In a full-page advertisement in the September 24 edition of the New York Times, the Seventh-day Adventist Church pledged its solidarity in prayer for those suffering in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

“We wanted to reach out with a simple message of heartfelt sympathy and support,” says Larry Colburn, assistant to the president of the Adventist Church worldwide. “And we felt the best way to do this would be to affirm that our members around the world are united in prayer for all those touched by the tragic events of September 11.”

“Praying—for the families, for our leaders, for our cities, for our world,” read the message, sponsored by the Adventist Church’s General Conference, which ran on page A13 of the New York Times. Running across the bottom of the page was a line-drawing of the New York City skyline with a gap where the twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood.

Adventists have been galvanized by the events of September 11, donating money, providing on-site counseling and pastoral care, giving blood, and opening their churches for prayer vigils and special inter-faith memorial services.

“But this advertisement was something just a little different,” says Colburn. “It was an unadorned, no-strings-attached message of caring from the worldwide Adventist faith community—a message we felt was very important to give at this time.”

The New York Times is distributed nationwide and has a daily readership of more than 1.1 million. To view a copy of the advertisement go to www.adventist.org.