Asia. The branch
office houses copies of White’s books translated in about 15 languages, with The Desire of Ages and The Great Controversy being the most
popular.
Almocera
said the branch office, as part of its new role, would also reach out to Adventists
by establishing mini-research centers, developing portable exhibits and
providing fun activities like trivia games for church programs.
“The
church celebrates Heritage Sabbath on Oct. 22 every year, and we can serve as
resource persons for local churches and academic institutions,” he said.
Nix
and Alberto Timm, associate director for the White Estate who attended the
inauguration ceremony, stressed that everyone was welcome make use of the
resources at the branch office.
“A
branch office like this is for everybody — old people, adults, young people,
children,” Timm said. “This is not restricted for Adventists but also for those
who want to know more about Ellen White, like theologians from other church
organizations who intend further research.”
“Come,
study, read, absorb and believe,” Nix said. “Come and enjoy the fruits from
Ellen White as she points to the Bible and helps us on our way to heaven.”
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