Adventists Pray for Those Affected by Istanbul Airport Bombings

Transcription

1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Friday, July 1, :10 PM Adventist Heritage Center Adventists Pray for Istanbul Adventists Pray for Those Affected by Istanbul Airport Bombings Rick McEdward, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Middle East and North Africa, joined Adventist believers across the region in praying for those affected by deadly suicide bombings at Istanbul s main airport an attack that felt particularly close to home because regional church administrators and their families often fly through the Turkish air hub. Dozens of people were killed and injured when three attackers armed with bombs and guns detonated their explosives in a Tuesday night confrontation 1

2 with police at the entrance to the international terminal of the Istanbul Atatürk Airport, one of Europe s busiest, news reports said. No one claimed immediate responsibility for the attack. As a church family and as a MENA staff we are praying for the families of those killed and for those who are in hospitals recovering, McEdward said in an ed statement. MENA is the acronym for the Adventist Church s Middle East and North Africa Union, which McEdward leads. Read more A weekly GraceNote from Adventist Review editor Bill Knott We wrestle with God s act of grace just as we struggle with our pride the one because of the other. Our wounded egos, stung by failures we can t hide, seek status through accomplishment. We dream we might add something that will minimize our debt and share in credit for our rescue. But Christ has sovereignly forbidden we have glory of our own: His glory lays ours in the dust. The cost of grace is knowing that we came from dust and will forever sleep in it if we refuse God s gift. The only glory that endures will always shine from Jesus face. So stay in grace. 2

3 -Bill Knott Adventists Observe Day of Prayer as Russia Moves to Limit Missionary Activity Seventh-day Adventist believers across Russia were observing... Read more West Virginia Asks Adventists to Help Oversee Flood Relief The U.S. state of West Virginia has asked the Seventh-day Adventist Church to help oversee the distribution of aid to those... Read more Adventist Millennials Get Tools to Lead at Nepal s First Youth Conference About 50 young people gathered for the first time in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nepal to discuss... Read more 3

4 4,210 Baptized in a Single Sabbath in South Peru An unprecedented Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic campaign in southern Peru has culminated with the baptism of 4,210 people... Read more Vegan Soufflé Ingredients 1 block (14 ounces) firm tofu 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon turmeric 4

5 ¼ cup water 10 ounces frozen or fresh spinach ¼ cup diced onion 1 15 ounce can garbanzo beans/chickpeas (juice of) Instructions Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 9-inch pie pan or similar sized dish with nonstick spray. Blend the first six ingredients together in a blender until smooth. Place inside a large bowl. Drain the garbanzo bean juice into a medium-sized bowl. Save the garbanzo beans for another recipe, like hummus. In a non-stick frying pan, sauté onion until translucent along with the frozen or fresh spinach and any other veggies you may enjoy such as mushrooms. Add the sautéed vegetables to the tofu mix and stir thoroughly. Using a hand-held mixer, blend the garbanzo juice on high until it becomes foamy and can hold the peaks made when lifting up the mixer. Using a spatula, pour the garbanzo foam into the large bowl and gently fold the foam into the tofu mixture. Once it is folded together (be careful to avoid stirring and not to over mix) pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake for minutes. Test the soufflé using a knife. When the knife comes out clean the soufflé is ready to eat! 5

6 Adventist Review Adventist World AR On the Air Photo Galleries Contribute Photo Submissions Screening Room Twitter Facebook In This Issue News Blogs Reader Response Contact Us Log In Copyright 2016 Adventist Review, All rights reserved. You are receiving this because you opted in at our website. Our mailing address is: Adventist Review Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these s? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list 6

7 Login Search Subscribe Menu The entrance hall of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. (Sergei S. Rublëv / Wikipedia) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive First Adventist Awarded Nobel Prize for Blindness ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Using Junk Mail to Share Jesus for Free ADRA Assists 9,000 Families After Flooding in Bangladesh Sources of livelihood have been swept away, ADRA says. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

