Adventist Heritage Center

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1 Adventist Heritage Center From: Sent: To: Subject: Adventist Review on behalf of Adventist Review Monday, May 30, :54 AM Adventist Heritage Center Monday Trending Record 95,890 Baptized as Evangelistic Meetings End in Rwanda I Was a Stranger Go North! God Has People There, Too 1

2 36 Accept Christ in First Fiji Baptisms Since Deadly Cyclone Winston Adventist Church Highlights Declining Religious Freedom at Major Conference 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 2

3 Login Search Subscribe Menu Baptismal candidates lining up to enter the water of Lake Kivu, Rwanda, on Sabbath, May 28. (Ted Wilson / Facebook) Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Edward Zinke Is on a Mission to Point Adventist Educators to the Bible Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Raymond Ryckman, Scientist Who Helped Put Loma Linda on Map, Dies at 99 A son of farmers, Ryckman is best known for his contributions to Chagas disease. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

4 Andrew McChesney News editor, Adventist Review Record 95,890 Baptized as Evangelistic Meetings End in Rwanda Remarkable stories emerge from a landmark event that local church leaders say was fueled by Total Member Involvement. POSTED MAY 29, 2016 Belgian citizen visiting relatives in a corner of Rwanda. A A 19-year-old woman who will lose her job. A police officer assigned to protect Seventh-day Adventist Church president Ted N.C. Wilson. These are among the record-breaking 95,890 people who accepted Christ in baptism during a two-week evangelistic series that wrapped up this weekend, church leaders said Sunday. Additional baptisms connected to the meetings at 2,227 sites across the African country are expected to take place over the next few weeks, bringing the total to more than 100,000 and making the May event the largest of its kind in the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. You are an example for the entire world. We praise God for that, Wilson told a crowd of 6,000 people at a final Sabbath worship service in the resort city of Gisenyi. Among those in attendance were 1,971 people baptized in nearby Lake Kivu in the morning. Local church leaders credited the Holy Spirit and Total Member Involvement for the unprecedented number of baptisms. When each member is involved, there will be a big harvest, said Sophonie Setako, president of the Adventist Church's North-West Rwanda Field, which includes Gisenyi and had 10,778 baptisms. By visiting people and assisting people in need, we have gained many members. Total Member Involvement is the name of a world church initiative that encourages each of the church s 19.1 million members worldwide to find ways to share Jesus with friends and communities. The previous record was 30,000 baptisms after a two-week evangelistic series in Zimbabwe in May In Rwanda, the church s 720,000 members took Total Member Involvement to heart. Many studied the Bible with neighbors and went door-to-door, inviting people to the evangelistic meetings. Members also donated money for food, cows, and health insurance policies aimed at improving the lives of impoverished people in their communities. Medical clinics at three locations provided free services to nearly 6,000 people over the course of a week.

