WORLD NEWS & PERSPECTIVES

alk show host Oprah Winfrey jumpstarted the fund-raising at the fourth annual "Power of a Dream" gala held May 24 at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Washington, D.C., by presenting a check for $1 million to Adventist pastor, musician, and U.S. Dream Academy president Wintley Phipps. Winfrey was the keynote speaker for the event, during which more than $1.8 million was raised for the academy.

U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by Phipps, sponsors the annual gala. Phipps developed the academy as a values-centered, Internet-based learning program for at-risk youth in the United States, with special emphasis on children of prisoners and those in danger of failing school because of a lack of proper academic, social, and financial support. Phipps is also senior pastor of the Palm Bay Adventist Church in Florida,

Oprah Winfrey presents the $1 million check to Wintley Phipps. [photo credit: Jason Miccolo Johnson]

"Almost 70 percent of those incarcerated in American prisons are children of prisoners," Phipps told the Adventist Review when explaining why he felt the need to help this particular at-risk group. "And 80 percent of today's federal prisoners are high-school dropouts."

The academy offers support through tutoring and mentoring programs, computer training, and leadership development for youth ages 7 to 11. It is headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and oversees learning centers in eight U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Georgia; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Orlando, Florida.

"Adventist pastors struggle with the temptation to keep the members in the pew happy, but while we do that, millions are perishing all around us," added Phipps. "God has led me to do wider things in ministry. I wanted to try to do what I could to make a difference in the lives of a very special group of kids, and God has blessed our organization beyond our wildest dreams."

Also in attendance at the gala were Senator Orrin Hatch, Adventist Congressional Representative Sheila Jackson Lee, and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. The Pine Forge Academy and the Dream Kids choirs were among those who performed for the event.

For more information about U.S. Dream Academy, go to www.usdreamacademy.org.                                                    --AR.


Pacific Press Names New President
At its teleconference meeting on June 10, the Pacific Press Publishing Association Board in Nampa, Idaho, named Dale Galusha president-elect of the organization. Galusha has been employed at Pacific Press since 1995 and is currently vice president of sales and ministries. He will assume duties as the new president of Pacific Press on August 11, 2005.

Current president Robert Kyte has been an employee of Pacific Press for more than 25 years, and has served as president for the last 16 years. Under his leadership Pacific Press has achieved and maintained financial stability, while keeping pace with the ever-advancing technology in the publishing industry. Kyte is taking up full-time law practice in Boise, Idaho, but has expressed a deep commitment to the continued success of the publishing ministry and Pacific Press.           --Pacific Press Publishing Association/AR.


PHILIPPINES: ADRA Inaugurates New Office
On May 11, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) inaugurated its new office in the Philippines. Leaders and representatives from the country's universities, hospitals, and local and national government offices attended the ceremony, held at the new office in the town of Silang, 22 miles south of Manila.

The president of ADRA International, Charles Sandefur, sent a letter that was read at the opening ceremony: "Every family needs a home, and I am sure that our ADRA Philippine family will be strengthened and invigorated by this renovated and new facility. . . . Thank you for being such a vital part of this work and for making a difference in the lives of people in the Philippines."

ADRA began work in the Philippines in 1984, and currently implements such projects as disaster assessment, housing development, and health improvement.                --Adventist Development and Relief Agency/AR.


NCU Students Win Regional Microsoft Competition
Four computer science majors from Northern Caribbean University (NCU) bested three other teams from Central America and the Caribbean to triumph in the semifinal match of the 2005 Microsoft Corporation "Imagine Cup" competition held May 17 in the Dominican Republic. A Microsoft official praised the NCU team as being "very skilled presenters."

The final round will take place in Yokohama, Japan, July 27 to August 1. The students will travel to Japan as guests of Microsoft, the world's largest computer software firm. With teams from nine other regional competitions, they will aim for the "Imagine Cup" and its top prize of US$25,000.

Northern Caribbean University is a multidisciplinary institution with an enrollment of some 4,500 students.         --Adventist News Network/AR.


Groundbreaking Held for New Church
Headquarters in North Andhra, India
On May 20 General Conference undersecretary Larry Evans laid the cornerstone for the new office headquarters of the North Andhra Section (NAS), located on seven acres in Rajanagaram. Also participating in the ceremony were the secretary of the Southern Asia Division (SUD), Kalapala Moses, and the president, secretary, and treasurer of the East-Central India Union: Choudampalli John, Measapogu Wilson, and LeRoy Samuel.

The building plans call for an office complex, ten workers' quarters, a church, and a school. A vocational training school is already operating on the site. Spearheading the building project are NAS president, M. R. Satyavadi; secretary, M. D. Edward; and treasurer, M. Shadrach. The project is expected to be completed early in 2006.

NAS headquarters were formerly located in Hyderabad, capital of Andhra Pradesh, which are now the offices for the East-Central India Union.

About 110,000 members worship in 439 congregations in North Andhra Section. During the first three months of 2005, more than 5,000 new members joined the church, 30 new villages were entered, and 30 additional congregations were established in that region.

"Now there are so many [megachurches] that it really takes some kind of team effort or sharing of information in order to keep up with the accuracy," said Scott Thumma, a professor at Hartford Seminary, where the institute is housed.

Thumma is collaborating with experts at Leadership Network, an organization that works with pastors of large churches, to further refine the number of megachurches. He said in an interview that megachurch critics who thought the large congregations were a baby-boom phenomenon that would wane quickly seem to be incorrect.

"They have been increasing almost exponentially over the last 20 years," Thumma said. "We've found megachurches now in just about every state."                                                      --Religious News Service.

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