8 Andrew McChesney News editor, Adventist Review Adventists Observe Day of Prayer as Russia Moves to Limit Missionary Activity An Adventist leader also appeals to the Russian president to reject the legislation. POSTED JUNE 28, 2016 Appended on June 29 with news that Russia's upper house has approved the legislation S eventh-day Adventist believers across Russia were observing a day of fasting and prayer on Tuesday over proposed legislation that would severely restrict missionary activity in the country by, among other things, banning religious gatherings in homes and requiring people who wish to share their faith online or through religious literature to first secure proper documents. Leaders of the Adventist Church s Euro-Asia Division, which is based in Moscow and whose territory covers most of the former Soviet Union, called for the day of fasting and prayer as they appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to reject the legislation, which was approved by Russia s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, on June 24. The legislation, which is part of a raft of antiterrorism bills, now needs to be approved by the upper house, the Federation Council, and then Putin to become law. In connection with the State Duma s adoption of legislation significantly restricting the freedom of missionary activity and its upcoming hearing in the Federation Council, we are appealing to you to unite in fasting and prayer on June 28 for God's intervention and an extension of a period of grace for the unhindered preaching of the gospel in Russia, division leaders said in a statement. The leaders cited Proverbs 21: 1, which says, The king s heart is in the hand of the Lord, like the rivers of water; he turns it wherever He wishes (NKJV). Let s pray intensely for the spiritual revival of the church of God, not only as a community of believers, but also for each of us personally as a witness for Christ, the leaders said. Appeal to Putin The day of prayer and fasting came as Oleg Goncharov, director of the public affairs and religious liberty department at the Euro-Asia Division, appealed to Putin to reject the legislation. It is impossible for believers to comply with the requirements not to express their religious beliefs and to be silent even in their own homes as required by the legislation, Goncharov said in an open letter (in Russian) to Putin published Monday on the division s website. If this legislation is approved, the religious situation in the country will grow considerably more complicated and many believers will find themselves in exile and subjected to reprisals because of our faith, he said. All of this can t help but worry all faithful Seventh-day Adventist Christians, who have carried out their activities in Russia for more than 130 years. Goncharov, who is a member of a Kremlin advisory council on religious organizations and co-chairs a council of Protestant churches in Russia, called the legislation a flagrant violation of fundamental human rights, of the inalienable right given to every person by their Creator to express their religious convictions, and of rights enshrined in the Russian Constitution and international law. He also expressed concern that the wording of the legislation was vague and open to the interpretation of law enforcement agencies.

9 A Russian citizen convicted of violating the proposed legislation would face a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 rubles (U.S.$75 to $765), while an organization would face a fine of 100,000 to 1 million rubles ($1,525 to $15,265). Citizens of other countries would be deported. The Kremlin has not responded publicly to appeals to revise the legislation. Human rights advocates have also called for changes, saying several antiterrorism measures violate international law. Ganoune Diop, director of the public affairs and religious liberty department for the Adventist world church, said he was monitoring the situation and working closely with Goncharov. What is at stake here is more than freedom of religion, Diop said. It also includes the other fundamental freedoms: freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. All of these fundamental freedoms are interrelated, interdependent, and indivisible. Key Adventist Concerns Goncharov cautioned that the missionary component of the bill would affect millions of people and said its apparently unconstitutional language has sown confusion among religious denominations and legal experts who specialize in religious matters. He said he was especially concerned about a provision that prohibits the exercise of missionary activity in residential areas, thus effectively legalizing the invasion of citizens privacy by forbidding them from expressing their religious beliefs or meeting their religious needs even at home. The bill also requires believers who want to share their faith with others, including through the Internet, to possess necessary documents from a religious association. This forces citizens to join religious communities in order to exercise their inalienable right to freedom of conscience, which is a gross violation of the Russian Constitution and international law, Goncharov said. The legislation, which was abruptly introduced into the package of antiterrorism bills on June 20, defines missionary activity as public worship and other religious rites and ceremonies; the distribution of religious literature, printed, audio, and video materials; public fundraising for religious purposes; conducting worship and religious meetings; and preaching. Goncharov said the Adventist Church joined other religious denominations in supporting government efforts to combat extremism and terrorism. But he said the section on missionary activity went too far and its rapid introduction and approval in just three days violated federal law by bypassing required discussions with a State Duma committee on religious organizations and with representatives of religious organizations that would be directly affected by the bill. Russia has always been a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country that respects the rights and freedoms of every person regardless of his or her religion, Goncharov said. The adoption of this legislation would put hundreds of thousands of believers from various denominations in a very difficult position. He appealed to Putin to return the legislation to the State Duma for revision. We continually pray for you, dear Mr. President, as well as for all state authorities, he said. Update The upper house of Russia's parliament, the Federation Council, approved the legislation on Wednesday, June 29. If signed by Putin, the legislation will go into effect on July 20. Putin s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Wednesday that the president was aware of concerns about the legislation and retained the right to veto it, The Moscow Times newspaper reported. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions

