In commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the end of the First World War the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Germany adopted the declaration "The Audacity of Peacemaking" ("Mut zum Frieden"). It was published in the February 2018 issue of the church magazine "Adventisten heute". In the statement the leadership of the Adventist Church recommends its members not to participate directly or indirectly in a war.
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Read MoreDr. Pedrito Maynard-Reid (APF Board Chairperson) gives presentation titled, “JUSTICE: A Radical, Prophetic Call to the Academy and the Pew.”
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Read MoreDr. Pedrito Maynard-Reid, APF Board Chairperson, to speak on justice in WWU lectureship. Live-stream available.
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Read MoreThe 2nd Annual ASJ Conference will be November 3-5, 2017, at Washington Adventist University.
Read MoreNew stories on peace-related themes published by the NAD and GC.
Read MoreKimberly Luste Maran interviewed Colonel Randall Larsen, USAF (Ret.) about his documentary Operation Whitecoat (Filmmaker talks about documentary on Adventist volunteers in Army's "Operation Whitecoat", NADAdventist.org, 21 June 2016). The article begins:
"Operation Whitecoat" is a documentary that tells the story of more than 2,300 Adventist, noncombatant conscientious objectors who volunteered for biodefense research studies from 1954-1973. These patriots are described as showing extraordinary commitment to their religious principles and great courage to participate in tests that produced outcomes reaching far beyond Army biodefense.
Through 151 medical studies during 19 years, a vast amount of data was gathered on naturally-occurring diseases. Thought the project is not without some controversy, thirteen important vaccines still used around the world were developed and tested for safety and efficacy during Operation Whitecoat. Vaccines still in use today include Yellow Fever, Hepatitis A, Plague, Tularemia, Typhus, Rift Valley Fever, Q Fever, Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis, Western Equine Encephalitis, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Chikungunya, and Adenovirus.
Maran and Larsen wrap-up the interview with the following two exchanges:
Who do you hope watches this, and why?
I made the film as a tribute to the commitment, courage, and contributions of the Whitecoats. The Whitecoats and their families are the primary audience. We also hope that the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church will learn more about these extraordinary men, and hope that the church will use the film as a teaching tool to facilitate discussion on non-combatant conscientious objectors, ethics, and service to one's community and country. We eventually hope to take this inspiring story to a broad audience who have not yet heard about Whitecoats, and who have little knowledge of the Adventist Church.
How can people watch the documentary film?
This film is available for purchase; for more information and to watch a trailer, go to: http://operationwhitecoatmovie.com.
To read the complete interview, visit NADAdventist.org.
The Adventist Review posted a story recently about the Centerville Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dayton, Ohio, United States. The congregation is a church plant focusing on the needs of refugees from Africa. Excerpts:
Most of the refugees come from Rwanda, with some from Burundi and Congo. The majority do not yet know English but are making efforts to learn.
“Many in the group have never lived in a setting like the one they are experiencing [in the US], because many of them have spent 20 years in refugee camps, living only in tents,” [senior pastor Winston Baldwin] said.
“As you can imagine, the physical needs of these refugees are great,” said Baldwin. “They need everything from clothing and household goods to washers and dryers.” Many Centerville members have donated clothing, appliances and even provided plumbing repairs.
The complete article is available online: "US Africa Refugee Church Plant Brings Reconciliation, Growth" (Heidi Shoemaker, Adventist Review, 27 July 2017).
We should have reported this story months ago. The TED News Network posted a story about the Watford Peace Garden on September 21, 2016. Excerpt:
Officially opened in a moving and thought provoking ceremony on Wednesday, 21 September, the International Day of Peace, the idea for the garden arose out of a recognition that 130 Adventist men, many of them based around Stanborough Park, the Church headquarters office in Watford, went to prison and suffered severely for their non-combatant values during World War I. Even in World War II, where the government had a much better understanding of Adventist principles, Adventist men had to appear before a tribunal and were then assigned to work of ‘national importance’.
Read the entire article here (Richard Daly/tedNEWS).
Gabriela Phillips shares about her work as the NAD Adventist-Muslim Relations Coordinator.
Read MoreA look at the 6th Annual Andrews Social Consciousness Summit. Theme: Border Wars.
Read MoreJeff Boyd explores what it means to be a peacemaker.
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