In This Issue:
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* Task Force Aims to Take Message of Abuse Prevention, Awareness to
Local Churches
* Book Chronicles Adventist Church History of Cayman Islands
* Philippines: Water Supply Contaminated at Adventist University
* French, German Adventist Universities Will Partner to Offer Joint
Degree, French State Recognition
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Task Force Aims to Take Message of Abuse Prevention, Awareness to Local
Churches
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States .... [Ansel Oliver/ANN]
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Ron Flowers, the Seventh-day Adventist Church family ministries
co-director, said he recently sat in church behind a woman whom he knew
was suffering domestic violence.

To his dismay the pastor talked about a need for forgiveness and that
if a person was going through a hard time, it was for their benefit.

"I don't preach about forgiveness that way anymore," Flowers said of
the good message in the wrong context.

Adventist Church officials hope a task force on abuse prevention
convened at the church's world headquarters June 11 and 12 will raise
awareness of the issue and help local pastors realize, despite the
denial of some people, that domestic abuse likely exists within their
church.

Task force members urged local pastors to take reports of child abuse
seriously, report them to local authorities, and refer victims of
domestic violence to community resources.

"We're not asking pastors to become experts," Flowers said. "We just
want them to report and refer."

One Adventist researcher said 29 percent of Adventists report
experiencing sexual violence from an intimate partner within their
lifetime, while 10 percent report experiencing one instance of severe
physical violence.

That's a higher rate than the surrounding population, said René Drumm,
professor of sociology at Southern Adventist University in Collegedale,
Tennessee. She and a team of researchers collected surveys from
Adventists in the northwest United States and published the results
last year in Social Work & Christianity.

"But I think it's kind of dangerous to say that those numbers are
absolutely higher than the rest of the population," Drumm said. "We
offered participants a very safe environment to answer these surveys."

Participants filled out questionnaires in a church with men and women
separated and surveys were turned into a secure box. This is different
than most national surveys, which are conducted by phone, Drumm said.

Many researchers conducting phone surveys say they feel the instances
were under reported, she said. Drumm reported her research team felt
they had more accurate findings.

"It's a striking finding but it's not unique to Adventists," Flowers
said of Drumm's research.

"It's not an easy thing to talk about, but pastors can become
courageous and preach this from the pulpit from time to time."

Flowers said he hoped similar studies would survey Adventists in other
parts of the world.

"It's important we treat each other well," Adventist Church President
Jan Paulsen told the task force, emphasizing mental abuse can be just
as bad as physical abuse.

Some problems with abuse, church officials said, stem from mixed
messages within fundamentalist groups -- a strong belief in marriage
and family might keep some people from leaving a harmful relationship.

Flowers said a woman recently told her pastor she didn't want to break
up her family; she just wanted the abuse to stop.

"Sometimes it's denial or a lack of sophisticated understanding of the
nature of abuse," Flowers said. "Some people think they need to just
pray more for the abuse to stop instead of seeking counseling or other
appropriate measures."

Carlos Camacho, a pastor at the Inland Spanish Adventist Church in
Southeastern California, said he is learning the severity of taking on
an abuser. After other pastors turned a blind eye toward allegations of
incest, he reported it to the police upon first learning about it.

"They didn't believe her," Camacho said of other members in the family
of the underage girl involved. "That happens all the time. People don't
want to believe that it happened."
Local church administration moved Camacho and his family into a hotel
for several days after he and the victim started receiving threats.

"Abuse is messy," he said. "It hurts everyone involved, even those
trying to help."

The Adventist Church first held a similar abuse prevention task force
in 1995 before releasing a statement against family violence in 1996
and a statement against child sexual abuse in 1997.

In 2002 the Adventist Church began promoting an annual Abuse Prevention
Emphasis Day held the third Saturday of August.

"That's a positive step we've taken here at headquarters and it has
filtered down to many churches," said Heather-Dawn Small, Adventist
Church women's ministries director.

A check of several churches showed that many local church and
administration offices use materials originally provided by the
church's world headquarters through local offices.

Cecilia Anane Otchere, Women's Ministries director for the church in
Mid-West Ghana, said most of the some 400 churches in the region
participate in the abuse prevention day.

Doug Sharp, pastor of the Port Orchard Adventist Church in Port
Orchard, Washington, said he thought a pamphlet about domestic abuse
was available at the church's literature rack. He said the church
financially supports a local woman's shelter and several members
volunteer.

Sharp said two years before he began pastoring the church he learned he
learned of a murder of a woman that followed years of abuse.

"I think that made the congregation aware of what potential violence
could be out there," Sharp said.

He said he was not aware of any incidents of domestic violence since
he's served at the church for 16 years.

"If I was told of anything or if I sensed that it was going on in a
family I would approach them and offer my services," Sharp said.

Church leaders at the task force said they realized the meeting's
success hinges on worldwide offices communicating to local churches.

"I think raising awareness, at least, is crucial," said Drumm, the
researcher. In follow-up studies with victims, she said church members
feel comforted when the church talks about preventing abuse in homes.

"They breathe a huge sigh of relief," Drumm said. "Somebody
understands, somebody's doing something, it helps healing."


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Book Chronicles Adventist Church History of Cayman Islands
Georgetown, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands .... [Ansel Oliver/ANN]
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Jeffrey K. Thompson was working as a photojournalist in the Bahamas in
1975 when he decided to join the Seventh-day Adventist Church - an
award presentation for a government official in Nassau he was covering
was actually the first night of an Adventist evangelism campaign.