5 Steve Nsabimana, 16, is a Belgian national who happened to be visiting Rwanda. (Andrew McChesney / AR) A Change Has Taken Place Thousands of people packed the sandy shore of Lake Kivu to witness Sabbath s baptisms. The elderly and disabled were baptized first, followed by pregnant women and long lines of men and women. Eight pastors baptized 1,971 people in about 2 ½ hours. People emerging from the lake couldn t have been happier. Wide smiles filled many faces as they exited the water and made their way to white tents, where they changed out of their water-soaked baptismal robes. A change has taken place in me, said Steve Nsabimana, 16, a Belgian citizen who was on vacation, visiting relatives near Gisenyi, when the evangelistic meetings began. Nsabimana said curiosity brought him to the meetings, and the message about the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation convinced him to give his heart to Jesus through baptism. He will return to Belgium as a Seventh-day Adventist. After baptism, I feel like all my sins have been forgiven, he said with a smile. Obed Twagirasu, 51, a former Adventist with a toothless grin, told how he had felt impressed to seek rebaptism while listening to Nancy Wilson, wife of the Adventist Church president, who was preaching her first evangelistic series, speak about how each person would receive his or her just reward at Jesus Second Coming. I needed to be baptized so I could renew my relationship with God, Twagirasu said. I am very happy to be entering the family of God. An Unforgettable Experience Nancy Wilson, who spoke to about 3,000 people every evening on a hilly field outside Gisenyi, had tears in her eyes as she watched 411 people from her meeting site get baptized on Sabbath. Several women joyfully waved and blew kisses at her as they came out of the water. This was an unforgettable experience, Nancy Wilson said. In all, 539 people were baptized from her meeting site over the past two Sabbaths. Ted N.C. Wilson, who led meetings attended by 6,000 people nightly in the yard of a church compound in Gisenyi, saw a total of 1,016 baptisms. One of them was Clementine Nyiragasigwa, a slight 19-year-old woman not more than 4 foot, 10 inches (147 centimeters) tall. Speaking in an interview as she exited Lake Kivu, she said that she had felt impressed to get baptized after hearing a presentation about the statue in Daniel 2. Nyiragasigwa, never before baptized, had been working for another Christian denomination when she started attending the meetings. When she announced to coworkers that she wanted to get baptized into the Adventist Church, they had pressured her to change her mind. But I decided to leave my job and get baptized, she said. Also baptized on Sabbath was Schadrack Rutabayiro, a police officer responsible for escorting Wilson to the meetings from his hotel every day. Rutabayiro, whose mother is Adventist, had resisted her pleadings to commit to Christ for more than a decade, he said. But then he heard Wilson speak about the Second Coming and an Adventist physician talk about the importance of a good health. Fesaha Tsegaye, health ministries director for the East-Central African Division, which includes Rwanda, gave a health presentation before Wilson spoke every evening.

6 Water and daily exercise were a question mark for me, Rutabayiro said. Dr. Tsegaye s message touched my heart, and I realized that I needed to be baptized and change my life. TMI Not So Bold or New The newly baptized members were not the only people expressing joy on Sabbath. Pastors and other church leaders joined a crowd of at least 6,000 people for the celebratory event on the shore of Lake Kivu. It was very, very amazing, said Mutuye Nkundakozera, executive secretary for the North-West Rwanda Field, who was among the eight pastors who participated in the baptisms. He, like many church members, wore a red tie with a blue logo reading TMI, or Total Member Involvement. Nearly everyone present wore blue TMI scarves. Duane McKey, a key organizer of the Rwanda meetings and the Adventist world church leader responsible for Total Member Involvement, smiled broadly as he and his wife, Kathy, watched the baptisms in the shade of large blue TMI umbrellas. But he said Total Membership Involvement, which was unveiled at the General Conference Session in July 2015, was not as bold or new an initiative as some people say. It s not bold or new, McKey said. Jesus said more than 2,000 years ago in the Great Commission of Matthew 28 to go and preach, teach, and baptize. The interesting and exciting thing is we ve just finished more than 2,000 meetings that commemorate something Jesus said more than 2000 years ago. A Rwandan hallmark of Total Membership Involvement inviting friends to church was evident even at Lake Kivu on Sabbath morning. Watching the proceedings was a Roman Catholic priest, attending his first Adventist gathering at the invitation of an Adventist friend, the head of a local university. The priest, speaking in an interview, expressed astonishment at seeing people baptized by immersion for the first time. He said he looked forward to hearing the Sabbath sermon afterward. Need for New Churches Looking ahead, Hesron R. Byilingiro, president of the Adventist Church in Rwanda, said the church faces a dilemma in finding places for new members to worship. After this weekend, local church membership has topped 815,000 in the country of 11.8 million people. That is really a challenge, Byilingiro said in an interview on Lake Kivu. By the help of God, this is going to be done. McKey, who overhead Byilingiro s comment, told him that some help was already on its way. He said a small church in the U.S. state of Texas, the Hico Seventh-day Adventist Church, had raised $1,400 for another church project in Africa, but technical issues had prevented the funds from reaching its intended destination last year. So Hico s dozen members sent the money to Rwanda via the General Conference, the administrative body of the Adventist world church. The money is going to be used for a new church that will be built for the new members in a village outside Gisenyi, McKey said. But new church buildings were far from the minds of many on Sabbath. Umutoni Feza, 25, who was raised in an Adventist family but had not attended church for years, smiled bashfully when asked why she had decided to get baptized. She said she had realized at the evangelistic meetings that she needed Jesus in her life. I am very happy, she said. I was born once, and now I have been born again. Related stories: I Didn t Want to Preach to Killers of My People in Rwanda I Am Only 16, but I See God Changing Lives in Rwanda In Rwanda, Adventists Say I Love You With a Cow Nearly 30,000 Baptized Halfway Through Rwanda s Evangelistic Meetings

