Montemorelos University, an institution operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America, opened its new law degree this school year, becoming the third Adventist university in the world to offer such a degree. University leaders congratulated faculty for their efforts in ensuring the career is up and running with nine students during a recent ceremony on campus.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church and its members worldwide offered prayers and support for Paris after a series of shootings and explosions killed scores of people. France declared a state of emergency and closed its borders after at least 80 people were reported killed in a concert hall and 50 others died in attacks on restaurants and near a stadium on Friday night.
European leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church stood in a minute of silence and solidarity with the people of France following the Nov. 13 nighttime attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris. Leaders of the church’s Trans-European Division invited Mario Brito, president of the Inter-European Division, whose territory includes France, to the podium at the start of a Sabbath morning worship service in an emotional recognition of the tragedy being suffered by the people of France and, by extension, the rest of Europe.
As students from the Metropolitan Adventist School played their percussion instruments and marched to the beat of the band in front of the presidential palace during Panama’s annual independence celebration on Nov. 4, Adventist teacher Mildred de Cubilla handed a Bible to the president and first lady. Hundreds of schools and organizations joined in the day-long celebration across the palace in Panama City, to celebrate Panama’s 112th year of independence from Colombia.
Seventh-day Adventists in Puerto Rico took the message of the 7th-day Sabbath through the streets of its capital city of San Juan, during a special march to emphasize the Bible’s fourth commandment. More than 650 marchers carried banners and signs, sang songs and distributed literature during the Sabbath afternoon hours of Oct. 31, from Capitol’s La Plaza de la Democracia through the Plaza de Armas by the Mayoral building.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in eastern Colombia held a three-day camp for dozens of visually impaired individuals near the city of Bucaramanga earlier last month. The activity was the first-of-its-kind organized by the church in North Colombia and sponsored by Christian Record Services for the Blind (CRSB)—a Christian organization based in the United States serving the blind and visually impaired individuals worldwide.
Herbert Fletcher University, Inter-America’s Seventh-day Adventist online distance learning educational institution, revealed its comprehensive plans to provide certification training to church leaders while final academic recognition is pending. The plans were outlined during the institution’s first board meeting of the new quinquennium, which was held Nov. 2, 2015, in Miami, Florida.
Two senior Seventh-day Adventist leaders joined participants of a Russian government-organized conference on religious freedom in pledging to fight against a growing “perversion of religion” worldwide by those who use the language of faith to justify violence and terrorism. The Third International Forum on Religion and Peace, a rare gathering of leaders from across Russia’s religious and political spectrum, met Oct. 29 in the Great Hall of Moscow’s President Hotel and included scholars, public officials, and religious leaders representing the Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic communities.
Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America voted to launch Hope Channel Inter-America’s three channels in the coming months after approving the comprehensive budget that will drive the most ambitious television evangelism initiative ever undertaken in the vast territory. The approval came as more than 140 church administrators accepted next year’s budget of the channel on Nov. 2, during the weeklong church’s executive committee meetings held in Miami, Florida.
Inter-America’s Theological Seminary (IATS) leaders celebrated the success of graduating hundreds of ministers with master’s degrees from its various programs during the past 12 years. The report came as the IATS Board reported progress and plans for the next five years to committee members on Nov. 2, 2015, in Miami, Florida.
In the interest of reducing costs and focusing on events and activities in local areas, top executive leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Inter-America voted to a approve several division-wide activities in 2016 that will set the tone for the next five years. Some 140 members of the Inter-American Division’s (IAD) Year-End Committee agreed to travel less, videoconference more and organize more regional activities to accomplish the strategic and evangelism plans in the territory.
Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders from the Inter-American Division (IAD) took a vote to reaffirm the decision of the Annual Council regarding the General Conference Session Vote on Ordination, during day seven of the church’s business meetings, held Oct. 27 to Nov. 3, in Miami, Florida. The more than 140 committee members representing the 24 unions or regions across Inter-America read over the document and agreed with the church’s decision to reaffirm the role of women.