Now in his last month of a 17-year stint as president of the church in
the Cayman Islands, Thompson said he still thinks of himself as a
journalist; and now a historian, having recently authored the book
"Legacy of the Pioneers -- the History of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church in the Cayman Islands" to be released June 21 in Georgetown.

The 220-page book documents the birth and growth of the Adventist
religious movement in this tiny Caribbean nation. The country's top
government official, Governor Stuart Jack, wrote one of the book's two
forewords.

"We [Adventists] are one of the largest denominations in the Cayman
Islands and we have a good working relationship with the government,"
Thompson said. About 3,300 people in the country's population of 45,000
are Adventist Church members.

"If people can recognize where they're coming from then certainly
they'll have a better appreciation of where they are and the
possibilities of where they can go," Thompson said of the church's
history that began here in 1894. Caymanian sea captain Gilbert
McLaughlin first joined the church in Honduras and brought teachings
back to Grand Cayman, one of the nation's three islands. McLaughlin
later donated land for a church.

Upon becoming president of the church here in 1990, Thompson said the
church's goal was self-sufficiency. In 2004 the church here earned
"conference" status making it financially self-supporting and no longer
considered a "mission field."

Since then Thompson credits significant membership growth to lay
evangelists. Six Adventist churches have been established in three
years, bringing the total to 15.

"When, as Adventists, we get lay people involved in evangelism, growth
is phenomenal," Thompson said. "We have to do whatever we can to
empower them."

Adventists have long maintained a strong development and relief
presence here. Governor Jack mention's the church's aid during
hurricanes that routinely pound the islands.

"It was a tremendous opportunity for us to display love in action,"
Thompson said of the church-sponsored stress management seminars and
gospel concerts provided for displaced residents in temporary shelters.


The nation is known as a banking center, a destination for scuba
diving, tourism and for a small town called "Hell" - mostly a post
office and shops overlooking a black limestone formation.

"We get about 2 million visitors here each year; I'd say all of these
visitors, if they don't go anyplace else, they go directly to Hell,"
Thompson said.

Thompson said the church's treasury department recently received a
donation for a building fund there.

"We hope someday to literally build a church in Hell."


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Philippines: Water Supply Contaminated at Adventist University
Silang, Cavite, Philippines .... [Gina Wahlen/AIIAS/ANN]
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The June 9 discovery of diesel fuel leaking into the water supply of
the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies has left the
campus without water now for a week and a half. A fuel filter on a
generator that had been vandalized was found as the source of the leak.


Though the leak was fixed that day, campus officials are still
determining how to clean the school's water system that services the
campus's nearly 700 residents.

Drinking water was brought to campus in trucks the day of the discovery
by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency from the Adventist
Church's Southern Asia-Pacific region's headquarters nearby.

There were no reported cases of sickness caused by the contamination.

"In a sense, this experience has drawn us into community with the large
proportion of the global population that does not have abundant pure
water," Graeme Perry, dean of the school of graduate studies and acting
university president, wrote in a June 14 letter to campus staff and
residents.

The AIIAS administration is continuing to work with local authorities
and other consultants in order to minimize the environmental impact and
to restore a clean water supply.

Perry said the results of hydrocarbon testing of the water will be
available by the end of the week.


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French, German Adventist Universities Will Partner to Offer Joint
Degree, French State Recognition
Krattigen, Switzerland .... [Elizabeth Lechleitner/ANN]
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Saleve Seventh-day Adventist University in Collognes-Sous-Saleve,
France, announced plans last month to adopt a German university
master's program into its curriculum. The move will give recognition to
French Adventist seminary students in a country that does not recognize
degrees from private universities.

Offering Saleve seminarians a theology degree from Germany-based
Friedensau Adventist University -- officially recognized throughout
Europe -- will also make it easier for them to transfer credits, switch
universities and change degree programs without jeopardizing academic
credit, church education officials said.

Members of Saleve and Friedensau's academic administration signed the
joint degree agreement during the May mid-year meetings of the
Adventist Church's Euro-Africa region.

France doesn't recognize private university degrees because of its
century-old laws separating church and state, said Roland Meyer,
Saleve's seminary dean.

Udo Worschech, Friedensau director, says the new degree will lend
Saleve Theology students more credibility, especially if they plan to
further their studies at other campuses across Europe or outside the
continent.

Saleve students who earn a Friedensau-based degree will do so from
their own campus. Both universities will maintain their own faculty and
staff, but will jointly teach the new degree through brief professor
exchanges. Saleve theology students will earn a diploma from both
universities.

Richard Lehmann, director of Saleve Adventist University, hopes the
agreement between the universities will "inspire the exploration of
other agreements between [Adventist] campuses."

Other programs being considered for future joint efforts include
leadership and youth ministries, said Meyer.
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Copyright (c) 2007 by Adventist News Network. 12501 Old Columbia Pike,
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ANN World News Bulletin is a review of news and information issued by
the Communication department from the Seventh-day Adventist Church
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ANN Staff: Ray Dabrowski, director; Ansel Oliver, assistant director,
Taashi Rowe, editorial coordinator; Elizabeth Lechleitner, editorial
assistant.

Portuguese translation by Azenilto Brito, Spanish translation by Marcos
Paseggi, Italian translation by Vincenzo Annunziata and Lina Ferrara
and French translations by Stephanie Elofer.