Thursday, June 24, 2010

City of Atlanta welcomes Adventists during press conference

Adventist president fields questions about GC Session; event expected to pump $80 million into local economy

23 Jun 2010, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Edwin Manuel Garcia/ANN

Top tourism officials of Atlanta, Georgia, welcomed Seventh-day Adventist world church President Jan Paulsen to their city today for the denomination's 59th General Conference Session, which is projected to pump $80 million into the local economy.



Adventist World Church President Jan Paulsen fields questions during a press conference with local media June 23. [photo: Gerry Chudleigh/ANN]

"We are thrilled to have you in our city -- as you can see now, we've got the street pole banners in downtown welcoming your attendees here," said Mark Vaughan, executive vice president of the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. "And we're more than confident that each person will have a great experience here in Atlanta."

Mark Zimmerman, general manager of the Georgia World Congress Center and the 72,000-seat Georgia Dome, acknowledged Atlanta's hot and humid weather may be uncomfortable for attendees. "But there's one thing you can count on: It will always be 78 and sunny inside the Georgia Dome," he said.

Vaughan and Zimmerman's comments came at the opening news conference of the session, which is expected to draw tens of thousands of Adventists over the 10-day run, during which more than 2,400 delegates will elect church leaders for the next five years.

Paulsen, who said the church was "delighted to be in Atlanta," laid out the organization's goals for the session, and answered several questions about the agenda.

The most important discussions, he said, will focus on: updating the Church Manual, deciding whether some decisions should be made at annual executive sessions instead of at the every-five-year General Conference Sessions, looking into how the church defines departments inside the church, and selecting the organization's leadership.

Updating the language in the manual, which has been amended by "bits and pieces" over the decades, he said, is challenging because of the world church's diversity. "As a global community there will be many differences inside the cultures," Paulsen said, "and somehow the church has to be aligned where it is, and not so tight that it can't function."

One part of the Manual that won't be updated, Paulsen said, is the church's current stance on ordination of women. Church officials are not expected to recommend changes to the church's position, he said.

Paulsen also called the Adventist Church "a strong and rapidly growing community" that is becoming better known among world political leaders.

"In years past, we were ... just a small community. There's a huge difference between a community of 1 million and a community of 25 million," he said. The church currently has 16.3 million baptized members in more than 200 countries.

The "community," which includes several million children, grew by at least one in the minutes before Paulsen spoke to reporters. While waiting for the news conference to begin, Paulsen said he received an electronic message on his wireless phone stating that his youngest grandson was just born in Geneva, Switzerland just seven minutes ago.




Carlton Byrd, pastor of the Atlanta Berean Adventist Church, told Session delegates gathered in the Georgia Dome today to unify in fulfilling the mission of the church. [photo: Josef Kissinger/ANN]



Not long after the news conference concluded, hundreds of delegates flocked to folding chairs on the floor of the Georgia Dome for the Session's first official activity -- an afternoon of spiritual emphasis.

They heard from church leaders such as Mark Finley, a General Conference vice president; Angel Rodriguez, director of the world church's Biblical Research Institute; and Carlton Byrd, pastor of the Atlanta Berean Adventist Church.

"We need to be deeply immersed in the scripture in order to speak with authority," said Rodriguez, who spoke about the importance of the Holy Spirit.

Byrd, one of several Atlanta-based preachers speaking this week, urged attendees to be "in one accord" in fulfilling the mission of the church.

Drawing an analogy between the uncontrollable oil spill in the Gulf Coast and the Holy Sprit, Byrd said, "The Adventist Church needs a BP moment, and I'm not talking about British Petroleum. I'm talking about Big-time Power."

Let the Holy Spirit's oil spill across the globe, Byrd said. "Drill, baby, drill."
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"Adventist News Network" must appear either under the headline or immediately following the article.
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New President at South Central Conference


Dana C. Edmond, a former youth leader and magazine columnist, was elected president of the
South Central Conference on September 13 in Nashville, Tennessee.


Dana C. Edmond [Photo: R&H]



Edmond, who has served as conference executive secretary since 2001, was elected by the conference executive committee and fills the vacancy left when Benjamin P. Browne retired as president on September 1. Browne served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 41 years. The executive committee will meet on December 13 to elect a new conference secretary.

Edmond has served the Seventh-day Adventist Church for 31 years. After graduating from Oakwood College (now Oakwood University), he began his ministry as a pastor and school teacher in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in the North Caribbean Conference. In 1982, Edmond joined the South Central Conference as a pastor in Kentucky. He served in various pastorates for 12 years before joining the conference staff as youth director in 1990. In 2001 Edmond was elected executive secretary, where he’s served until now.

Along with his administrative duties, Edmond was a columnist for Insight magazine, the church’s journal for highs school and college-aged youth. He also wrote the book Do it Right—Love, Sex, and Relationships God’s Way.

“I am humbled by this honor,” the new president says. “It is one of the greatest honors and greatest responsibilities I’ve ever been given.”

In describing his vision for ministry Edmond explains, “We have to be more intentional about ministry. We have make a plan [for ministry] and then pray for God’s blessing on our plan.”

Edmond married the former Jill Robinson of Lexington, Kentucky. The Edmonds have two grown children, Courtney Edmond Campbell and Robert James Edmond.
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Adventist South Central Conference President States The Reasons For Hiring Women Pastors


Posted by Luther Blanchard on Jun 21st, 2010 and


Photo by Joe Mabel

In a statement released Friday, South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists President addressed the reasons for hiring two women to the pastoral office in the conference.

Edmond notes that he is “grateful to announce…the first females added to our pastoral staff in the history of our conference, Pastors Lola Moore (Assistant Pastor, Oakwood University SDA Church) and Josian Frampton (Assistant Pastor, Birmingham Ephesus).”

In the statement, Edmond stated the reasons for the move.

First, Edmond believed that the conference must find the best people to work for the conference “regardless of gender, age, ethnciity, etc.”

Second, Edmond stated that the more diversified the staff the more people the conference can “reach with the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Edmond noted that this was a “seismic shift” that may cause some difficulties. However, Edmond believes that “the conference will give to these ladies the same opportunity that it gave to (Edmond) and all of (the) other male Pastors: the opportunity to prove the call of God upon their lives.”

South Central Conference is a member of the Southern Union and North American Division, as well as the Worldwide General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
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Jamaican Adventists on their own

West Indies Union Conference goes out of existence in November

BY DESMOND ALLEN Executive Editor - Operations allend@jamaicaobserver.com

Sunday, June 13, 2010

SPURRED by phenomenal growth, Jamaican Adventists are moving out on their own from the parent West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists which will go out of existence, church leaders have confirmed.

As of November 29 this year, the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (JAMU) will formally come into being, with responsibility for the five regional East, West, Central, North and North East Jamaica Conferences.

Pastor Israel Leito (left) and Pastor Derek Bignall discussing major changes in the West Indies Union of Seventh-day Adventists. (Photo: Nigel Coke)

The new Jamaica Union will cater to the spiritual needs of 250,000 Adventists, making it the largest Christian denomination in Jamaica, and a beacon in the worldwide Adventist church.

