Philippines: Adventist Laymen Turn State Penitentiary Into Seminary ...“The idea of turning the 62,500-acre prison farm into a Bible training seminary seemed off tangent, but as the work developed and our faith grew, we fully accepted the challenge before us,” said Louie Benitez. Benitez is a Seventh-day Adventist missionary who works for the Laymen’s Ministries for Prisoners in Sablayan, Philippines. He, along with fellow layman Abel Miralles, has been working with Sablayan inmates for seven years. Their program, Teach-to-Teach, trains inmates in witnessing and teaches them to give Bible studies and lead Sabbath worship services, making the prison a training ground for future Adventist pastors. Since its launch, some 200 prisoners have been baptized. “One of my favorite pastimes is to keep in touch with released prisoners, encouraging them to keep their walk with Christ,” Benitez says. [AND/ANN Staff]

Philippines: President Arroyo Calls for ‘Moral Integrity’ Among Public Servants ... Speaking at the first national summit of BULB (New Breed of Public Servants) held at the Seventh-day Adventist University of the Philippines (AUP), Philippine national president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo challenged Christians working in government and other public servant positions to maintain high standards of moral integrity. “There is…a pressing need for a new breed of public servants to come out in the open and share their values-oriented principles in serving better the Filipino people,” said Teddie Elson Rivera, BULB national president and Philippine undersecretary. Meetings centered on responsibility, transparency, teamwork, and the Christian’s social responsibility. BULB is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an advocacy group of government officials and employees. Some 300 Christian public officials, along with Adventist church leaders and national officials, attended the summit. [Melinda H. Tormes/ANN Staff]

United States: Atlantic Union College Student Killed ... Atlantic Union College (AUC) student Kevin Watson, 30, lost his life on Friday, November 3. He was struck by a car while crossing the street near the college. Watson, a junior Social Work major, was born in Jamaica but was currently from Springfield, Massachusetts. According to his Social Work professor Juliette Willoughby, Watson’s future plans included helping the elderly. AUC is an Adventist-owned institution located in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. [Atlantic Union College Public Relations/AR]

Ukraine: Church Celebrates Life of an Artist ... The life of Polish-born Anna German, whose lyrical voice and fame crossed the Eastern borders with equal popularity, was celebrated with two commemorative concerts in Rovno and Dubno, Ukraine. Raised by a Seventh-day Adventist grandmother, Anna German re-connected with her faith community just before her death in 1982 at the age of 46. Her repertoire included ballads and opera, and she was especially enamored with interpreting traditional Italian songs. German’s concerts nearly always sold out, especially in the countries of the former Soviet Union. The November 4 and 5 commemorative concerts in Dubno and Rovno—organized by the local Adventist churches to celebrate what would have been German’s 70th birthday—brought unprecedented crowds to the Rovno Philharmonic. “[It was] just like in the days when we heard her angelic voice live,” said one local fan. Mykola Oreshko, director of the Regional Philharmonic Society, welcomed Anna’s husband, Zbigniew Tucholski, along with other guests from her native Poland. Oreshko said the evening’s concert—attended by well-known local artists and church participants—made him feel “confident that real loyalty and love has a celestial origin.” Seventh-day Adventists in Rovno recently celebrated the 110th anniversary of establishing a church in the region. [Hryhoriy Nesteruk/ANN Staff]

Australia: Discovery Center Graduates Record Number ... More than 90 students graduated last month from a course offered by the Seventh-day Adventist-run Discovery Center, which offers free correspondence classes and online e-learning courses addressing 13 topics ranging from lifestyle and health to archaeology and Bible subjects. According to Pastor David Price, associate director of the Adventist Discovery Center, some 120 individuals are baptized every year as a result of completing such courses. Sharon Martin, a course instructor at the center, says the classes are “a great way of…exposing the Seventh-day Adventist church to the general public.” As a result, eight primary schools in Australia are expected to add the Discovery Center’s children’s courses to their curricula. The Discovery Center has more than 5,000 students based in Australia and New Zealand. [Melody Tan/SPD/ANN Staff]

England: Adventist Leader Talks Alcohol at House of Commons ... Most people going to see England’s House of Commons—one of the country’s two chambers of government—either go as tourists or to see some very powerful people. Dr. Peter Landless, associate director of Health Ministries for the Seventh-day Adventist world church, went to talk to school children. Landless went at the invitation of a member of parliament. As a member of the International Commission for the Prevention of Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (ICPA), Dr. Landless and other ICPA members shared the dangers of consuming alcohol, drugs and tobacco. Landless says this is the fifth year he has attended something like this at the House of Commons. He adds that having this kind of meeting at the House of Commons shows that alcoholism and drug dependency are issues on the minds of members of parliament, which may in turn influence public policy. 

Australia: New DVD Launched in South Pacific ... The Seventh-day Adventist church’s South Pacific region has launched Pacific Focus, a magazine-format DVD program packed with mission stories, news clips, and events from across the region, along with a music section, a book review, and a vegetarian cooking lesson. Executive producer Bob Bolst, who also serves as associate CEO for Adventist Media Network, says the DVD is available for home viewing and is meant to be “a source of inspiration and encouragement” and “show where the Lord is working and blessing in our region.” Adventist Media Network will release 10 episodes per year—one per month, not including December and January. The DVD is designed as the South Pacific region’s counterpart to Adventist Mission’s quarterly DVD release featuring mission stories from different regions of the world church. For more information, or to order a copy of Pacific Focus, visit www.adventist.org.au.

World Church: Latest Edition of ADRA’s ‘Really Useful Gift Catalog’ Available ...  As the season of giving approaches, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International announces the release of the 2007 edition of its popular The Original Really Useful Gift Catalog. Published annually, the gift catalog offers readers a unique, enjoyable tool to support ADRA’s international humanitarian work, year-round. The gift catalog offers 125 giving opportunities among five of ADRA’s core portfolios: food security, emergency management, basic health care, education and economic development. ADRA officials say catalog items are designed to fit budgets both large and small, and are ideal for individual donations or group fundraising. “This versatility allows donors to focus their attention on one particular portfolio, or select a variety of projects, knowing that 100 percent of every gift catalog donation goes directly to the chosen project,” said Tereza Byrne, bureau chief for marketing and development for ADRA International. The Original Really Useful Gift Catalog 2007 can be accessed online at http://www.adra.org or re,quested (free of charge) by phone at 1.800.424.2372 (ADRA).

World Church: Executive Committee Approves SSD Church Leaders ... Two Seventh-day Adventist Church officials were formally elected to new posts in the church on November 14 during an executive committee meeting at the world church headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States. Both candidates were previously recommended by their respective church regions. Committee members approved Erton Carlos Köhler to assume the presidency of the church’s South American region. At 38 years old, Köhler will be the region’s youngest president ever [See ANN, Oct. 31]. Pastor Köhler will replace Pastor Ruy Nagel, who recently retired. To fill the position of executive secretary for the church’s Southern Asia-Pacific region, members named Hendrik Sumendap, who has served as Sabbath School and Personal Ministries director in that region for the past nine years. Hendrik replaces former secretary G. T. Ng, who will become an associate secretary for the world church.

Correction: In the October 30 story entitled “Europe: Survey Questions Young Adventists on Family, Church, Society” we failed to mention that the research committee for the project was made up of lecturers and experts from Friedensau Adventist University in Germany, Saleve Adventist University in France and Newbold College in England.

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