7 The Saddest Face at My Evangelistic Meeting in Rwanda Crowds Overwhelm 3 Free Clinics in Rwanda Hundreds Accept 12-Year-Old Boy s Call to Christ in Rwanda Son of Sorcerers Joins Hundreds in Seeking Baptism in Rwanda 6,000 to Receive Free Adventist Heathcare in Rwanda Evangelistic Campaign Kicks Off in Rwanda With Prayers for 100,000 Baptisms Businesspeople Raise $50,000 for New Medical School in Rwanda Ted Wilson Lays Cornerstone for Crown Jewel of Adventist Medical Education 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.

8 Login Search Subscribe Menu Refugees snuggling in blankets. "Church members are at the heart of our work," Jonathan Duffy says. (ADRA) Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Edward Zinke Is on a Mission to Point Adventist Educators to the Bible Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Raymond Ryckman, Scientist Who Helped Put Loma Linda on Map, Dies at 99 A son of farmers, Ryckman is best known for his contributions to Chagas disease. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

9 I Was a Stranger I believe with all of my heart that these are the people the Lord has in mind when I read Leviticus. POSTED MAY 27, 2016, president, ADRA International ow many times have you found yourself talking about refugees over the past several months? H Maybe debating is the more appropriate word. Whether it is because of increased genuine concern or because it is a heated topic in both politics and the media, the refugee crisis in Europe has taken center stage. Earlier this year I attended a summit in Croatia to discuss this crisis with those on the front lines of its response. It was a great experience, connecting our ADRA teams with Adventist churches throughout Europe to find the best ways for all of us to continue serving this growing community of displaced families as effectively as possible. Church members around the world are at the heart of our work everything we do is made stronger by you and we have all been blessed with amazing support from so many. But we have also faced a lot of resistance and even criticism for serving these men, women, and children who have been forced from their homes. As we met in Croatia, we discussed the overwhelming numbers, and those numbers have only grown since then. More than 1 million refugees have made their way to Europe from countries such as Syria, where the terror attacks we so desperately fear are a regular occurrence. While we fight to shield our children from risk, almost 90,000 unaccompanied minors sought asylum in the European Union in 2015 alone. Read also: New ADRA Director in Europe Will Oversee Efforts to Assist Refugees I believe with all of my heart that these are the very people the Lord has in mind when I read in Leviticus 19:33-34 that we must love them as ourselves. The passage says: When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. Nothing made this message hit home for me more clearly than the story of a volunteer in Greece who was assisting a medical team in Lesbos. This man lost two close friends in the November 2015 terror attack in Paris, but the next morning he was back at work, knee-deep in the Mediterranean, welcoming refugees and making sure they received care. Losing friends to a terrorist s bomb would be enough to make someone second guess these people that many in the world were already starting to fear. But this volunteer kept working. In his words, any potential risk he faced didn t excuse him from his obligation to help to love others. As Christians, don t we each have an obligation to love our brothers and sisters, regardless of the borders that separate us and the cultures that define us? Every time a bomb detonates in a Syrian neighborhood, shouldn t we be as outraged as when it happens in Paris? Every time the body of a refugee child washes up on the shore, shouldn t we mourn as if it were one of our own? Another one of our favorite Bible passages at ADRA is Matthew 25. I was hungry I was thirsty No one thinks twice about meeting these needs. But what about that stranger in need of welcome? That need is just as critical. I ask you today to look beyond the politics, beyond the outrageous social media posts, and even beyond your own fear. Make these strangers feel welcome, love these foreigners as yourselves, and open your heart to them. How to Get Involved: Visit ADRA.org/refugees to learn the facts, read the stories, and learn more about the refugee crisis. While you re there, take the pledge to support refugees and receive more

