In China, Seventh-day Adventist Church Gains Notice ... A 500-word entry about the Seventh-day Adventist Church appears in the new edition of the “Christianity Dictionary,” a reference book. The article outlined the history of the Adventist Church and its fundamental beliefs. Also, the church’s Chinese Union Mission, known by the acronym of “CHUM,” was featured in the advertising section of the official People’s Republic of China Yearbook 2005. The full color advertisement is entitled “Chinese Union Mission, Hong Kong, China.” According to Pastor James Wu, president of the Adventist Church in China, “The Seventh-day Adventist Church [is] slowly, but positively, being recognized by the Chinese Government to be a respectful world church organization.”

Adventist, Non-Combatant, Wins Discharge Upgrade ...  Joel David Klimkewicz, who received a “bad conduct” discharge from the United States Marine Corps because he obeyed his conscience and refused to pick up a weapon, won a victory that could let him return to the armed forces in the future. In a 3-2 vote, the U.S. Naval Clemency and Parole Board decided to upgrade Klimkewicz’s release from the service to a “general discharge.” Klimkewicz was a combat engineer with the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, with headquarters at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and was convicted in December of 2004 on a charge of refusing to obey an order from a commanding officer who asked that the Marine pick up a weapon. Other appeals to upgrade his discharge and overturn his conviction can continue.  Read more about this story at http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/01/1139523678/index.html.en
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  Conference Talks Peace ... At the first formal conference of its kind to be held on a Seventh-day Adventist university campus, some 170 people gathered to talk about ways to increase peacemaking. The one-day conference, “Talking Peace, Making Peace: An Adventist Conversation,” was held on the campus of La Sierra University on Jan. 28. “The purpose of the peace conference was to widen a local dialogue on Adventism and peace/war, and identify individuals who were interested in pursuing the discussion,” said Ginger Hanks Harwood, one of the conference organizers. Read more about this story at http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/01/1139584664/index.html.en
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  Textbook Co-authored by Andrews Professor Wins Award ... Less than a year after hitting the bookshelves, the textbook “Atlas of Clinical Gross Anatomy” received the R. R. Hawkins Award for Outstanding Professional, Reference or Scholarly Work of 2005 from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division (PSP) of the Association of American Publishers. “I’m pleased it is getting recognition,” said co-author John C. Banks, an Andrews University professor of anatomy and physical therapy. “It’s something we as authors can feel good about as a whole.” Banks wrote the textbook along with two Andrews alumni, Kenneth Moses, a staff physician and assistant professor at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California, and Darrell Petersen, a biomedical photographer and architect in Elkhart, Indiana, and Pedro B. Nava, chair of the Pathology and Human Anatomy Department at Loma Linda University. Read more about this story at http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/01/1139509350/index.html.en
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University Music Project to Tap New Talent ...  If they want to change the title, that’s fine. After all, “it’s their project,” says Thomas Macomber, adjunct professor at La Sierra University in California. This is the whole idea behind “A Sound Connection,” which may turn out to be an entirely different name in the end. But, for now, this is what describes a vision to “tap into the talent” of young people attending Seventh-day Adventist schools “using music as a powerful witnessing tool.” A key feature to this music project, Macomber says, is allowing the young adults themselves to own the project. “Using a college class seems to be the missing ingredient. Who can network among young adults better than the young adults themselves?” The project? A music CD sampler featuring Adventist youth and young adults from North America as performers and songwriters. Young people will also produce, record and distribute this sampler free to other young people. Read more about this story at

http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/01/1139422075/index.html.en