News Headlines: Adventist, Methodist and Muslim Leaders Promote Reconciliation in Tennessee (and More!)

Adventist, Methodist and Muslim Leaders Promote Reconciliation in Tennessee. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, four faith leaders, have directed candlelight vigils and prayer services, not only for their own congregations but for the whole city after a 24-year-old Muslim man raised in Chattanooga gunned down five U.S. servicemen last year. The United Methodist Church pastor, the president of the Islamic Society of Greater Chattanooga, and two Adventist community leaders planned an interfaith service that brought together more than 1,000 Chattanoogans, Muslims, Christians, Jews, Marines, and police officers.  Gabriela Phillips, coordinator of Adventist-Muslim relations for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, said that when it comes to the issue of evil, the Christian and Islamic holy books have the same answer. "What the Bible and Quran both say is, 'Overcome evil with good.'" As she sees it, there are two options on the table. "There is a logic of fear and there is a logic of reconciliation. They are incompatible." These leaders continue to work toward reconciliation in their city. From The Times Free Press, “Chattanooga faith leaders work together to plan July 16 service.”

Hereford, England Adventist Members Join Other Christians in Aiding Refugees. The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hereford, England, worked with the Leominster Priory and the Baptist Church to aid refugees during Refugee Weekend. The Seventh-day Adventist Church collected £220  The money was then used to purchase tinned fish for the refugees in Calais and Dunkirk. David Bland from the Leominster Priory used the Baptist Church minibus to travel to France to deliver goods to the refugees. From Hereford Times, “Hereford churches working together to aid refugees.”

Adventist Church in Peru Baptizes Over 4,000 Converts. Seventh-day Adventists in southern Peru, working with the world church’s “Total Member Involvement” program, baptized 4,210 people.  The baptisms were the result of a campaign encouraging church members to give Bible-study classes in their communities and to preach at 2,905 sites in 20 cities across the region between June 18 and 25.  The Adventists have about 200,000 members worshiping in nearly 3,000 congregations across Peru, according to the latest figures from the Adventist world church’s Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research. From Fox News Latino, “Seventh-Day Adventist Church baptizes more than 4,000 in mass ceremony.”

New Ghana Hospital Elicits Praise for Adventist Church. Speaking at the inauguration of the Hart Adventist Hospital in Ashanti, Ghana, Regional Minister John Alexander Kwabena Ackon has commended the Seventh-day Adventist  church for its efforts, in tandem with the government, to improve the living conditions of the people. The SDA church has built 25 hospitals and clinics with two hospitals providing specialized services to residents of Kumasi alone while operating a Central Medical Store.  The Adventist church also operates three nursing training colleges, a midwife training college, a university, and several senior high and basic schools. From Joy Online, “Regional Minister commends SDA Church for education, health contributions.”

Loma Linda University School of Medicine and School of Nursing Receive Grants to Aid Underserved. Loma Linda University School of Medicine has been awarded a $2.4 million grant to help low-income patients by further integrating behavioral health with medical training at SAC Health System in San Bernardino. The grant, creating a collaborative project between the departments of family medicine and the School of Behavioral Health department of psychology, will allow the creation of interprofessional, high-risk teams of nurses, family physicians, psychologists, and pharmacists to support patients who are the most vulnerable for poor health outcomes, integrating behavioral health as needed in all outpatient clinic visits. “With this integrative team approach, we can examine the whole person and determine the best program referral or visit type to help the patient work with us to achieve health and wellness over time,” says principal investigator and professor Kelly Morton, PhD.

Loma Linda University School of Nursing received a $2.05 million, three-year grant by the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration to expand and diversify its nurse practitioner education program and to better prepare graduates to work in medically underserved areas such as many found in San Bernardino County.  San Bernardino County has lower than average educational attainment and higher than average unemployment and poverty rates as well as high Medi-Cal enrollment, according to project director Lisa Roberts, DrPH, associate professor at the School of Nursing.  At the same time, the population is served by fewer than average primary care physicians and nurse practitioners per person, intensifying known health disparities according to Roberts, Gloria Huerta, DNP, assistant professor, and Andrea Champlin, MPH, faculty instructor. From Loma Linda Health, “$2.4 million grant will integrate psychological and medical care for low-income population.” And “School of Nursing receives $2 million HRSA grant.”

Loma Linda University Opens New Medical and Health-training Facility. Loma Linda University Health San Bernardino opened its150,000 square-foot-building which will house services for family medicine, pediatrics and behavioral health, internal medicine, and OB/GYN services. The new clinic will have the capacity to see 200,000 patients annually. The facility will be used as part of the resident training for some 300 newly graduated medical doctors annually.  The facility will increase the number of primary care and specialty physicians in the Inland Empire because most stay near the area where they receive their residency training, said Dr. Daniel Jiang, director of graduate education, LLU Medical School. The San Manuel Gateway College, also located in the building, will begin with medical assistant and certified nurse assistant programs in September.  Arwyn Wild, medical director for San Manuel Gateway College, said that at full capacity, the college will train up to 300 students per year, but courses will be offered only if there are jobs in the Inland Empire for those students when they graduate. From Press Enterprise, “SAN BERNARDINO: New Loma Linda Health campus seen as 'symbol of recovery'