"We are looking forward to this change in our ecclesiastical landscape," said Pastor Derek Bignall, the Jamaican president of the 104-year-old West Indies Union. "This is a sign of maturity and growth within our region."

One of the biggest items of church news in recent times, the decision to create a Jamaica Union will have a ripple effect on other territories of the West Indies Union and on the Mandeville-based Northern Caribbean University (NCU).

The Bahamas, Cayman Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands which were also part of the West Indies Union with Jamaica before the reorganisation, will now become the Atlantic Caribbean Union Mission, with approximately 25,000 members.

The Herbert Thompson-led NCU, previously known as the West Indies College, will be jointly owned and operated by the Jamaica and the Atlantic Unions, church officials also confirmed.

Church elders have also decided to build a new church to perpetuate the memory of the West Indies Union in Mandeville.

"It will not only memorialise the history of the growth and development of the Union's conferences/Missions, institutions and churches, but also of individuals," Bignall told the Sunday Observer, adding: "It (the memorial church) is a worthy monument to establish for the preservation of the work of the church to ensure that our history is not forgotten."

Thompson explained that current plans to establish an NCU church would be abandoned in favour of the WIU Memorial Church, as the new church will be named.

In addition, the original NCU church site would now be dedicated to the expansion of a Science Department accommodating the university's emerging Engineering Programme, which will make use of the multi-billion software donation made to the NCU by Siemens Inc in November 2009.

Said Thompson: "When years from now our children and grandchildren ask 'What is this West Indies Union I hear so much about?' there must be a place where information is archived about what we used to be and the memorial church will be just that."

The new configuration was voted into existence by the executive committee of the Adventist World Church at its April 7, 2010 annual spring meeting, and details presented to anxious pastors, workers and church elders assembled at the NCU gymnatorium on May 31, 2010 by Pastor Israel Leito, president of the SDA Inter-American Division.

"This reorganisation is in recognition of the significant growth and development that has taken place in West Indies Union over the past few years," Leito said.

He shot down claims among some members that the dissolution of the West Indies Union was the beginning of a move to create an English-speaking Division within the Inter-American division which has its headquarters in Miami, Florida.

Leito also admitted that some West Indies Union staff would lose their jobs, but said every effort would be made to reabsorb them into other institutions of the church.

The IAD president said the changes would come into effect at the final West Indies Union Session set for November 29 to December 1, 2010, during a ceremony of separation. The separation of finances and assets would become effective January 1, 2011.
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Work the Cities from Outposts


Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. 2 Cor. 6:17.

As God's commandment-keeping people, we must leave the cities. As did Enoch, we must work in the cities but not dwell in them. {Mar 184.1}

As far as possible, our institutions should be located away from the cities. . . . It is not God's will that His people shall settle in the cities, where there is constant turmoil and confusion. Their children should be spared this; for the whole system is demoralized by the hurry and rush and noise. The Lord desires His people to move into the country, where they can settle on the land, and raise their own fruit and vegetables, and where their children can be brought in direct contact with the works of God in nature. Take your families away from the cities is my message. {Mar 184.2}

The truth must be spoken, whether men will hear, or whether men will forbear. The cities are filled with temptation. We should plan our work in such a way as to keep our young people as far as possible from this contamination. {Mar 184.3}

The cities are to be worked from outposts. Said the messenger of God, "Shall not the cities be warned? Yes; not by God's people living in them, but by their visiting them, to warn them of what is coming upon the earth." {Mar 184.4}

When iniquity abounds in a nation, there is always to be heard some voice giving warning and instruction, as the voice of Lot was heard in Sodom. Yet Lot could have preserved his family from many evils had he not made his home in this wicked, polluted city. All that Lot and his family did in Sodom could have been done by them, even if they had lived in a place some distance away from the city. Enoch walked with God, and yet he did not live in the midst of any city polluted with every kind of violence and wickedness, as did Lot in Sodom. {Mar 184.5}

He [Enoch] did not make his abode with the wicked. . . . He placed himself and his family where the atmosphere would be as pure as possible. Then at times he went forth to the inhabitants of the world with his God-given message. . . . After proclaiming his message, he always took back with him to his place of retirement some who had received the warning.
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Maranatha, E. G. White, page 184.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2010

The Barnabas Award


Purpose

Barnabas, a disciple of Jesus Christ in the first century, exhibited many qualities necessary for keeping Christian organizations strong and vibrant. This award recognizes individuals who have served CBFA by being a Barnabas, exhibiting similar qualities, serving and participating joyfully and enthusiastically and contributing to CBFA’s effectiveness and esprit de corps.

Sponsor

The Barnabas Award was endowed by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.

Criteria

This award recognizes contributions to CBFA by individuals who demonstrate some or all of the qualities inspired by the life of Barnabas:

Encouragement: Encourages colleagues to join, serve, write and flourish in CBFA
Servant-leadership: Accepts visible and hidden responsibilities with a servant heart
Harmonizing: Builds bridges and community within the organization
Innovative and competent: Advances CBFA’s effectiveness through expertise and new ideas
Dedication: Steadfastly serves as an ambassador of CBFA and its mission



Recognition

The honoree receives a specially minted medallion, a monetary award and a public tribute.


Past Recipients


Year...Recipient...Institution

2009
Kenneth Bates
Houghton College

2008
Dr. Larry Rottmeyer
Taylor University

2007
Ronald Walker
Cedarville University

2006
Richard A. Halberg
Houghton College
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The McChrystal Rolling Stone article: the story behind the story

The McChrystal Rolling Stone article was written by a freelance reporter who ended up in an impromptu 'embed' with McChrystal because of the Iceland volcano.


Gen. Stanley McChrystal works aboard a C-130 over Afghanistan in this photo used in the McChrystal Rolling Stone article.
Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Mark O’Donald/NATO/Rolling Stone/AP


By Christa Case Bryant, Staff writer / June 23, 2010


The Rolling Stone McChrystal article might never have exploded in Washington Wednesday if the Eyjafjallajokull volcano hadn’t erupted in Iceland this spring.

At least, that’s how Rolling Stone correspondent Michael Hastings has explained how his two-day stint with Gen. Stanley McChrystal in Paris turned into nearly a month-long “embed” with the US military officer who was, until Wednesday, in charge of the war in Afghanistan. Stranded in Europe, they traveled to Berlin together – and then later to Kabul and Washington.

Mr. Hastings, a salty Vermonter who earned his chops covering the Iraq war, was reached Wednesday by a number of US news outlets in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold. He is reporting on the ramp-up to an offensive that has been billed as key to McChrystal’s counterinsurgency strategy, which the more diplomatic Gen. David Petraeus will now oversee.

The comments McChrystal and his staff made to Hastings have many in Washington shaking their heads over how a top commander could let down his guard with what one outlet characterized as “an antiwar reporter from an antiwar magazine.”

By all accounts McChrystal crossed a red line by disparaging senior members of the Obama administration, and allowing his aides to do so as well – something that even McChrystal acknowledges he, and he alone, is responsible for.

But this was not a case of failing to hold one’s tongue during a one-hour, cross-legged interview in soft lamplight.