10 information about how you, your church, or your school can make a difference for refugees. Editor s note: News commentaries are intended to express the richness and variety of informed and responsible Adventist opinion on current issues. They do not necessarily convey the viewpoint of the Adventist Review editorial team or the General Conference. 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.

11 Login Search Subscribe Menu Benton Lowe, missionary to Nunavut, playing with children at the Yellowknife church. (Jonathan Geraci) Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Edward Zinke Is on a Mission to Point Adventist Educators to the Bible Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Adventist App Aims to Make Evangelism Easier The app, Disciples, allows local churches to track mailings, Bible studies, and attendance at meetings. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

12 Go North! God Has People There, Too Sacrifice and mission work aren t limited to exotic lands far from home. Who will go to Canada s North? POSTED MAY 27, 2016, pastor of the Yellowknife Seventh-day Adventist Church, Canada ou can t stay here any longer, the house owner said through the door. Y Where was Benton Lowe going to go? A blizzard was blowing outside. He had come to the remote community in Canada s Northwest Territories to do Bible work. Now it was late at night and he had to find a new place to stay. Lowe had planned to stay with the house owner, whom he had met on Facebook. He had flown in early to make connections with people and was arriving at the house later than he had expected. He was tired after a long day of walking and visiting in people s homes. And now the door was locked. Can I at least pick up my things? he asked. The upset voice behind the door responded, Well, make it quick. This is the life of Benton Lowe, a missionary in Nunavut, the newest, largest, northernmost, and least populated territory in Canada. Lowe was one of several missionaries that the Yellowknife Seventh-day Adventist Church invited to the Northern Mission Summit, a four-weekend event this month that featured firsthand reports about what the Adventist Church is doing to reach the circumpolar regions. Stories from across Alaska, northern British Columbia, and Nunavut created an enthusiasm among church members about the possibilities of reaching the North. After each presentation, church members were given an opportunity to interact and reflect on the information given. Ministering doesn t always mean an evangelistic series, one member said. Every speaker mentioned the importance of long-term commitment. Another church member said: This is not a one-month or a one-year mission trip. This is long-term missionary service. Church members also discussed what they could do right now using the new ideas that had been presented. What if we went to a nearby community and just hosted a meal in the park? What if we started a Bible study group in the prison? What if we started a youth ministry to reach out to homeless teens? Read also: Discovering Adventists Where No Adventists Live A map showing Nunavut, the newest, largest, northernmost, and least populated territory in Canada. (Wikicommons)