10 Events Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Partners Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

11 Login Search Subscribe Menu Police officers delivering donations to a warehouse in Belle, West Virginia, on Wednesday. (Photos: Mountain View Conference) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive First Adventist Awarded Nobel Prize for Blindness ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Using Junk Mail to Share Jesus for Free North Americans Embrace God s Closet, a New Way to Share Clothing Church leaders plan to take the outreach program across the North American Division. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

12 West Virginia Asks Adventists to Help Oversee Flood Relief Volunteers set up a warehouse to distribute aid. POSTED JUNE 29, 2016 T, Columbia Union Visitor he U.S. state of West Virginia has asked the Seventh-day Adventist Church to help oversee the distribution of aid to those affected by devastating flashfloods that killed at least 23 people and left thousands of others homeless last week. The flooding occurred about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Beckley, West Virginia, where Adventists from around the country will converge to offer free medical care to community members during a Your Best Pathway to Health event scheduled for July The area was in dire need prior to the event. This storm compounds that, said Minnie McNeil, a senior Adventist Community Services officer, who is spearheading the procurement of a management team to operate a warehouse at state officials' request in Belle, just south of the state capital, Charleston. State officials have asked the church to both operate the warehouse and to process donations in Belle, said Frank Bondurant, vice president for ministries development at the church s Columbia Union. The church also has been asked to lead out in crisis counseling and to minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of survivors. Your church is on the scene and actively engaged in the relief effort, Bondurant said. Cleaning supplies and drinking water awaiting distribution at the Belle warehouse on Wednesday. Government officials have sought Adventist assistance after previous disasters. Earlier this month, the government of the Canadian province of Alberta put the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in charges of distributing aid to people affected by a wildfire that forced the evacuation of the city of Fort McMurray. Read also: Canada Puts ADRA in Charge of Relief Efforts After Fort McMurray Fire In West Virginia, a team from Mountain View Conference s Adventist Community Services was working with the Columbia Union and North American Division to open the warehouse Wednesday.

13 Mountain View Conference will be in a position to assist, build relationships and provide ministry based on disinterested benevolence, McNeil said. This is our time to minister as Christ ministered. Larry Murphy, director of Adventist Community Services for the Mountain View Conference, appealed for volunteers. If you have ACS training and can spend some time in the Charleston area, call my cell at , Murphy said. Monetary donations can be sent to the Mountain View Conference at 1400 Liberty Street, Parkersburg, West Virginia and marked WV Flood Relief. I want to thank everyone who has been praying for our neighbors in southern West Virginia, Murphy said. New storms have created new flooding and new victims suffering loss. Please keep this dangerous situation before the Lord in prayer. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

14 Login Search Subscribe Menu Women singing at a youth conference in a remote mountain village church in Kaping, Nepal. (Photos: Umesh Pokherel) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive First Adventist Awarded Nobel Prize for Blindness ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Using Junk Mail to Share Jesus for Free North Americans Embrace God s Closet, a New Way to Share Clothing Church leaders plan to take the outreach program across the North American Division. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