The Rolling Stone profile was sussed out over weeks in which Hastings, who in the past had prided himself on getting sources “drunk and singing,” followed McChrystal’s band from Parisian hotel rooms to dusty Afghan outposts with a tape recorder and notebook in hand “three-quarters of the time.”

The result was a not only controversial but rich portrait of McChrystal – from editor of a West Point literary magazine to a dad who doesn’t mind his son’s blue mohawk, to a (possibly unwitting) player in the cover-up of Pat Tillman’s death by friendly fire.

In interviews published by Newsweek and the Burlington Free Press in Vermont, where he went to high school, Hastings was quoted Wednesday as saying he was very surprised by the impact of his Rolling Stone profile.

But Hastings is not a naïve reporter, if only 30 years old. A veteran of Baghdad, where his girlfriend was killed after coming to join him, Hastings has – in his own words – spent time around Catholic school, county jail, rehab, and the presidential candidates of 2008.

His mission on the campaign trail, he wrote in a 2008 GQ piece, was “basically: Ride the buses and planes with the candidates, have big lunches and dinners on the expense account, get sources drunk and singing, then report back the behind-the-scenes story.”

Deriding Rudy Giuliani for making light of the war in Iraq, where he had a brother fighting, and curious about John McCain’s purported womanizing, Hastings said he had trouble being objective. But he was not apologetic.

"Objectivity is a fallacy,” he wrote.

He talked about the game in which “you try to be friendly and nonthreatening” with politicians’ aides to “build trust” – but dismissed the trust as an illusion. In the same GQ article, Hastings described trying to get presidential candidate Mike Huckabee in an unguarded moment – “swearing, or bringing in a hooker, or breaking out in spontaneous prayer.”

Hastings doesn’t try to come off as a saint, but on The Hastings Report, his blog that has 142 followers as of Wednesday, he says he greatly respects writers “who live their lives with integrity and without compromise.”
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Obama's DOL Secretary Hilda L. Solis

http://

Obama's DOL Secretary Hilda L. Solis: You Have the Right to Be Paid Fairly Whether Documented or Not
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Adventist Church executives move statements, manual revisions

Creation, deaconess' ordination hot issues

23 Jun 2010, Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Mark A. Kellner, Adventist Review

World leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in a special Executive Council meeting June 23, voted to advance several statements on hot-button issues including the church's belief in the biblical account of creation, and its commitment to religious liberty. The leaders also approved two dozen proposed changes to the "Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual," due to come to a vote at the church's 59th General Conference Session, opening here tomorrow.

The Adventist Church's Executive Council met this morning to advance several policy issues -- including proposed edits to the Church Manual -- up for vote during General Conference Session, which runs through July 3. [Joel Springer, Adventist Review]



Chaired by Jan Paulsen, president of the Adventist Church, the three-hour session covered 11 different topics, including six public statements, the roster of delegates, invitees to the Session's steering committee, and revisions to the Church Manual.

Of the topics, it was the Church Manual revisions, mostly editorial changes and amendments, which elicited some of the most heated discussion. Particular attention was directed to a paragraph mentioning the ordination of deaconesses, a practice followed in some, but not all, church divisions.

Following comments by those opposing the practice, Ella Smith Simmons, a general vice president of the world church, said "in every case, in every instance, we must recognize the value of women in this Church," comments which drew scattered applause from the members. Israel Leito, president of the church's Inter-American region, said "we have to look at the ministry of the church" in considering women's roles, noting that different Inter-American regions have ordained, or not ordained, deaconesses for years without problems.

The revision passed, as did all changes proposed to the manual. Some language may be changed before the measures reach the Session floor, and each proposed change will come to a vote.

Equally galvanizing was the fourth of six statements to be issued by the Executive Committee. Titled "Creation: The Bible's Worldview," the statement reaffirmed Adventists' belief in "the biblical view of origins in contrast to an evolutionary explanation," according to the draft text.

The statement said Adventists "believe that the biblical events recorded in Genesis [chapters] 1-11, including the special creation of human beings, are historical and recent, that the seven days of creation were literal[,] 24-hour days forming a literal week, and that the Flood was global in nature."

Several committee members urged strengthening various aspects of the statement's wording. Wording for the statement may be slightly revised before it is publicly released.

Other statements voted June 23 affirmed the role of the Holy Bible and, separately, the Spirit of Prophecy in the life and witness of the Adventist Church. The Executive Committee also voted statements for public release that urged special attention to the nurture and protection of children; a commitment to social and governmental initiatives to end violence against women and girls; and a pledge to support both United Nations and non-governmental organizations' campaigns to reduce poverty.

The sensitive and related issues of freedom of expression and defamation of religion were addressed in a statement entitled, "Adventists on Freedom of Speech and Defamation of Religion," that the Executive Council also voted before its midday adjournment.

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Source: http://news.adventist.org/2010/06/adventist-church-exe.html
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How many more 'Stans' can the U.S. Withstand?


Recently there was an incident in Kyrgyzstan where ethnic Kyrgys attaked and killed hundreds of Uzbeks.



Well, here is a case in Kyrgystan where a minortity people from Uzbekistan are victims of tribal rivalries, so common in Central Asia. The way I see it, this internal incident is a warning that we can not get any further involved in these "Stans"; If we ever want to take care of domestic issues.

At present we are committed in Afghanistan, and have in the last year escalated the regional hostilities with drone bombing attacks into Pakistan, supposedly chasing the Taliban. Here's the problem with this incrementally growing approach of fighting the Taliban, the Islamists, and the evasive Al Qaeda; If we are not careful we may get even further involved in this Central Asian quagmire by chasing ghosts in Tadzhikistan, then Uzbekistan, sooner or later Turkmenistan, eventually Kyrgystan, and then Kazakhstan.
How can we afford to handle all these potential enemies? If the British had a hard time controlling this area when they commanded the Sub-Continent; How will the United States of America handle this myriad of ethnic Islamic foes? If we can't control the Khyber Pass, or find bin Laden in Bora Bora or Tora Tora; How will we handle this ever growing war against this laundry list of Muslim belligerents once their territory is invaded?

How many more Stans can we withstand?
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Canada earthquake video: 5.0 quake sends people running

'>http://


Canada earthquake video: 5.0 quake sends people running
A magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck at the Ontario-Quebec border region of Canada on Wednesday, shaking homes and businesses. In Ottawa, the quake struck in the middle of a news conference sending people running. (June 23) (The Associated Press)
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Pastor Elizabeth Talbot


Talbot, Pastor Elizabeth



Pastor Elizabeth Talbot, senior pastor at the Grace Place, Alhambra SDA Church, is podcasting her well-received and popular "Jesus 101"program.

Videos of her dynamic sermons are also recorded and are available on the web. Pastor Talbot is among the first Adventist women ministers who used webcasting and podcasting successfully to reach many people. Pastor Talbot is an energetic speaker with a special talent for connecting with people and understanding contemporary social issues. Her relentless efforts towards finding new ways to reach more people have won her many awards, including the Barnabas Award for "Creativity in Ministry". She is from Argentina and has a Master's degree in Organizational Behavior as well as a MA in Biblical Studies. Pastor Talbot is a Doctoral candidate for Biblical studies at the University of Gloucestershire, UK.