13 Darkness approaching Pangnirtung, an Inuit hamlet of 1,425 people in Nunavut. (Lindsay Nicole Terry / Wikicommons) Listening to these stories of sacrifice, defeat, and eventual divine appointments, Yellowknife members said they were inspired to be a light for God in the local context where they were placed. The Northern Mission Summit concluded with a report from representatives from SULADS Canada, an Adventist supporting ministry whose members provide the less remembered people in Canada with non-formal education and agriculture and health programs designed to alleviate illiteracy, poverty and disease, according to the organization s website. The representatives shared how they use agriculture and positive experiences for young people to connect and grow the church in an indigenous community in northern British Columbia. Ken Weibe, president of the church s Alberta Northwest Territories Conference, spoke about the importance of being active where God has called you to serve. Unto the ends of the Earth. Are we truly willing to get uncomfortable for the sake of the gospel? Sacrifice. Determination. Mission work. It s not solely in an exotic land far from home. It is in the Canadian North. One church member commented: The Northern Mission Summit gave us different perspectives. We were hearing reality. It was the strengths and failures of the missionaries to the North. And through it all we heard about sacrificial faith. While the Northern Mission Summit has ended, the work continues to reach 33 communities and 11 languages in an area that covers more than 385,000 square miles (1 million square kilometers). The church s Northern Mission Advisory committee has met multiple times to work on developing a strategic initiative to expand the three angels messages throughout this vast area in the Northwest Territories. How can you become active in expanding the message of hope and wholeness throughout the Canadian North? Pray. Give. Go. Pray. The work that lays before us is great, but we serve a greater God. Prayer warriors are needed that God will open up doors that we can enter communities and send missionaries. Give. With the high cost of travel, basic necessities and food insecurities, financial resources are needed to expand the work in the North. Go. Perhaps God is calling you to do something more. Perhaps you are interested in a long-term mission to the remotest part of Canada. Thirty-three communities, eleven languages, and more than 385,000 square miles. The task before us is great. But we serve a greater God. Jonathan Geraci is the pastor of the Yellowknife Seventh-day Adventist Church in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. him at jgeraci@albertaadventist.ca. 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

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15 Login Search Subscribe Menu Thirty-six people preparing to be baptized in Ria Province, Fiji. (Adventist Record) Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Edward Zinke Is on a Mission to Point Adventist Educators to the Bible Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Aims to Make Evangelism Easier es, allows local churches to track studies, and attendance at meetings. Raymond Ry Loma Linda A son of farm contribution SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

16 36 Accept Christ in First Fiji Baptisms Since Deadly Cyclone Winston The baptisms take place in one of the worst-hit provinces. POSTED MAY 26, 2016 T, South Pacific Adventist Record hirty-six people have accepted Jesus Christ following an evangelistic series on Fiji, marking the first Seventh-day Adventist baptisms since a deadly storm devastated the South Pacific nation in February. The baptisms took place in Fiji s Ra Province, one of the worst-hit areas from Cyclone Winston, described as the strongest tropical cyclone to make landfall in Fiji in recorded history. The storm killed 44 people and caused $1.2 billion in damage, a record amount for the South Pacific Basin. Despite the devastation and a lack of funds, district pastor Marika Valetini and his church members chose to view this as an opportunity to reach out to the community. Church members joined hands for a week of prayer and visitation, Valetini said. After that, Valetini began the three-week Last Empire evangelistic series, preaching to a crowd of 70 to 80 people each evening. To our surprise, the Lord called in 36 more members to the waters of baptism, Valetini said. Eleven married couples were among those baptized. The Lord is really working through lives today, Valetini said. Read also: Adventist Leader in Fiji Appeals for Assistance After Devastating Storm People being baptized after the evangelistic series in Fiji. (Adventist Record) News & Features Current Adventist News Online Exclusives Gracenotes Events Subscriber Access Subscriptions Renew Account Forgotten Password Report Trouble Update Mailing Address About Issue Archives Our Roots and Mission Staff Writer's Guidelines Advertising Adventist World Departments Reader Response Photo Galleries Prayer Requests Partners Resources Contact Free Newsletter Photo Submissions Downloads Sunset Calendar Church Locator RSS Feed

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18 Login Search Subscribe Menu Dwayne Leslie opening the 2016 International Religious Liberty Summit in Washington. (Photos: Maria Bryk / Newseum) Adventists Asked to Pray After Nepal Bans Evangelistic Outreach Next Generation in Witnessing: the Paper USB Drive Want protein and lower mortality? Look at plants, new study says Edward Zinke Is on a Mission to Point Adventist Educators to the Bible Samuele Bacchiocchi s Widow Dies of Apparent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Adventist App Aims to Make Evangelism Easier The app, Disciples, allows local churches to track mailings, Bible studies, and attendance at meetings. SUBSCRIBE+NEWSLETTER+ IN THIS ISSUE+NEWS+ARCHIVES+ READER RESPONSE+MEDIA PARTNERS+ SCREENING ROOM+GRACENOTES+ PHOTO SUBMISSIONS

