The Pacific Union Conference Executive Committee approved fourteen women and two men for ordination in conferences within the union on Wednesday.

During a teleconference meeting, the union officers and several constituent presidents met at the union office while the remainder of the 48 members connected through the conference call. Committee members considered an agenda item titled simply "Ordinations."

The Huffington Post, via the Religion News Service, has waded into the sometimes troubled waters of Women's Ordination in a Religion Blog précis entitled Seventh-Day Adventists Facing Pressure On Allowing Female Pastors. The article marks the second time within the past month that the Huffington Post Religion Blog has highlighted hot-button issues in Adventism.

The group claiming responsibility for hacking the Ellen White Estate to access thousands of White's unpublished manuscripts has issued a statement detailing their methods and motivations. Calling itself "SDAnonymous," seemingly a nod to the infamous hacker cabal "Anonymous," the group claims representation from "several dozen Seventh-day Adventists" representing thirteen countries on every major continent.

Nicholas Miller, Associate Professor of Church History at Andrews University, is the lead editor of a newly-released book entitled "Homosexuality, Marriage, and the Church: Biblical, Counseling, and Religious Liberty Issues." The nearly 600-page book, released by Andrews University Press, features papers and testimonials first presented at the 2009 Andrews University Conference on Marriage, Homosexuality and the Church.

From time to time, this space predominantly dedicated to breaking news stories, analysis of current events, and diverse perspectives on our common faith, has been transformed into a place of meeting and a house of prayer. One of the underlying beliefs that sets Spectrum apart is that the conversation shared here, for all of its often vigorous give and take, is itself a sacred thing because of the way it creates community.

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The Courthouse News Service, a Pasadena, California-based legal affiars journal, has reported that the Ellen G. White Estate is suing "theological investigator" Brendan Knudson, who allegedly enlisted the aid of hackers to steal unpublished Ellen White manuscripts.

Following the Pacific Union Conference vote Sunday to ordain without regard to gender, the Northern California Conference announced that it voted a motion reflecting the action taken at the constituency meeting. A news bulletin announcing the vote stated,

The full archival video of Sunday's Pacific Union Conference Special Constituency Session in Woodland Hills California is available online for playback. To review the entire event as it unfolded, follow this link. Note: audio on the video's playback is low. You can adjust the volume on the player, and raising it all the way helps.

At the end of the evening, over 400 delegates from the Pacific Union Conference (PUC) had voted 79% to 21% in favor of ordaining without regard to gender. The overwhelming show of support came as a surprise to many. Less surprising was most of what came before.

The Pacific Union Conference has voted to ordain women without regard to gender 79% in favor, 21% opposed. The PUC becomes the third union to approve women's ordination, following the Columbia Union Conference and the North German Union Conference. To revisit the action from the vote, you can read the live updates below.

Full report now also available.