Her webcasting as well as podcasting are viewable from any of the following websites:


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Where to go for Contemporary Christian Music and vibrant worship service

WGTS 91.9 FM— based on the campus of Washington Adventist University (WAU), formerly Columbia Union College, in Takoma Park, Maryland, WGTS FM is a listener-supported station with a signal that covers the greater Baltimore --Washington D.C. area., including northern Virginia. Broadcasting 24 hours a day, WGTS features a contemporary Christian music format. The station is a self-supporting subsidiary of WAU. Listen NOW.

Praise 90.1 — broadcasting throughout the Tennessee Valley for 25 years, Praise 90.1 (WOCG FM) is owned and operated by Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. The noncommercial format includes brief educational and spiritually uplifting programs along with a unique music format called Inspirational Soul. Listen NOW

Positive Life Radio — emphasizing the positive life that God gives anyone who accepts. Based at Walla Walla College in College Place, Washington, Positive Life Radio (KGTS FM) broadcasts 24 hours a day with nearly every hour containing Contemporary Christian music. Listen NOW

KTSY 89.5 FM — broadcasting throughout southern Idaho, KTSY FM, a Family Friendly Music Staion, is owned and operated by the Idaho Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Based in Caldwell Idaho, KTSY FM is a listener supported station broadcasting 24 hours a day. It features a Contemporary Christian music format. Listen NOW

KJCR 88.3 FM — located on the Southwestern Adventist University campus in Keene, Texas, KJCR FM, a listener-supported station, covers Dallas, Fortworth, Waco, and other northwest Texas locals. The student-operated radio station features a contemporary Christian music format with an emphasis on worship and praise music.Listen NOW


Sligo Church — based on the outskirts of Washington D.C., in Takoma Park, Maryland, the Sligo congregation has a vibrant community program and variety of ministries. Under the leadership of Pastor Charles Tapp offers a vibrant worship service. Listen NOW.

Community Praise Center — based in Alexandria, Virginia, this Seventh-day Adventist congregation has a strong focus on mission and outreach. Under the leadership of Pastor Henry Wright, the church has a vibrant worship, festive worship ministry. Listen NOW. To access sermons in other downloadable formats, click here.



Vatican, U.S. bishops enlarge dialogue with Catholic Church media

(CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec)
From left is
Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, Alberta; Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Bishop Ronald P. Herzog of Alexandria, La; and Bishop Thomas G. Doran of Rockford, Ill.


Vatican, U.S. bishops enlarge dialogue with Catholic Church media
June 9th, 2010
By Rick DelVecchio


“To walk with man, without condemning, without judging...offering what we have in our heart that is Jesus, because we perceive that only in this encounter with Jesus man can find his happiness.”

That is the service that Catholic media can perform for the world today, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, the Vatican’s top communications man, told Catholic media professionals.

Catholic media are important in the mission of the Church to evangelize but play a dual role, Archbishop Celli said in a question-and-answer session with a small group of journalists June 3 during the 2010 Catholic Media Convention in New Orleans.

They serve not only to teach but also to be in dialogue with the world, he said.

Such dialogue is more important today than ever, with the Church confronting not only a critical secular press but also the explosion of social media and the resulting disruption of old patterns of sharing knowledge, said Archbishop Celli, who is president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in Rome.

Archbishop Celli told a parable about a musician whose guitar was stolen but who responded that “you can’t steal the music in my heart.”

“Here is communication for us: what is the music that you have in your heart and how do you communicate with others?” Archbishop Celli asked. “This is why the Church and its media cannot talk only to the Catholic community, because I think the Church has in its heart a music that can be understood by the mankind of today.

“I think we have something inside the Church that can really respond to the suffering of humanity today,” he said, “and we have to give it. This is communication for me.”

Archbishop Celli confessed that he is in the process of learning how this mission should be adapted for the digital age, where new technologies are bringing about a new culture. He said the Church must press forward with its prophetic role in the development of society, but cautioned that there is great variety in Church needs and means between the U.S. and Africa, for example, and between print and digital forms.

Archbishop Celli noted that a friend, a priest in Madrid, recently told him that more people visit the priest’s website than attend Mass. Yet, in Latin America most Church organizations do not have websites, he said.

He also noted that the balance between the catechetical, the devotional and dialogue in Church communication varies from place to place according to culture and resources.

Archbishop Celli is inviting each episcopal body to send three Church communicators – two from the print side, one from the Internet – to an international conference in Rome in October.

“I think we need to see what is the meaning of the Catholic press today,” he said, adding that the Vatican is looking for points of reference and does not want to impose solutions. “Inside the Church, we must discover what is the meaning of the Internet.”

Archbishop Celli said he is also dwelling on the question of how will meditation, how will prayer, survive in the digital age?

“The new generations are afraid to live in a moment of silence,” he said.

He noted that many directors of seminaries are switching off wireless service for their seminarians – “not only forbidding them to use social networks but teaching them how to use them.”

During the convention in New Orleans, U.S. bishops opened a dialogue with Catholic media professionals about their respective roles. A panel of four bishops candidly addressed press questions about the relationship between bishops and the staffs of Church media organizations. A common theme that emerged was that although bishops and communicators must be partners in evangelization, they have separate roles to play.

The session, the first of its kind, was on the last day of the 2010 Catholic Media Convention, sponsored by the Catholic Press Association and the Catholic Academy for Communication Arts Professionals. Helen Osman, secretary for communications at the bishops’ conference, opened the dialogue.

Those participating in the panel were Archbishop Richard Smith of Edmonton, Alberta; Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans; Bishop Ronald Herzog of Alexandria, La., and Bishop Thomas Doran of Rockford, Ill.

“There needs to be a distinction between reporting the news, which in some ways can be easier than handing on Church teaching,” Archbishop Aymond said. “In terms of handing on Church teaching, the media has a powerful responsibility to help us in terms of not telling people what to do but in helping them inform their conscience.”

The separate role of bishops and Church media is an important matter but not the crucial one, Archbishop Smith said. “In the context of evangelization, it becomes the question of how do we best collaborate with one another,” he said.

Archbishop Aymond said the U.S. bishops realize they could be better communicators and must do so by responding more quickly to reports in the secular media, and responding with one voice.
“Those are two challenges that we are aware of and that we must face if we can be credible,” he said

But the Church must resist forces that would divide it, Bishop Doran said.

“The problem is that we can’t break up the Church into factions,” he said, “much as some would have us do. We have a constant exhortation in the New Testament, one heart and one mind, and we have to strive for that.”

Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala of Los Angeles gave a talk on the elements of a faithful Catholic media. Catholic media must stand apart from the secular media with their tendency to attack, he said.

“I also do not think that we should go to the other extreme and simply say that faithful Catholic media organizations are those who engage in apologetics to defend bishops at all costs,” he said. “That is too simplistic and does not respect the intelligence of Catholics in North America. They deserve a Catholic media that takes a more nuanced perspective.”
For the full text of Bishop Zavala’s talk and audio clips of remarks by the bishops’ panel and Archbishop Celli, go to catholic-sf.org. [ http://catholic-sf.org/multimedia.php?section=audio&id=76 ]

From June 11, 2010 issue of Catholic San Francisco.
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Orszag Leaves, Red Ink Remains




Now that the Obama Administration is going to see its sexiness quotient go down, it is time to consider just what Peter Orszag’s legacy to the nation is. Unfortunately, in considering that legacy, we see that the bad outweighs the good.

