Most Memorable ANN Stories of 2006: A Reflection

Editor’s Note: Over the past 12 months the staff at Adventist News Network brought our readers stories of world events that have impacted the Seventh-day Adventist Church internationally. Our stories also expressed numerous ways the church is impacting the world; stories reflecting the message of hope, central to the Adventist church’s beliefs; and stories expressing involvement in God’s mission. With so much happening around us it is never easy to choose what to cover and bring to our readers and publishers. Before moving forward into the new year, the ANN staff would like to give you a glimpse of some of what we consider especially interesting and memorable from 2006. As with all similar year-end lists, our selection is inevitably subjective.

In a special way, we want to thank all our ANN contributors. We thank those who make the news, those who send us news, and of course, our readers. Because of your support, the spectrum of ANN’s news is richer. We want to wish you all a safe, blessed and happy Holiday Season. May God’s peace and hope be yours this Christmas and in 2007.

Please look for the next ANN bulletin on January 9, 2007. We will, however, continue to post news on news.adventist.org as it occurs.

1.  Thailand: ADRA Gives Girls a Safety Net Amid Human Trafficking Explosion—In too many places in Thailand many young girls’ families cannot afford to support them much less pay for their education. Often the girls, as young as 10 years old, end up as prostitutes who are unable to return to their homes. Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) raises money to pay tuition, pay for uniforms and meals so that girls can go to school.

2. United States: Adventist Doss, First Conscientious Objector to Win Medal of Honor, Dies at Age 87—The name of Desmond Doss is often synonymous with the traditional Adventist stance of noncombatancy. In World War II, Doss served as an army medic instead of carrying weapons. Without weapons he saved the lives of 75 of his fellow soldiers on the island of Okinawa, Japan. He is the only conscientious objector to receive the United States’ Congressional Medal of Honor. This year it was announced that the award-winning documentary of Doss’ stance, The Conscientious Objector, will be made into a feature film. Doss died earlier this year. 

3. Cutting-Edge Cancer Treatment Center Improves Health of Thousands—Loma Linda University’s Proton Treatment Center offers cancer patients a non-invasive, virtually pain- and side-effect-free alternative to traditional energy-sapping radiation treatment. The center has seen more than 11,000 patients in its 15- year history. Proton treatment is a form of radiation that differs from conventional radiation in which x-rays are used. Proton therapy treats cancerous tumors without harming surrounding healthy tissue.

4. Nearly 50 Percent of Jail Population Give Their Lives to Jesus—The Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies’ (AIIAS) prison ministry team, consisting of 10 to 15 students and staff, has been active at the Dasmariñas Municipal Jail in the Philippines for several years. In addition to holding weekly worship services on Saturday (Sabbath) the ministry has also constructed a new building for the jail, helping to relieve overcrowding. Earlier this year the team decided to hold a 15-day evangelistic series. It was the first evangelistic series to be held at the jail. At the end of the crusade on March 25, 151 detainees of the Dasmariñas Municipal Jail decided to accept Jesus and were baptized.

5.  ANN Feature: Adventist Scholars See ‘Gospel of Judas’ as Neither an Authentic Gospel Nor ‘Good News’—The discovery of a 1,700-year-old copy of the “Gospel of Judas,” an early Gnostic text purporting to contain a dialogue between Jesus of Nazareth and Judas Iscariot generated quite a bit of attention this year. Adventist scholars though say the text is neither an authentic Gospel nor good news. “It was heresy then and it’s heresy now,” was the blunt assessment of Dr. Gerhard Pfandl, an associate director of the church’s Biblical Research Institute who counts Near Eastern Archaeology among his professional interests. According to National Geographic, which released two books and featured the story in its May 2006 magazine, “Unlike the accounts in the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in which Judas is portrayed as a reviled traitor, this newly discovered gospel portrays Judas as acting at Jesus’ request when he hands Jesus over to the authorities.”

6. World Church: Adventists Counsel Fairness in Approaching ‘Conversion Code’—Discussions by religious leaders over how conversion between faiths should be promoted must remember the rights of all individuals to select and follow the beliefs their consciences dictate, Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty leaders say. This year the Vatican and the World Council of Churches, or WCC launched a three-year joint study project aimed at developing a shared code of conduct on the controversial issue of religious conversion, according to a WCC statement.

7. ANN Feature: Adventists Ready Da Vinci Code Response, Affirm Bible Account—There was no denying or ignoring the hold the release of The Da Vinci Code had over headlines worldwide. “The Da Vinci Code is a suspense-filled, spine tingling read that blends fiction with fiction,” says Mark A. Finley, a general vice president of the Adventist world church and head of the Center for Global Evangelism. “Although author Dan Brown claims it is ‘historical fiction,’ there is very little solid history in it.” However, Finley adds, “the novel and movie provide Christians everywhere an opportunity to show the contrast between the eternal Word of God and the living Christ and the superficiality of an imaginary story.” Adventists were among several churches that countered the movie’s claims with its own documentaries. 

