Which Ship?

 

Adventists leaders sounding like Rome

Adventist Jul 10, 2018

Seventh-day Adventist religious liberty leaders were invited by the Colombian government to help celebrate the country’s third annual National Religious Freedom Day, held July 4. During a morning meeting at Casa La Giralda, headquarters of Colombia’s Ministry of the Interior, Dr. Ganoune Diop, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Adventist world church, addressed more than 100 religious and political leaders who had gathered to mark the occasion. 

“You have the opportunity to make a historic contribution to peace by recognizing human dignity as the essential foundation for building a peaceful coexistence,” Dr. Diop told the group, which included Evangelicals, Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, and representatives of other faiths. 

'Outspoken' Short Film Series Celebrates Voices and Contributions of LGBT+ Adventists

Daneen Akers and Stephen Eyer today released the first installment of a new ten-part series of short documentaries called “Outspoken” that features stories of LGBT+ Adventists. This is the third major project for the husband-and-wife team dealing with the intersection of sexuality, gender and the Adventist faith.

Their first film, the feature-length documentary “Seventh-Gay Adventists” (Watchfire Films, 2012) followed the lives and spiritual journeys of three Seventh-day Adventists in same-sex relationships as they struggled with tensions between the distinct cultural markers of their faith community and their identities as lesbian or gay individuals. After screening at film festivals and in and around Adventist communities, the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray, followed by a wider online release.

Akers and Eyer followed “Seventh-Gay Adventists” in 2014 with “Enough Room at the Table,” a film intended to model for the Adventist Church a process the filmmakers called “the sacred act of listening.” “Enough Room” brought together a diverse group of Adventist pastors, thought leaders and congregants—some LGBT+, some not—to talk with one another over the course of a weekend retreat. The film that documented those conversations provided a framework for congregations that might have had preliminary talks about homosexuality and sexual identities, but that might have lacked resources for moving the conversations forward.

I spoke with Daneen Akers about this new project—how it came to be and what links it to and separates it from past projects.

“This new series is a shift for us,” Akers told me. “We’ve journeyed from thinking that we as allies are doing something helpful to realizing that we are the ones who are deeply blessed by getting to witness and share the stories of our LGBT friends.”

The “Outspoken” series of short films will be released exclusively online on the first Friday evening of each month, starting today.       More

Mel Gibson’s 'Hacksaw Ridge' puts Seventh-day Adventists in spotlight

From left to right, Julio Munoz, associate communication director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, Mel Gibson, director of "Hacksaw Ridge," Daniel Weber, communication director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, and Robert Schenkkan, screenwriter of "Hacksaw Ridge."                 USA Today

Why Adventists should take a trip to the cinema to watch hacksaw ridge

3 November 2016 | Rachel Logan

Powered by Translate

Hacksaw Ridge, the much-anticipated Hollywood film starring Andrew Garfield as famous Adventist soldier Desmond Doss, comes out this weekend. In an exclusive interview with Spectrum, filmmaker Terry Benedict, who produced the film, talks about his relationship with Doss, his 2004 documentary The Conscientious Objector, and why Adventists should take a trip to the cinema.

Spectrum Magazine 

Young Adventists Speak: Pacific Union College Students Discuss the U.S. Election

6 November 2016 | Alexander Carpenter

Powered by Translate

Continuing our Young Adventists Speak series Pacific Union College students discuss the US election, who they are voting for, and what issues matter to them. Directed and edited by Ben Josse. Thanks to faculty members Rajeev Sigamoney and Tim de la Torre.                               More

Hollywood Star Mel Gibson Helps Rescue ADRA Staff

The ADRA workers wound up stuck on a remote Fiji island.

Posted April 14, 2016 By Josh Dye, South Pacific Adventist Record, with Adventist Review staff

Hollywood actor and director Mel Gibson played an unlikely role in rescuing three female staff members from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency after they found themselves stranded in Fiji.

The women had distributed humanitarian aid in Vanua Balavu, Fiji’s eastern-most island and one of the areas hardest hit by Cyclone Winston, when their flight to Suva, the capital, was abruptly canceled.