As Jonathan Weisman notes, the most obvious Orszagian legacy is a debt of $1 trillion. That’s right; trillion. With a T. The natural consequences of that debt will be higher interest rates, a decreased capacity to borrow when we really need to borrow, and a coming era of austerity that will lead to economic stagnation, and even recession, as we grapple with the debt that Orszag and the Obama Administration bequeathed to us. The parlous fiscal situation in which we find ourselves could have been avoided if only we chose not to implement a stimulus that isn’t working, and a health care plan we plainly cannot afford. To be sure, the Bush Administration’s fiscal policy did not help matters, but the current Administration will outspend its predecessor–and put the country even more deeply in the hole as a consequence–by a significant amount. It’s impossible for the current Administration to blame its predecessor for the budgetary morass; indeed, blame cannot even be transferred with a straight face anymore.

Just as lamentable is Orszag’s record as a cheerleader for health care reform. While he helped successfully drive the effort to change the health care system, he did so at the expense of actually instituting good policy. As James Pethokoukis writes, the drive for health care reform was fueled by massive amounts of intellectual dishonesty which we will all pay for:
. . . Orszag made the case to the president that reducing healthcare costs was an important element to slashing the long-term budget deficit. More importantly, he persuaded Obama the U.S. healthcare system was so inefficient, overall spending could be restrained while also providing near-universal health insurance coverage. In effect, “bending the curve” was a free lunch. Or at least close enough for government work.

It was an audacious claim, mostly based on a single controversial academic study. Republicans never bought into the theory, and neither did Orszag’s successor at the Congressional Budget Office, Uncle Sam’s fiscal scorekeeper. In the end, Obama was forced to cut future Medicare spending and raise taxes to make the numbers balance out — at least on paper. Few Washington observers think those cuts will happen, meaning that the budget deficit could explode if Orszag’s novel theories don’t pan out. And even if the cuts occur, many budget hawks were counting on them to make Medicare sustainable over the long-term, not create a new entitlement.

Speaking of intellectual dishonesty, in what parallel universe is it acceptable to introduce a budget that neglects to mention a whopping $3.6 trillion in liabilities? Again, this would be trillion. With a T. Any business that pulled such a stunt would have found itself answering to people called “prosecutors,” and “class action attorneys.” One doesn’t wish Peter Orszag legal trouble–despite the manifest policy failings he is responsible for, he certainly seems like a nice guy–but it is worth noting that after leaving the Office of Management and Budget, Orszag will land some cushy, remunerative position in a think tank, or a private sector company, or both. Is this the price one pays for perpetrating budgetary fraud and chicanery upon the United States of America?

Orszag’s announced departure as Budget Director has set off speculation as to who his successor will be. Whoever ends up taking the job will need a strong sense of duty and patriotism, a strong stomach, and just the right amount of insanity to want to try to whittle around the gigantic budget deficit, and the truly terrifying national debt left to use by Orszag, and by the President he has served. About the only thing that we can hope for is that whatever sexiness quotient the next Budget Director lacks, he or she will make up for with a commitment to responsible policymaking. After having had to put up with Peter Orszag’s bad calls on the budget, and on health care reform, we are due for some competence at the Office of Management and Budget.
Is it possible that we will get competence? Possibly; Orszag has set the bar so low, that his successor will have to work extra hard to fail to clear it. Of course, the setting of that low bar is the source of many of our problems, now isn’t it?
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City plots huge land deal with U.N.

Photo by Buck Ennis.


June 13, 2010 5:59 AM


Plan: Sell East Side city properties to diplos to fund mile-long park.

By Theresa Agovino


City and state officials are crafting a byzantine plan to raise money to close a 21-block gap in the East Side waterfront promenade. The hard part is that it involves selling two city-owned office buildings, razing a playground and constructing a new tower for the United Nations.
The extraordinarily complicated proposal is still in its early stages, and it could easily fall apart as it moves forward, given all of the moving parts. Yet officials say it has a chance because it would offer a way to fulfill major, long-held goals for both the city and the U.N.: The international body would finally get the additional building it has wanted for years, and the city could add park space and waterfront amenities despite the budgetary crisis.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” says Sarra Hale-Stern, district office director for state Sen. Liz Krueger, who is working on the proposal that's being spearheaded by the city's Economic Development Corp.

Filling the promenade's gap, which extends from East 38th to East 59th streets, would cost $150 million to $200 million. The city would finance the construction by selling two buildings on East 44th Street that it leases to the U.N. Those sales could yield anywhere from $150 million to $300 million. In addition, sources say, the city is seeking at least $75 million from the U.N. for permission to build on Robert Moses Playground, a 29,000-square-foot blacktop across East 42nd Street from the U.N., on First Avenue.

Trading parkland
But the deal faces numerous obstacles. The playground transaction would require state legislation because it involves eliminating parkland. The idea would be to compensate the community for the loss by expanding the promenade and adding space to existing area parks.

“In the legislation, we are going to have to be very specific about what will be constructed if we take the major step of [removing] parkland,” says Brian Kavanagh, a state assemblyman working on the deal.

Yet getting the OK from Albany may be the easy part. The U.N. would have to approve the deal at a time when it is already spending $1.9 billion on a gut renovation of its headquarters complex.

The idea of the U.N. building on Robert Moses Playground has been kicking around for years, but two factors have resurrected the concept recently.

First, about six months ago, the U.N. hired a consultant to study its real estate needs, sources say. The consultant found that the international body needed to extend beyond its renovated headquarters and space it leases elsewhere. In fact, the U.N. is exploring moving some local employees out of the area. Such a move by a major employer would be a big blow to the city.

The U.N. is also weighing the possibility of constructing a building on its campus, on what is now green space to the north of the General Assembly Building. That's also far from ideal for the city because the U.N. sits on sovereign territory that is exempt from zoning laws, meaning local officials would have no say over what is constructed. Also, the city would be deprived of money if the U.N. built on its own land.

Long-cherished dream
Sources say the U.N. has long wanted to build on the playground site because its proximity to its headquarters means a tunnel could be created to connect the two buildings. Also, any building the U.N. constructed on the playground site couldn't be any taller than its current headquarters, sources say.

“The U.N. really wants to be in that spot, and the community really wants more parkland,” says Dan Garodnick, the local City Council member. “Hopefully, we can get a deal.”

In a statement, an EDC spokesman said the city would continue to work toward creating more open space and allowing a major employer to consolidate and expand.

Another reason behind the revived push is the possibility of using 22 caissons left behind when a temporary roadway was built while the FDR Drive was under construction. Keeping them would shave $25 million off the cost of constructing the promenade.

New York State's Department of Environmental Conservation wanted the caissons removed by the end of last year, but it has allowed them to stay as the promenade deal is being shaped. However, it is unclear when the department's patience will run out.