8. Darfur: Adventist Relief Aid Reaches Internally Displaced Sudanese—The plight of the 2 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) living in despicable conditions in Darfur, Sudan gained more attention this year than in years past. These IDPs left their homes looking to escape violence between alleged government-backed militia—known as “Janjaweed”—and rebel armies. However, widespread rape, murder and looting have escalated, threatening the lives of thousands. At least 180,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict. Despite threats to relief workers the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues to provide aid to Darfur’s most desperate citizens.

9. United States: Federal Court Rules For Sabbath-keeping Worker—A United States federal district court in Fayetteville, Arkansas, ruled for a Seventh-day Adventist who sought accommodation for his Sabbath-keeping beliefs. The worker was awarded U.S. $311,166.75 in lost wages and punitive damages. It is believed to be one of few such cases in which punitive damages—designed to “reform or deter the defendant,” as one definition puts it—have been awarded to a Sabbath-keeper. Todd Sturgill, age 41 and a resident of Springdale, Arkansas, was a 19-year driver for United Parcel Service when he joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in May of 2004. In July of that year, Sturgill asked his employer for accommodation on Friday evenings during the upcoming holiday delivery season. After three months, Sturgill was told he would receive no accommodation.

10. Lebanon: Despite Challenges of War ADRA Reaches Out to Internally Displaced Persons—This past summer’s conflict between Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Israel shattered people’s lives and homes, forcing them to flee the violence, according to Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. One of the challenges was to move large amounts of relief goods internally since large trucks were targets for bombs, said Pastor Conrad Vine, secretary-treasurer for the Adventist Church in the Middle East. ADRA and the Adventist church in Lebanon worked to help as many in the community as possible. The church opened up its schools and other buildings to shelter those seeking refuge from daily bombings. This was one of several stories ANN wrote chronicling the impact of the violence on the Adventist church and the surrounding communities.

11. ANN Feature: Is the Adventist Stance on Noncombatancy Shifting? The number of Adventists serving in combat positions in the armed forces since World War II continues to grow even though the church encourages its members to serve in noncombatant positions. In this story Adventist scholars and leaders ask the question: have Adventists departed from the church’s traditional stance against bearing arms?

12. World Church: License Signed for netAdventist Name, Software—The Adventist church has signed a license agreement with Three Angels Global Networking (TAGnet) that makes a software package available to denominational entities at no cost. The software combines localized Web sites with live streams of information and resources from the global church. The license provides for future ownership of the software by the Adventist church’s General Conference and permits local churches to tailor the software to meet their individual needs. At the same time the church also released a new statement on Web site guidelines for all Adventist-owned entities. The statement can be found here. n

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14. <b>World Church: Women Talk With Church Leader About Abuse, Leadership, Health, Poverty—For the first time ever a Seventh-day Adventist world church president, Pastor Jan Paulsen, sat down and talked with Adventist women about issues specifically affecting women in the church. The Dec. 14 program, <i>Time to Talk</i>, was shown live on the Hope Channel Adventist women from all over the world gathered in three studios—at the church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, in Cape Town, South Africa, and in London, England—to share their deepest concerns with Pastor Paulsen and the Adventist world. </p>

15. <a href="http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/10/1162905991/index.html.en">ANN Feature: Chirala—Moving Into the Neighborhood—Growth in the Adventist church in India is explosive. In this story we see through the eyes of a visitor, present during the final weekend of a three-week crusade, how and why people make decisions for Christ. </p>

16. <a href="http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/11/1165522107/index.html.en">Africa: Don’t ‘File and Forget’ Church’s Agenda, World Church President Urges Members—While visiting Southern Africa Pastor Paulsen spoke out on HIV, poverty and abuse. He said Adventists must direct considerably more focus to the HIV and AIDS epidemic in Africa. “God forbid,” he said, “that the church should ever tire of exploring ways [to] contribute to alleviating some of the sufferings [brought on by] this pandemic.” He also added, “as a global community, we need to be a voice that articulates the issues, a voice that stirs the conscience of the governments and the people in positions to make a difference.” </p>

17. <a href="http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/09/1160340858/index.html.en">World Church: ‘<i>Tell The World’</i> Guiding Principle of Church, Leaders Agree—A report at the church’s Annual Council held in October was the first on <i>Tell The World</i> since the initiative’s adoption by the Adventist church during last year’s General Conference Session. In reports from all around the world church leaders shared progress and challenges in the spreading of the gospel story. Pastor Mark Finley, general vice president of the world church, said that <i>Tell The World</i>‘s goal to provide an opportunity for every person to hear and know the gospel over the next five years is both “the most ambitious vision the church has ever set forth” and a “guiding principle” for what he called the “mission-driven church.”</p>