Subsequent to the recent upsurge in regional violence the leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Middle East is calling for restraint on all sides of the conflict and between various factions in Lebanon and Israel.

Early on Thursday morning, July 13,  rockets fired from Israeli warplanes took out all three runways of Beirut International Airport, the only international airport in Lebanon, as well as specific targets in Beirut, some close to the Mouseitbeh Adventist School which is on its summer break. No injury to church members or damage to institutions has been reported, although media reports suggest casualties among Lebanese citizens.

“The Lebanese Adventist members have patiently endured a turbulent history,” says Kjell Aune, president of the Adventist church in the Middle East. “This beautiful country has recovered so remarkably from decades of civil war because of the resilience of its people. Our first priority to our members is to ensure that we do all we can to maintain their safety and keep open lines of communication for prayer and logistical support.”

As a routine precautionary measure expatriate church personnel have been placed on “Low Threat Alert” which is in compliance with the church’s Evacuation Plan document issued by the headquarters office in Cyprus. “This requires staff to prepare an evacuation/survival kit, maintain close contact with their respective embassies, keep their mobile phones on at all times and appraise us of any fresh developments,” says Conrad Vine, secretary-treasurer of the Adventist church in the Middle East. “Currently there is an air, land and sea blockade enforced, which would make a potential evacuation order more complicated to facilitate.”

Pastor Aune is calling on the worldwide Adventist church to make the crisis in Lebanon a matter of urgent prayer. This is in light of a recent executive committee decision to move the Middle East church’s headquarters from Nicosia, Cyprus to Beirut, planned for September this year. Renovations to a purpose-built office facility and staff housing are almost complete.

The Adventist church in Lebanon has about 300 members. It owns and runs two schools and is also the location of the Middle East University, the regional church’s only institution of tertiary education.