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GC WEB CAST & Schedule Watch Here


06/19/10


http://www.hopetv.org/gcsession/


From the Hope Channel:

"Watch Hope Channel's exclusive coverage from the 59th General Conference Session- June 24th to July 3rd! We welcome you to access the links below to view our global Hope Channels, program guides, video-on-demand, and other beneficial websites. This is a pivotal moment of renewed purpose and vision within our Church. Please join us as members from every part of our worldwide Church come together. Through these gatherings every five years, we powerfully affirm that we are one body, united in faith. During this special time, the focus will be to give thanks and worship, plan how to strengthen God’s church for mission, and most importantly, recommit ourselves to the Lord and to the task of proclaiming His grace to the world!"

Click Here to watch: http://www.hopetv.org/gcsession/

If you wish to view some of the GC Services and maybe for your church(es), the above link is to the Hope Channel GC SESSION site. The "Click here to watch" links along with session schedule is available there. Also here for your convenience click to download: Broadcast-Schedule Hope Channel_GC-2010.pdf.

Satellite info available through the contact us link on their home page.

Also it will be available to view through Our Home Page. Look for the Camera Icon on our home page. It will take you the the HOPE Channel Page.

Enjoy,

Elder Michael A. Harpe
Director of Communication
South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
http://www.scc-adventist.org/
michael.harpe@scc-adventist.org

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him [be] glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:20-21).
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Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Shock Doctrine - The Freemasonic Order The Jesuit/Illuminati Connections

http://


SENTIENTMIND — May 22, 2010 — Want your copy?
Free download here guys http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E634EDQJ

NB: Two mistakes to correct here.....from 5:15 to 5:40 please fix with an annotation the timeline was a mistake change to 1768 not 1868. Also one minor spelling mistake Wilhelmsbad not Whilhelmsbad, sorry but i have big hands and big fingers and can only type with two fingers lol.In this part we look into the beginnings of the Illuminati and take a personal look into Adam Weishaupt's life. We see how and who infiltrated Freemasonry and to this day we now know that Blue Freemasonry is the Illuminati. Subversion and infiltration you could say, was the order of the day. There is a bit of reading here guys so if ya not up to it and don't want to learn a bit of real history then you know what to do.
Category:

Bilderberg Meetings / List of Participants


Bilderberg Meeting: Sitges, Spain 3-6 June 2010

Final List of Participants

Honorary Chairman
BEL Davignon, Etienne; Vice Chairman, Suez-Tractebel


DEU Ackermann, Josef Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank AG
GBR Agius, Marcus Chairman, Barclays Bank PLC
ESP Alierta, César Chairman and CEO, Telefónica
INT Almunia, Joaquín Commissioner, European Commission
USA Altman, Roger C. Chairman, Evercore Partners Inc.
USA Arrison, Sonia Author and policy analyst
SWE Bäckström, Urban Director General, Confederation of Swedish Enterprise
PRT Balsemão, Francisco Pinto Chairman and CEO, IMPRESA, S.G.P.S.; Former Prime Minister ITA Bernabè, Franco CEO, Telecom Italia S.p.A.
SWE Bildt, Carl Minister of Foreign Affairs
FIN Blåfield, Antti Senior Editorial Writer, Helsingin Sanomat
ESP Botín, Ana P. Executive Chairman, Banesto
NOR Brandtzæg, Svein Richard CEO, Norsk Hydro ASA
AUT Bronner, Oscar Publisher and Editor, Der Standard
TUR Cakir, Ruşen Journalist
CAN Campbell, Gordon Premier of British Columbia
ESP Carvajal Urquijo, Jaime Managing Director, Advent International
FRA Castries, Henri de Chairman of the Management Board and CEO, AXA
ESP Cebrián, Juan Luis CEO, PRISA
ESP Cisneros, Gustavo A. Chairman and CEO, Cisneros Group of Companies
CAN Clark, W. Edmund President and CEO, TD Bank Financial Group
USA Collins, Timothy C. Senior Managing Director and CEO, Ripplewood Holdings, LLC
ITA Conti, Fulvio CEO and General Manager, Enel SpA
GRC David, George A. Chairman, Coca-Cola H.B.C. S.A.
DNK Eldrup, Anders CEO, DONG Energy
ITA Elkann, John Chairman, Fiat S.p.A.
DEU Enders, Thomas CEO, Airbus SAS
ESP Entrecanales, José M. Chairman, Acciona
DNK Federspiel, Ulrik Vice President Global Affairs, Haldor Topsøe A/S
USA Feldstein, Martin S. George F. Baker Professor of Economics, Harvard University
USA Ferguson, Niall Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History, Harvard University
AUT Fischer, Heinz Federal President
IRL Gallagher, Paul Attorney General
USA Gates, William H. Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Chairman, Microsoft Corporation
USA Gordon, Philip H. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
USA Graham, Donald E. Chairman and CEO, The Washington Post Company
INT Gucht, Karel de Commissioner, European Commission
TUR Gürel, Z. Damla Special Adviser to the President on EU Affairs
NLD Halberstadt, Victor Professor of Economics, Leiden University; Former Honorary Secretary General of Bilderberg Meetings
USA Holbrooke, Richard C. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan
NLD Hommen, Jan H.M. Chairman, ING Group
USA Hormats, Robert D. Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs
BEL Huyghebaert, Jan Chairman of the Board of Directors, KBC Group
USA Johnson, James A. Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC
FIN Katainen, Jyrki Minister of Finance
USA Keane, John M. Senior Partner, SCP Partners
GBR Kerr, John Member, House of Lords; Deputy Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc.
USA Kissinger, Henry A. Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc.
USA Kleinfeld, Klaus Chairman and CEO, Alcoa
TUR Koç, Mustafa V. Chairman, Koç Holding A.Ş.
USA Kravis, Henry R. Founding Partner, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
USA Kravis, Marie-Josée Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute, Inc
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INT Kroes, Neelie Commissioner, European Commission
USA Lander, Eric S. President and Director, Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT
FRA Lauvergeon, Anne Chairman of the Executive Board, AREVA
ESP León Gross, Bernardino Secretary General, Office of the Prime Minister
DEU Löscher, Peter Chairman of the Board of Management, Siemens AG
NOR Magnus, Birger Chairman, Storebrand ASA
CAN Mansbridge, Peter Chief Correspondent, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
USA Mathews, Jessica T. President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
CAN McKenna, Frank Deputy Chair, TD Bank Financial Group
GBR Micklethwait, John Editor-in-Chief, The Economist
FRA Montbrial, Thierry de President, French Institute for International Relations
ITA Monti, Mario President, Universita Commerciale Luigi Bocconi
INT Moyo, Dambisa F. Economist and Author
USA Mundie, Craig J. Chief Research and Strategy Officer, Microsoft Corporation
NOR Myklebust, Egil Former Chairman of the Board of Directors SAS, Norsk Hydro ASA
USA Naím, Moisés Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy
NLD Netherlands, H.M. the Queen of the
ESP Nin Génova, Juan María President and CEO, La Caixa
DNK Nyrup Rasmussen, Poul Former Prime Minister
GBR Oldham, John National Clinical Lead for Quality and Productivity
FIN Ollila, Jorma Chairman, Royal Dutch Shell plc
USA Orszag, Peter R. Director, Office of Management and Budget
TUR Ozilhan, Tuncay Chairman, Anadolu Group
ITA Padoa-Schioppa, Tommaso Former Minister of Finance; President of Notre Europe
GRC Papaconstantinou, George Minister of Finance
USA Parker, Sean Managing Partner, Founders Fund
USA Pearl, Frank H. Chairman and CEO, Perseus, LLC
USA Perle, Richard N. Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
ESP Polanco, Ignacio Chairman, Grupo PRISA
CAN Prichard, J. Robert S. President and CEO, Metrolinx
FRA Ramanantsoa, Bernard Dean, HEC Paris Group
PRT Rangel, Paulo Member, European Parliament
CAN Reisman, Heather M. Chair and CEO, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
SWE Renström, Lars President and CEO, Alfa Laval
NLD Rinnooy Kan, Alexander H.G. Chairman, Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER)
ITA Rocca, Gianfelice Chairman, Techint
ESP Rodriguez Inciarte, Matías Executive Vice Chairman, Grupo Santander
USA Rose, Charlie Producer, Rose Communications
USA Rubin, Robert E. Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations; Former Secretary of the Treasury
TUR Sabanci Dinçer, Suzan Chairman, Akbank
ITA Scaroni, Paolo CEO, Eni S.p.A.
USA Schmidt, Eric CEO and Chairman of the Board, Google
AUT Scholten, Rudolf Member of the Board of Executive Directors, Oesterreichische Kontrollbank AG
DEU Scholz, Olaf Vice Chairman, SPD
INT Sheeran, Josette Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme
INT Solana Madariaga, Javier Former Secretary General, Council of the European Union
ESP Spain, H.M. the Queen of
USA Steinberg, James B. Deputy Secretary of State
INT Stigson, Björn President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
USA Summers, Lawrence H. Director, National Economic Council
IRL Sutherland, Peter D. Chairman, Goldman Sachs International
GBR Taylor, J. Martin Chairman, Syngenta International AG
PRT Teixeira dos Santos, Fernando Minister of State and Finance
USA Thiel, Peter A. President, Clarium Capital Management, LLC
GRC Tsoukalis, Loukas President, ELIAMEP
INT Tumpel-Gugerell, Gertrude Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank
USA Varney, Christine A. Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust
CHE Vasella, Daniel L. Chairman, Novartis AG
USA Volcker, Paul A. Chairman, Economic Recovery Advisory Board
CHE Voser, Peter CEO, Royal Dutch Shell plc
FIN Wahlroos, Björn Chairman, Sampo plc
CHE Waldvogel, Francis A. Chairman, Novartis Venture Fund
SWE Wallenberg, Jacob Chairman, Investor AB
NLD Wellink, Nout President, De Nederlandsche Bank
USA West, F.J. Bing Author
GBR Williams, Shirley Member, House of Lords
USA Wolfensohn, James D. Chairman, Wolfensohn & Company, LLC
ESP Zapatero, José Luis Rodríguez Prime Minister
DEU Zetsche, Dieter Chairman, Daimler AG
INT Zoellick, Robert B. President, The World Bank Group
GBR Bredow, Vendeline von Business Correspondent, The Economist (Rapporteur)
GBR Wooldridge, Adrian D. Business Editor, The Economist (Rapporteur)
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AUT Austria
BEL Belgium
CHE Switzerland
CAN Canada
DEU Germany
DNK Denmark
ESP Spain
FRA France
FIN Finland
GBR Great Britain
GRC Greece
IRL Ireland
INT International
ITA Italy
NOR Norway
NLD Netherlands
PRT Portugal
SWE Sweden
TUR Turkey
USA United States of America