19 Adventist Church Highlights Declining Religious Freedom at Major Conference Politicians and journalists gather for the 2016 International Religious Liberty Summit in Washington. POSTED MAY 26, 2016 A s religious freedom deteriorates around the world, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has brought together a broad range of advocacy organizations and public leaders to consider ways to drive the issue higher on the public agenda. The 2016 International Religious Liberty Summit, held at the Newseum s Religious Freedom Center in downtown Washington, focused on what has become a key concern for religious freedom advocates the relatively scarce media and political attention given to rising rates of religious discrimination and persecution. The Pew Research Center estimates that some 5 billion people globally face significant religious restrictions, and one in three people live in places where religious freedom is severely restricted. There are cries of the persecuted that we are refusing to hear, said former U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf, one of the keynote speakers at the conference. Wolf, a leading supporter of religious freedom legislation during his 36 years in Congress, now works closely with the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, an organization that raises awareness of religious freedom violations around the world. Wolf described visits to Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan, and China where he encountered firsthand the tragic consequences of persecution by repressive regimes and those motivated by religious bigotry and intolerance. We need to be clear-eyed about the times in which we live, Wolf said. He urged those present to not to allow the persecuted to become faceless, nameless victims in distant wars and hard to pronounce prison cells. Participating on a panel discussion on strategies for international religious freedom engagement, from left: Michael Wear, former director of faith outreach for President Barack Obama s 2012 campaign; Brian Bachman, senior advisor to the ambassador at large, Office of International Religious Freedom at the U.S. State Department; Elizabeth Cassidy, acting co-director for policy and research at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; and Chris Sieple, president emeritus of the Institute for Global Engagement. The May 24 conference reflects the Adventist Church s more than 150-year commitment to defending freedom of religion of belief for all people, no matter what their faith, said

20 Dwayne Leslie, associate director of church s department of public affairs and religious liberty department, which organized the event. Interest in the conference exceeded expectations, Leslie said. Plans were originally made for 120 attendees, but registration soon surpassed that number and reached capacity of 250 people. The tremendous interest, Leslie said, stemmed largely from the practical, hands-on approach of the conference. As I talked to people throughout the day, I heard that they were forming new relationships, discovering new ideas for how to get their message out, beginning to think in terms of collaborating with others to push toward shared goals, he said. It is this pragmatic, results-focused approach to religious freedom advocacy that Leslie hopes will be a long-term legacy of the conference. The state of religious freedom around the world is clear, he said. But the focus of this Summit was to ask: How can we be better advocates for religious liberty? How can we be more effective in raising awareness of discrimination and persecution, and in mobilizing a response? How do we get our message out and get things done? Realizing the vital importance of media outreach, Leslie drew several prominent journalists into the conversation. E.J Dionne Jr., a renowned political commentator and syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, was the conference s second keynote speaker. Dionne warned against the danger of allowing the current culture wars in the United States to narrow the understanding of religious freedom issues globally. In the international sphere, it s life or death, he said. Other journalists speaking at the conference were Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago-Sun Times; Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist for the Chicago Tribune; Doyle McManus, syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times; and David Cook, Washington bureau chief for the Christian Science Monitor. In a wideranging panel discussion, they reflected on the relative lack of media attention for international religious freedom issues, and offered advice to advocates for more effective media engagement. The 2016 International Religious Liberty Summit was co-sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and Newseum s Religious Freedom Center. It was funded by Adventist donors who wanted to support and enhance the church s religious freedom advocacy efforts. The conference was live-streamed by both the Newseum and ABC News. Video of the entire conference will be available next month on the Newseum s Religious Freedom Center website, religiousfreedomcenter.org. 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.