wfn.org | Guard Against Stereotyping, Urges Church Leader

[APD <APD_Info_Schweiz@compuserve.com>]

September 16, 2001
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Adventist Response to Tragedy Continues

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. Seventh-day 
Adventists both in the United States of 
America 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 
September 11'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 last 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 rumours 
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, 
counselling, 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 held a special memorial service on 
Saturday, September 15.  Many Adventist 
churches in the New York City area have been 
holding simple worship 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 counselling.  

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 counselling 
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: Burundi; the 
Inter-American Division; the Euro-Africa 
Division; Bulgaria; Germany, Italy, 
Switzerland; the Eastern Solomon Island 
Mission; Sydney Adventist Hospital, Australia; 
the Southern Asia-Pacific Division; the Euro-
Asia Division; East African Union; and Japan.

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 travelling 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, U.S.A.  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 2001. 

Administrators at the church's world 
headquarters announced September 13 that, while 
some delegates may be delayed or prevented from 
coming to the U.S.A., both Annual Council and 
the pre-meetings will go ahead as scheduled. 
(134/2001)

September 16, 2001
Adventist Press Service (APD)
Christian B. Schaeffler, Editor-in-chief
Fax +41-61-261 61 18
APD@stanet.ch
http://www.stanet.ch/APD
CH-4003 Basel, Switzerland

Guard Against Stereotyping, Urges Adventist 
Leader

Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. In the aftermath 
of this week's terrorist tragedy, it is vital 
to guard against stereotyping of people based 
on religion or ethnicity, says John Graz, 
public affairs and religious liberty director 
for the Seventh-day Adventist Church worldwide.

"There is a very natural reaction of wanting to 
assign blame," acknowledges Graz. "But in this 
time of international distress, we must be sure 
that the innocent do not pay for the acts of 
the guilty."

"There are good people everywhere, but there 
are also fanatics everywhere, in all 
religions," says Graz. "This terrible suffering 
has been caused by fanatics who are blind to 
the value of human life."

"These people are a minority," he adds. "Most 
people, no matter what their religion or 
beliefs, want to live with their families in a 
world of peace."

In the days following Tuesday's attack, many 
Muslim and Arab groups across the United States 
and around the world have condemned the acts of 
terrorism. But in the United States, Muslim 
organizations have reported a marked rise in 
harassment of Muslim-Americans, especially of 
women who wear the traditional religious head 
covering, called a hijab.

Graz, who has been interviewed on a number of 
European radio stations over the past few days, 
says, "We must find more ways to build bridges 
between all people of goodwill, in every 
religion, and present a united front against 
evil of this kind."

The Adventist Church will continue working to 
promote tolerance and respect for all 
individuals, regardless of their race or 
religion, says Graz.

"Hate, not religion, was at the root of these 
barbaric attacks," he says, "and we must resist 
the temptation to perpetuate this hate." 
(135/2001)