First religious liberty symposium in Guadeloupe spurs civic engagement

Jan. 22, 2013 Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe…ANN staff

Seventh-day Adventist public affairs leaders heralded the church’s first religious liberty symposium here in Guadeloupe as a model for more civic engagement at local regions worldwide.

Ganoune Diop, left, associate public affairs director for the Adventist world church, offers a gift to Victorin Lurel, president of the Regional Council of Guadaloupe, at a religious liberty symposium earlier this month.

Earlier this month, some 800 people attended a three-day symposium in this Caribbean island, with Adventist leaders continuing to urge local pastors and administrators to deliberately pursue dialogue with government officials and other religious groups.

In attendance were pastors, local church officials and government leaders, including the island’s top government official Victorin Lurel, president of the Regional Council of Guadaloupe. Guadaloupe is a department of France.

“We think a symposium like this is a model for more Adventist Church conferences and unions to organize locally,” said Ganoune Diop, associate director of the department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL) at the denomination’s world headquarters.

“We want people to better know who Seventh-day Adventists are and be aware of their contributions to the community,” said Diop, who also serves as the church’s liaison to the United Nations.

Roberto Herrera, PARL director for the denomination’s Inter-American Division, said he hopes the event spurs more commitment on behalf of all congregations in understanding the importance of promoting religious freedom. It’s also a chance to promote the church’s commitment to health, education and humanitarian assistance, as well as empowering women and children.

Guadeloupe has long had strong religious liberty, said Max Laurent, president of the Adventist Church’s French Antilles Guiana Union, which oversees Guadeloupe. One challenge, however, is Adventist secondary students periodically running into problems with classes and exams held on Saturdays, the day Adventists observe the biblical Sabbath.

Laurent said church leaders in Guadeloupe would continue to dialogue with government leaders and school officials on behalf of their students.

The Adventist Church will hold a union-wide religious liberty celebration later this year in Martinique.