News Headlines: Tulsa Adventist Church Heavily Damaged by Tornado (And More!)
Tulsa Adventist Church Heavily Damaged by Tornado. The Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church in north Tulsa, Oklahoma, had its roof torn off by a tornado during their Wednesday night prayer meeting. At least seven people were inside when they heard what sounded like a freight train heading toward them. In addition to the roof blowing off, the building also sustained electrical damage. No one was injured. Church members hope to rebuild. From News Channel 2 KJRH, "Tulsa's Bethel Seventh-day Adventist Church Sustains Tornado Damage While Members in Prayer Group."
Conscientious "Objector" or "Cooperator" Reexamined in Current Supreme Court Case. Seventh-day Adventists’ theological teachings on war are highlighted in an article in the Huffington Post. In the 20th Century, "Adventists wanted to be patriotic non-combatants, as their objection was to bearing arms, not war writ large." They accepted enlisting—so long as they could serve as noncombatants, a position labeled “conscientious cooperation.” A similar issue of conscience is currently being argued in the Supreme Court, regarding the application of the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate to religious non-profits. From Huffington Post, "‘Conscientious Collaboration’: It’s a Thing."
Adventist HealthCare Given Award for Aiding Low-income Seniors, Veterans, and Disabled. Adventist HealthCare in Maryland received the Rebuilding Together Montgomery County Innovation Partnership Award from the RTMC, a non-profit organization that provides free home repairs for low-income seniors, veterans, and the disabled. Adventist HealthCare was honored for its 10-year partnership with RTMC. Adventist HealthCare has worked with the organization to help provide free modifications and repairs for low-income seniors and also individuals with medical conditions. The repairs include, installing wheelchair ramps and handrails, overhauling bathrooms, and repairing plumbing leaks and drywall. From Montgomery County Media, "Rebuilding Together Montgomery County Honors Adventist Healthcare with Innovation Partnership Award."
LLU School of Medicine Receives $6M Grant to Study Pre-natal Development. National Institutes of Health awarded Loma Linda University School of Medicine a $6.29 million grant that will be used by researchers at the Center for Perinatal Biology to study pregnant sheep kept at high altitude. The project’s goal is to better understand how oxygen deprivation stress alters genetic on-and-off “switches,” opening the door for future cures. Lubo Zhang, director of the perinatal biology center and principal investigator for the grant, said that chronic diseases, including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain neurological and behavioral disorders, begin in early development. From Press Enterprise, "HEALTH: Loma Linda funded for pregnancy study."
East Coast Adventist Health System Acquires Another Medical Center. Orlando-based Adventist Health System and Bert Fish Medical Center signed an agreement that allows AHS to acquire the New Smyrna Beach-based hospital. Adventist will pay $40 million to acquire the net assets of the hospital and invest another $35 million into the hospital, including enhancing the emergency department, surgical services and the hospital's exterior, as well as creating private patient rooms, and updating the hospital's information technology equipment. From Orlando Business Journal, "Bert Fish Medical Center to become Florida Hospital New Smyrna."
Adventist Church Surpasses 19 Million Members Globally. Amid a worldwide membership audit to tidy up membership statistics, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has topped 19 million members worldwide. The General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics and Research reports a net increase of 647,144 people, or 3.5 percent, over 2014's membership totals. The Adventist Church also counts 81,551 local churches and 69,909 companies, another record. From Adventist Review, "Adventist Church Tops 19 Million Members."
Ivorian Adventist Church Hosts Peace Summit After Terrorism. At the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s regional headquarters in the capital city of Abidjan, religious leaders from many different faith communities urged the people of Cote d’Ivoire to reject intolerance and violence in the name of religion. The peace summit followed an attack by Islamist militants at the Cote d'Ivoire seaside resort of Grand-Bassam. An Al-Qaeda affiliate claimed responsibility for the attack. From Adventist News Network, "Adventists in Côte d'Ivoire host peace summit following terrorist attack."
Pam Dietrich taught English at Loma Linda Academy for 26 years and served there eight more years as the 7-12 librarian. She lives in Redlands, California.
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