P.S. ESP Cisneros, Gustavo A. Chairman and CEO, Cisneros Group of Companies
Mr. Gustavo A. Cisneros is a Venezuelan industrialist-maverick/tycoon of Cuban (parents) Descent;

Why did they perpetrate that he is a Spaniard?

He is a Venezuelan; If not, a Cuban!
Just because he's a billionaire he can buy Spanish citizenship? Or, sneak into a convention claiming to be a Spaniard?
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Is Carlos Helu Slim also a Spaniard, now?
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The Adventists Hits Amazon

“Best Seller” List

he Adventists jumped onto the Amazon best-seller list for the first time. It reached number two for best selling documentary films in the category of religion, second only to Religulous (as of May 21). It also reached #26 overall for documentary films nationally.

Produced by Journey films, The Adventists is a new and highly acclaimed documentary film for PBS TV stations that explores the history and contemporary story of the Seventh-day Adventist Church through its health message.

“Breaking onto the best-seller list shows how the film not only has support within the Adventist communities, but mainstream America as well,” says filmmaker Martin Doblmeier – who currently has two other films on the Amazon best-selling list for documentary/religion – BONHOEFFER and The Power of Forgiveness.

“At the heart of the film is a story about an American-born faith tradition with an approach to health care anchored in a profound belief that the body is the Temple of the God,” Doblmeier added. “That core belief has made Adventists some of the longest living people on the planet – living on average 7-10 years longer than most Americans.”
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Source: http://www.adventistreview.org/article.php?id=3396
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http://

danatjourneyfilms — November 05, 2009 — A one hour documentary film for public television that looks at the body-mind-spirit connections of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Impact Atlanta


June 23-July 3, 2010Atlanta, Ga.

IMPACT Atlanta 2010 [iATL] is a young adult leadership & discipleship experience concurrent with the 2010 General Conference Session. Adventist delegates from around the world will actively engage the great commission and great commandment in training, ministering, and worship.

Learning from the unique cosmopolitan milieu of metro Atlanta, iATL delegates will discover opportunities for servant leadership and experience discipleship equipping—empowering them to expand God’s Kingdom in this city and beyond.

WHO IS iATL FOR? Collegiate age Adventist young adults through young professionals age 35.
http://www.impactatlanta.info/

Want to tell your friends about Impact Atlanta? Here's a page of resources, such as background images, handbills, and more.



iAtl Resources


Source: http://www.gccsda.com/index.php?option=com_events&task=view_detail&Itemid=&agid=1052&year=2010&month=06&day=23

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Inter-America: Thousands expected to visit Division booth exhibit during session



image by Libna Stevens/IAD
Inter-American Division Headquarters in Miami, Florida.

June 20, 2010 - Miami, Florida, United States...[Libna Stevens/IAD]

In just a few days, thousands of Seventh-day Adventists are expected to attend the 59th General Conference Session in Atlanta, Georgia. And, just as important as the church business meetings are, so is the opportunity for Adventist organizations around the world to showcase their institutions and feature their culturally rich territory.

The Inter-American Division (IAD), with its vast multi-cultural and multi-language territory, will get to feature just in its large exhibit display during the 10-day session.

For the first time ever, the IAD rented some 30 booths to display several of its institutions and feature two union regions every day, drawing thousands to its open wide spaces, organizers said.

Pastor Leon B. Wellington, vice president and communication director for the church in Inter-America, and chairman of the IAD booth committee, said the planning took some coordination but attracting thousands of people to our booth has been on top of the list.

"I am extremely excited to welcome the thousands of delegates and guests who will visit our booth during this session. We are proud to showcase the vibrancy and cultural diversity of our territory in our ultra modern designed exhibition area," said Wellington.

