Seventh-day Adventists both in the United States and around the world have been united in their prayers for the many thousands of people directly affected by Tuesday’s terrorist strikes.

Personal stories of church members caught up in Tuesday’s events have been coming into the Adventist Church world headquarters; stories of loss, of near-misses, and of shock. But common themes run through each account—of reliance on God, profound sympathy for those who are suffering, and a desire to participate, in some way, in the rescue and restoration efforts.

There are reportedly at least four Adventist Church members who worked at the World Trade Center who have not yet been accounted for. Names have not been released.

Adventist Church members who worked at the Pentagon were reportedly among those who were safely evacuated after the building was struck by a hijacked airliner.

Local Response

Adventist churches across the United States opened their doors Tuesday and Wednesday evenings for those in local communities who wanted to come together to pray. In areas close to the disaster sites, Adventist Church members have been quick to volunteer whatever assistance they can toward the relief effort.

Janice Wright, pastoral care coordinator for Adventist Metro Ministries in Manhattan, calls the past few days “surreal.”

“There’s a lot of post-trauma stress,” says Wright. “You can see it in people’s faces.  Everything is still uncertain, with rumors flying around of evacuations and buildings that are apparently about to collapse.” 

The 11th Street Manhattan Adventist Church, the closest Adventist church to the World Trade Center, has been open to provide water, food, counseling, and a place for prayer. The church is located on the same street as St. Vincent’s Medical Center, the medical facility nearest the disaster scene.

The Church of the Advent Hope, an Adventist church located on 87th Street on the Upper East Side, has held prayer vigils throughout this week and plans a special memorial service on Sabbath, or Saturday, September 15.  Many Adventist churches in the New York City area have been holding simple services of remembrance and comfort for the community each evening, reports Wright.

Also in New York City, Adventist Community Services and the New York Conference of Adventists are conducting a special training seminar for some 35 pastors, dealing with critical stress and grief counseling. 

Beginning September 14, volunteers from among students and faculty of several Adventist universities, including Loma Linda University, California, Andrews University, Michigan, and Columbia Union College, Maryland, will head to New York City. They will offer community seminars on dealing with grief and also plan to facilitate discussions about spiritual questions raised by events of the past week.

“A great many people are serious about religion for the first time in their lives,” says Monte Sahlin, vice president of the Adventist Church’s Columbia Union, which is coordinating the work of Adventist Metro Ministries.

In the Washington, D.C. area, Sligo Church’s Adventist Community Services reports it is coordinating pastoral care and counseling volunteers to assist activities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at the Pentagon disaster site.

Global Response

The response of Adventist Church members and leaders around the world has been “overwhelming,” says Ray Dabrowski, communication director for the Adventist world church.

Minutes after the terrorist attack, 230 Adventist pastors at their annual ministers’ convention in Bucharest, Romania, interrupted their training program to pray for the victims and their relatives and for stability and peace in the world.

Staff at the church’s Eastern Africa headquarters gathered for an hour on the day of the attacks to pray. “Since we cannot be there physically to give blood or physical support, we have sent US$5,000 to ADRA for relief purposes,” said Pardon Mwansa, president of the church in the region.

Messages of concern and support for those affected by the attacks have come in from church administrative offices and institutions around the world, including: the Northern Rhenish-Westfalian Conference, Germany; the Burundi Association; the Inter-American Division; the Swiss Union; the Italian Union; the Eastern Solomon Island Mission; Sydney Adventist Hospital, Australia; the Southern Asia-Pacific Division; the Euro-Asia Division; the Bulgarian Union; East African Union; and the Japan Union.

Adventist World Headquarters Staff Safe

As an international organization, the Adventist world headquarters has staff members who are sometimes away from the office on national or international itineraries. Within an hour of the first terrorist strike, a department-by-department review was underway to establish the whereabouts of traveling staff.  All of the more than 60 staff members who were found to be away from the office have been accounted for.

“We thank God for the safety of our world headquarters family, and pray for the safe return of those making their way home,” says Matthew Bediako, secretary of the Adventist world church.  “But we cannot forget the 266 people who died Tuesday on the four hijacked aircraft. We pray especially that the families of these victims will feel the comforting arms of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”

Meetings Still On Track

The Adventist Church world headquarters is currently preparing for the church’s Annual Council, to be held September 25 to 30 in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.  It is an event that brings together leaders and delegates from every region of the world church. A number of associated pre-meetings have also been scheduled in the days leading up to Annual Council.

Administrators at the church’s world headquarters announced today that, while some delegates may be delayed or prevented from coming to the United States, both Annual Council and the pre-meetings will go ahead as scheduled.