It was unclear when the next flight would leave from the devastated island, which is suffering severe water and food shortages after the storm destroyed about 70 percent of all homes in February.

So a local government official hatched an unusual rescue plan. The official arranged for the three ADRA workers to be taken to nearby Mago Island, which is owned by Gibson, and then flown on his private plane to Suva.

The ADRA workers spent the night at Gibson’s home and flew to the capital in the morning.

Gibson was not home at the time of the visit.

Gibson’s U.S.-based publicist said the director had no comment about the rescue.

 The incident was not Gibson’s first brush with Seventh-day Adventists. The Oscar-winning director’s newest movie, “Hacksaw Ridge,” will tell the story of Desmond T. Doss, the Adventist believer who became the first conscientious objector to win the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. The movie, starring Andrew Garfield as Doss, is expected to be released later this year.

Read: Mel Gibson Considers Movie About Adventist War Hero

The three ADRA workers were determined to fly to Suva after making a harrowing, 30-hour trip on an overcrowded boat to Vanua Balavu. One of the relief workers, Anna Krikun from Germany, said she had feared for her life.

“The boat was so overcrowded and unsafe,” she said. “I was just afraid we were going to sink.”

She and the other ADRA workers delivered about 6,000 packs of Weet-Bix breakfast cereal and So Good soy milk to remote communities that had missed out on earlier food assistance following Cyclone Winston. The food was donated by Adventist Church-owned company Sanitarium Health and Wellbeing.

More than 10,000 people in remote Fiji communities have now received food and personal hygiene kits from ADRA thanks to donations exceeding US$155,000.

Further assistance is being prepared for the South Pacific after ADRA secured funding through the United Nations Flash Appeal ($110,000) and the European Union (€300,000) to provide shelter and hygiene aid.

ADRA and the Adventist Church’s Fiji Mission have been working closely together, with many church volunteers assisting ADRA in distributing aid to remote communities.      AR

New Workshop Tool Helps Congregations Open Conversation with LGBT Adventists

From News Release, March 9, 2016:    Can Adventist congregations create safe spaces for positive, healing, informed and authentic conversation on a topic often ignored? A Sanctuary for Conversation: Listening, Loving, and Learning is a three-hour workshop that helps to answer that question. Through this workshop, congregations will be introduced to a model for engaging in conversations that lead to clarity, hope, and healing.

This workshop responds to the Statement on Human Sexuality, from the denomination’s North American Division (NAD). The NAD stated, “The vital and opportune role of the Adventist Church is to educate its members about sexuality and purity within the context of grace.”

A Sanctuary for Conversation also addresses the Call for Peace, from the General Conference (GC). The GC stated, “There needs to be dialogue and discussion in place of diatribe. In particular, Christians should always be ready to ‘reason together,’ as the Bible says.”

The workshop opens with active learning activities and includes interviews with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and parents of LGBT children. Also, a professional psychologist defines terms and answers questions about orientation and gender. Participants will learn better listening skills, statistics about LGBT youth, the difference between acceptance and agreement, and signs of safe and unsafe churches. At the end of the workshop participants brainstorm practical ways to transform their church into a sanctuary for Jesus and for God’s Holy Spirit.

For more information or to purchase copies of the leader’s guide and workbook, visit OpenDialogueResources.org or email OpenDialogueResources@gmail.com.

A Sanctuary for Conversation has been tested with pastors, youth ministries leaders and local churches. Here is some of the feedback from people who were part of the workshop:

“I have grown because of the time I spent listening to the presentations, discussions, and panel. As a result of this workshop, I have taken away an understanding of how to become a better minister to all.”

“The spirit of loving, humble discussion was filled with opportunities to sense and share God’s Holy Spirit.”

“We asked [those who attended] to become more empathetic, not to change their beliefs.” (a presenter)

“During my 27 years in Adventism, I have never seen such a spirit of humility expressed from the leaders of the church. No one came to prove ‘I’m right, you’re wrong,’ or to ‘school’ someone else on their theology. Instead, we all came to learn, be honest, and work together to improve the lives of our LGBT youth.”

“If you want your church to be a true community that is loving and compassionate, then do this workshop—it will make everyone more aware of their humanity.”     AToday