Nearly 50,000 copies of the special magazine, Adventist Life in the Inter-American Division, will be distributed during the session. The magazine is published in English, Spanish, and French - the three major languages of the IAD. In addition, union representatives will be stationed at the exhibition booth each day passing out gifts, souvenirs and more, leaders said.

A large performance area in the exhibit will also feature regional musical performers throughout the day.

The thousands estimated to visit IAD's exhibit are not expected to outnumber the thousands of Seventh-day Adventists in Inter-American and around the world who will not be able to attend the session.

"We want our brothers and sisters who will not be able to physically attend the session to also be able to soak up what is happening in Inter-America and the rest of the world," said Abel Marquez, associate communication director for the church in Inter-America and production manager of the IAD booth exhibit.

"In order for that we have established a creative team that will work everyday in our Division booth in the production of news, videos, photographs, and the like, which will be featured on our website and the most popular social networks," Marquez added.

For the latest news updates on the General Conference Session and more, visit us at www.interamerica.org.

Institutions to be featured in the IAD exhibit section:

Inter-American Health Food Company
University of Southern Caribbean
Northern Caribbean University
Antillean Adventist University
Inter-American Publishing Association
Colombia Adventist University
Navojoa Adventist University
Montemorelos University
Inter-American Division


Daily union exhibition schedule:

Thursday, June 24, - 2:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Colombian Union
South Mexican Union

Friday, June 25 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
South Central American Union
French Antilles Guiana Union

Sabbath, June 26 - 2:00 - 7:00 p.m., 9:15 pm. - 10:45 p.m.
North Mexican Union
Dominican Union

Sunday, June 27 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Caribbean Union
Mid Central American Union

Monday, June 28 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Guatemala Union Mission
Haitian Union

Tuesday, June 29 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
West Indies Union
Puerto Rican Union

Wednesday, June 30 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Central Mexican Union
Belize Union Mission
Colombia Union

Thursday, July 1 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m
Inter-Oceanic Mexican Union
Cuba Union

Friday, July 2 - 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Venezuela Antilles Union
South Mexican Union
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'UN' Of Faith Groups Set Roles In Disaster Relief

Jun. 20, 2010

Baptist Food, Adventist Warehouses And Buddhist Money: In Disasters, Faith Groups Know Roles

(AP) RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - For every hurricane, earthquake or flood, there is help: food, bottled water, crews of volunteers nailing shingles to brand new roofs.

What even grateful recipients of that aid may not realize is that much of it comes from an unlikely hodgepodge of religious groups who put aside their doctrinal differences and coordinate their efforts as soon as the wind starts blowing.

Southern Baptists cook meals from Texas to Massachusetts. Seventh-day Adventists dispense aid from makeshift warehouses that can be running within eight hours. Mennonites haul away debris, Buddhists provide financial aid and chaplains with the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team counsel the traumatized and grieving.

This "juice and cookies fellowship," as one organizer calls it, is mostly invisible to the public, but it provides interfaith infrastructure for disaster response around the country that state and federal officials could scarcely live without.

"Think of us as the United Nations of disaster relief," said Diana Rothe-Smith, executive director of National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, the main umbrella group for coordinating emergency response from private agencies.

Although "Vo-ad," as it's usually called, includes groups with no religious affiliation, the bulk of its 50 or so members are relief arms of churches and other faith-based organizations. The organization, which formed in 1970, has grown from seven founding members and this spring signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Emergency Management Agency that will help its members respond quicker to disasters.

"There's a tendency when disasters happen to look at government, but there's an inherent risk in taking a government-centric approach to disaster response," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate.

The national group, which also works through state-level versions of the coalition, provides essential on-the-ground knowledge that government responders don't have time to develop on their own, Fugate said.

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, for instance, is famous for its ability to prepare tens of thousands of hot meals at disasters from Hurricane Ike to flooding in New England. The North Carolina Baptist Men, for example, have three food trailers that can serve a combined 75,000 meals a day.

"The Red Cross distributes the meals, but it's Southern Baptists doing the cooking," said Lin Honeycutt, a volunteer with the North Carolina group for more than 20 years.

The denomination apparently developed its affinity for mass meals after a hurricane hit Texas in the early 1960s, but the vast group - there are more than 10,000 Southern Baptist disaster volunteers in North Carolina alone - can do everything from dispensing supplies to cleaning out inches of mud in flooded basements.

Deciding who does what has been a delicate process of building confidence in the capacity of groups as different as Jews and Scientologists, according to Bill Adams, director of Disaster Response Services for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and a former NVOAD president.

"Just getting all those people at the same table is a miracle, when you think about it," Adams said.

The groups' specialties have developed gradually in the course of responding to specific disasters. Adventists, for example, really began ramping up their warehousing expertise after Hurricane Andrew in 1992, according to Steve Stillwell, assistant to the Director for Adventist Community Services Disaster Response for the Carolina Conference.

"There were literally football fields 6-feet-deep of donated clothes and items that nobody could use, that ended up going to the landfill," he said. "Andrew was the biggest waste of resources. We directed our skills and training to the better utilization of donated resources, and we've been refining it ever since."

Theology may not play a role in how the specialties develop, but it can present a thorny question for religious believers who don't agree on much beyond the need to help victims of disasters.

Last month, a FEMA videographer was rebuked after telling volunteers not to wear church T-shirts in a video about tornado cleanup to avoid any religious message.

"There may be separation of church and state in government, but in a disaster we all work together," Fugate said.

Nevertheless, religious volunteers are sensitive to accusations of proselytizing to vulnerable, desperate people. After Haiti was devastated in January by an earthquake, Hollywood star John Travolta was criticized for bringing counselors from the Church of Scientology, to which he belongs, along with supplies to the island nation.

In a bid to address concerns, NVOAD's membership last year ratified a set of 10 principles for spiritual care, including the admonition that "Disaster response will not be used to further a particular political or religious perspective or cause."

"We feel we can be who we are and believe ultimately Christ is the answer, but to do it with respect has been our legacy," said Jack Munday, director of the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team, which has more than 3,200 trained chaplains and crisis volunteers.

The delicate compromises and organizational development may be important, but for the people who benefit from the groups' service, the result is all that matters.

Moses Jones, 54, had to evacuate his home in Lake Charles, La., along with his parents, children and sister when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005. When they returned a month later, the house that had seen three generations of his family was uninhabitable.

"The wind blew off the the siding, the shingles," he said. "I couldn't live there."

Eight teams of volunteers from the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee arrived shortly after, and today Jones said his house is in better shape than it was before Katrina. The particular denominations of his volunteers means little to him compared to the work they did.

"It was like angels came to help me," he said. "I'm Yahweh-blessed, godly blessed. I really feel that way."

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Online:

NVOAD: http://www.nvoad.org/

Adventist Community Services: http://www.communityservices.org/

Billy Graham Rapid Response Team: http://www.billygraham.org/rrt_index.asp

Christian Reformed World Relief Committee: http://www.crwrc.org/pages/crwrc.cfm

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief: http://www.namb.net/site/c.9qKILUOzEpH/b.224451/
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Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/20/ap/national/main6600858.shtml
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