15 Andrew McChesney News editor, Adventist Review Adventist Millennials Get Tools to Lead at Nepal s First Youth Conference The inaugural youth advisory drafts a five-year plan to involve young people in ministry. POSTED JUNE 29, 2016 A bout 50 young people gathered for the first time in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Nepal to discuss how their generation would actively participate in furthering the church s mission of proclaiming the soon return of Jesus. The group of millennials from 18 Adventist churches traveled for hours, including by foot, to attend the three-day conference in a remote mountain village church in Kaping, 20 miles (30 kilometers) west of Nepal s border with China. Rain, inconvenient transportation, and a five-hour hike on a treacherous, mountainous path did not diminish the hope of these young people to be empowered to join the church in sharing God s love in practical ways, said Umesh Pokherel, president of the Adventist Church in Nepal. The inaugural Nepal Youth Ministries Advisory, themed Pass It On and led by Mohan Bhatti, youth director of the church s Southern Asia Division, drafted a five-year strategic plan to involve young people in church ministry. Bhatti told the attendees a mix of young pastors, gospel workers, and young lay men and women that the first step was to identify their talents so they could begin to prayerfully consider their roles in fulfilling the church s mission. From left: pastors Mohan Bhatti, Umesh Pokharel, and Rosan Parsai speaking at the conference. Bhatti noted that the youth department of the Adventist world church had come up with a program, also called Pass It On, to allow the younger generation to join forces with the church by becoming an integral part in the effort to share the Adventist message and values. Between devotionals and seminars, the young people brainstormed on what programs they could introduce and implement in their neighborhoods. The Adventist Church has about 5,000 members worshipping in 37 churches and 16 companies across Nepal.

16 The young people also shared their faith. A young woman gave an emotional testimony about how her sister s illness had resulted in her parents and the rest of the family becoming Adventist. The sister died giving birth. Attendees left the June conference energized to serve, said Pokherel, whose official title is president of the Nepal Section of Seventh-day Adventists. The young pastors said they would now knock on the door of the Nepal Section with their programs rather than the Nepal Section knocking on the doors of young people with its programs, he said. News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.

17 Login Search Subscribe Menu A woman being baptized outside an Adventist church in southern Peru on Sabbath, June 25. (SAD) Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive First Adventist Awarded Nobel Prize for Blindness ASI and Adventist Church Join Forces on Total Member Involvement Using Junk Mail to Share Jesus for Free North Americans Embrace God s Closet, a New Way to Share Clothing Church leaders plan to take the outreach program across the North American Division. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

18 4,210 Baptized in a Single Sabbath in South Peru Church members actively participate in an unprecedented evangelistic campaign. POSTED JUNE 30, 2016, South American Division, with Adventist Review staff n unprecedented Seventh-day Adventist evangelistic campaign in southern Peru has culminated with the baptism of 4,210 people, local church leaders said. A The initiative, organized by the Adventist Church s South Peru Union in harmony with the world church s Total Member Involvement program, encouraged church members to give Bible studies in their communities and then to preach at 2,905 meeting sites in 20 cities from June 18 to 25. The baptisms took place last Sabbath at the conclusion of the campaign, which was called Mil Veces Más (A Thousand Times More), after Deuteronomy 1:11, which says, May the Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you! (NKJV). Edwin Regalado, an evangelist in the South Peru Union, said church members must grab onto this biblical promise. We must be a part of God s blessings a thousand times over and share them with others, he said. The Adventist Church has about 220,000 members worshipping in some 5,000 congregations across Peru, according to the latest figures from the Adventist world church s Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research. Peru, a predominantly Roman Catholic country, has a population of 30 million. The mass baptism in southern Peru follows a series of large baptisms elsewhere in the world this year. About 100,000 people were baptized after an evangelistic series at 2,227 sites across Rwanda in May. Local church leaders credited Total Member Involvement the active participation of church members in bringing neighbors to Jesus for the record number of baptisms. Another 4,012 people were baptized at an evangelistic rally in Venezuela in April, and 800 were baptized after an evangelistic program was uplinked via satellite to more than 230 sites across Papua New Guinea in March.

19 People watching a baptismal ceremony at one of the 2,905 sites where evangelistic meetings were held. (SAD) News & Features Subscriber Access About Departments Resources Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed Copyright 2016, Adventist Review. All rights reserved worldwide.