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Membership in Southern Africa
Tops 1.7 Million


n the year since the establishment of the Adventist church's new world division in southern Africa and the Indian Ocean, 100,000 people have joined the church, an overall growth of 4.5 percent, bringing membership there to 1.7 million. The Southern Africa Division (SID) is the fourth largest of the church's 13 world divisions, behind the Inter-America, South America and East-Central Africa divisions.

These statistics were revealed during SID's annual business meetings held in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Twenty countries and islands, ranging from St. Helena and Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic to Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa on the continent, to Indian Ocean territories including Mozambique, Madagascar and Mauritius, comprise the region with an overall population of 50 million.

By August of 2005, SID church leaders expect another one million members. Much of the growth appears to derive from new churches being started in the region; 2003 saw the establishment of 96 new congregations. Also, all regional church administrators will conduct evangelistic meetings and encourage local church leaders in similar efforts.

According to Pardon Mwansa (above), SID president, leaders must keep their focus on their divine calling: "I have come to realize that an Adventist leader can be so busy working for God that he or she has little time to learn and talk with God," Mwansa said. "This work is spiritual, and as such we need to stay in tune with our heavenly Father."

In other developments, church leadership said efforts would be made to move the division headquarters to a suburb of Johannesburg "as soon as possible." The move would give leaders faster and more economic access to flights traversing the region, as well as access to various embassies and consulates in nearby Pretoria. The present location is not geographically suited to either task, leaders said.
                                                             -- Adventist News Network

Auburn Academy Fire Causes $3.5 Million Damages
A fire that destroyed the women's dormitory at Auburn Adventist Academy in Auburn, Washington, on November 17, caused about $3.5 million in damages, according to officials at the City of Auburn Fire Department.

All 83 of the residents escaped injury in the blaze but they apparently lost all their belongings. The displaced students were housed overnight in motels. Next day, officials from the school and Washington Conference closed the school until December 1, giving the students an extended Thanksgiving break.

According the King County Journal, the three-alarm blaze gutted the three-story, 1940s wood-frame structure. Within two hours, academy officials booked rooms for students with no place to stay, and several parents arrived on the scene with bedding, clothing, and personal items.

Washington Conference vice president Doug Bing says it could take two weeks before the cause of the fire is determined. Building engineers, fire officials, and conference representatives met to determine if the building could be stabilized so that fire investigators can do their work. A decision was not reached as of press time.

"We're grateful that everyone is alive and safe," Bing says. "This is a tragic loss to alumni as well as the students. However, we will rebuild the facility and continue to educate student for Christ."

Established in 1919, the academy's enrollment numbers about 270 students, with about half living on campus. Though most of the students come from the Pacific Northwest, 53 are international students. For more details on the fire click here.


New Adventist Church Opens in Iraq
A new Seventh-day Adventist church is open in the city of Mosul, 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of Baghdad. The dedication service, witnessed by 100 members and visitors from neighboring towns, took place November 1. The opening of the new church is regarded by local church leaders in Iraq as a "bold move," considering the continued lawlessness in the area, coupled with a degree of ambiguity about what the future holds for all religious minorities in Iraq.

About 40 members from the Baghdad Church made the five-hour journey by bus to Mosul so they could share the joy of the small group of Adventists there. According to Muneer Abdel Masih, an elder in the Baghdad church, one stretch of the journey was of special concern.

"The area between Samara and Tikrit, the birthplace of [former Iraqi leader] Saddam Hussein, concerned us because it is still a volatile region. But we prayed for safe passage before leaving Baghdad and [we] thank God our journey was smooth and uneventful," Masih said.

Hannah Katrib, another of the Baghdad church members who made the long trip, said, "We had a special service in which we felt the presence of the Lord through songs of praise led by the youth, which was followed by a report detailing the history of the church in Mosul. At the close of the sermon [there was] a solemn prayer of dedication by Ghanem Fargo [former secretary-treasurer of the church], and then a wonderful potluck lunch."

Mosul is considered the cradle of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Iraq. The first church in that country was established in March of 1923 after missionary W. K. Ising baptized seven people. In 1931 a church school was opened.

Following civil conflict in the area, most of the membership moved to Baghdad. Recently church leaders decided to buy and convert a new house, with improved facilities, in a more modern part of Mosul. The building also incorporates a modest residence for the pastor. The church is located near the wall of the ancient city of Nineveh, close to the palace of the Assyrian king, Ashur Panipal. According to Muslim tradition, the tomb of Nabi Younes, the biblical prophet Jonah, is about two kilometers away.

Iraqi Adventist church leaders want to open more churches in the area as opportunities arise. Basim Fargo, current secretary-treasurer of the church there, said, "In the spirit of opening new churches in Iraq we were motivated to go up north to the city of Unhuq to visit a property where we could establish a new church plant in the city."-�Adventist News Network


General Conference Leader Honored
At the October 2003 Conference of Secretaries of Christian World Communions, Bert B. Beach was honored and thanked for his 32 years of service as secretary of the organization, beginning in 1970.

"It has been a great experience to serve for over three decades," said Beach. "And I was especially pleased that they elected John Graz, my successor as director of the department of public affairs and religious liberty for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the new secretary of the conference. This was a tribute to the Christian presence and witness of the Adventist Church."

The Conference of Christian World Communions is an informal yearly meeting for exchange of information and Christian fellowship, in which some 20 Christian world bodies participate, varying in spectrum from the Salvation Army to the Moscow Patriarchate of the Orthodox Church.


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