More than 800 people attended a TED-style weekend of presentations held in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, Nov. 4-5, and more than double that number watched online. PROPHETICA 2017 featured a diverse list of presenters, including award-winning cookbook author Sue Radd, leading lifestyle disease researcher Ross Grant, radio host and history buff Lyle Southwell, and former punk rocker turned pastor David Asscherick.
Rick McEdward, president of the Middle East and North Africa Union of the Seventh-day Adventists, strongly condemned the atrocious terrorist attack that took place on Nov. 24, 2017, on the Al-Rawdah mosque during Friday prayers in the town of Bir al-Abed, in Sinai, Egypt. “We strongly condemn the criminal act, which was committed within a sacred place of worship and prayer,” said McEdward.
Two months after Hurricane Maria shut down Puerto Rico, parts of the island are still without power and water, hundreds of buildings and homes still await repairs, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church continues to provide food and other relief services. “This storm really hit us hard,” said Pastor Luis Rivera, treasurer of the church in Puerto Rico. Pastor Rivera travelled to Miami last week to report to top leaders at the Inter-American Division and Maranatha International Volunteers leaders on the property damages left by Maria.
Loma Linda University Health is partnering with other Christian universities and hospitals in Africa and the United States to create a new program to support specialty training for physicians in family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics in Africa. During its inaugural meeting earlier this month, the Christian Academy of African Physicians (CAAP) was established to develop medical and spiritual curricula and to create partnerships that support the creation of new Christian primary care training programs for the continent of Africa.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America has been preparing to launch its Year of the Child and Adolescent initiative in 2018 and will seek to reach as many local church leaders with a special launch program that will be streamed live over the internet on Dec. 9, 2017. The Year of the Child and Adolescent initiative will seek to reinforce Christian values and encourage youngsters to study, live and share the message with their friends and neighbors wherever they go.
Young finalists representing Inter-America’s Seventh-day Adventist church territories will take part in the final Bible competition of the year on Dec. 2. Twenty finalists are set to travel to Riviera Maya, Mexico, to test their knowledge on the books of Daniel, Hosea and Joel after months of competing against peers across campgrounds and churches in their respective countries and islands.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Mexico continues to assist hundreds of families affected by the earthquakes which struck several states in September, toppling buildings, killing dozens, destroying homes and leaving many homeless. ADRA Mexico will have assisted some 13,000 people who distributed food baskets in dozens of communities in the States of Morelos, Puebla and Mexico City, at the end of this month, according to César Hernández, ADRA Mexico director.
Hundreds of cleaning kits are being sent to hurricane stricken islands in the English Caribbean territory this week, thanks to donations recently sent into Miami by the Adventist Community Services in the Allegheny East Conference in Pennsylvania and the Columbia Union in Maryland. Some 1,615 buckets filled with disinfectant and cleaning supplies will go to St. Thomas for distribution in Anguilla, Tortola and St. John, as well as Dominica and Antigua for residents of Barbuda, church leaders said.
One of United States most prominent health topics came into focus last month with a panel of Loma Linda University Health experts identifying issues surrounding the opioid addiction and abuse epidemic, setting the stage for a discussion of proper pain management by health professionals and addressing underlying matters in addiction.
Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America met with Maranatha Volunteer International (MVI) leaders yesterday to discuss rebuilding efforts in the recently hurricane-ravaged territory in the Caribbean. Leaders briefly took note of the scope of damage to churches and schools after hurricanes Irma and Maria in the worse hit islands during a meeting at the Inter-American Division (IAD) headquarter office in Miami, Florida.
Two La Sierra University social work faculty members and a university church pastor gave a presentation at a national conference recently on ways churches and social workers can join forces to better meet the needs of impoverished populations. Associate Professor of Social Work Daphne Thomas, Assistant Professor of Social Work Marni Straine, and university alum Steve Hemenway, a La Sierra University Church pastor, led a workshop titled “Bridging Gaps: Social Workers Provide Solutions in Faith-based Arenas” for the National Association of Christian Social Workers convention.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North Caribbean Conference territory is counseling church members and community members as they continue to recover from the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria. A team from the CW Educational and Behavioral Center based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, toured several churches and communities in St. Croix and provided crisis counseling, which helps individuals cope with life after traumatic events.