Nov. 21, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

Compiled by ANN Staff

United States: Proposed Center to Make Florida Hospital Hub of Surgical Training Worldwide ... What do you get when Seventh-day Adventist-owned Florida Hospital, global Fortune 500 healthcare leaders, and the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission partner on a project? You get the Nicholson Center for Surgical Advancement, which will position Florida Hospital as a global site for teaching cutting-edge surgical techniques. Slated for completion in two years, the training complex will span some 35,000 square feet and will host 20,000 surgeons from around the world annually. The center is the namesake of Tony and Sonja Nicholson, whose $5 million pledge financially launched the project. “It is my hope that this facility will transform healthcare by uniting the efforts of researchers, entrepreneurs, medical device companies, and surgeons to meet the needs of patients both here and all over the world,” Nicholson said at the center’s announcement last week. Planners emphasize the internationality of the center, which will offer a satellite-based surgical training program. Also proposed for the center is a technology accelerator, a multi-media production center, and a surgical simulation laboratory, allowing a surgeon-in-training to master intricate procedures long before entering the operating room. [Florida Hospital/ANN Staff]

United Kingdom: Interdenominational Faith Representatives Pray for Prisoners ... In conjunction with National Prisoners’ Week, Seventh-day Adventists joined other faith representatives, chaplains, the Minister for the criminal justice system in the United Kingdom, and ex-offenders for “A Prayer for Our Prisons,” on November 14 at St. Peter’s Italian Church in London. The service was led by Reverend Monsignor Malachy Keegan, principal Roman Catholic chaplain for prisons, and organized by the Prison Advice and Care Trust (PACT). Pastor Roy Chisholm, the Prison Ministries coordinator for the Adventist church in South England, and two Adventist musical groups who have been involved in prison ministry—the London Adventist Chorale and Recall, from St. Albans Adventist church—participated at the event. Also participating were ex-prisoners who shared testimonies illustrating the power that Christ, through prayer, has in transforming lives. In addition to prayer, Search, the prison ministries department led by Chisholm and involving 16 Adventist churches in South England, provides support and mentoring after prisoners have served their sentences. Chisholm says he and his team “have had many opportunities to share…[their] fellowship and compassionate service [with] so many who may have lost their way and are seeking a hand of friendship.”

World Church: Global Internet Forum Planners Gear Up for GIEN 2007 ... Next year’s Seventh-day Adventist-sponsored Forum of the Global Internet Evangelism Network (GIEN) is slated for June 28 to July 1. The fifth in a series of forums, GIEN 2007—themed “Beyond Borders: Radical Method, Radical Message, and Radical Christ”—will be held at Newbold College, an Adventist-owned tertiary institution located in Bracknell, Berkshire, England. John T. Banks, outgoing associate communication for the world church and co-chair of the Forum, anticipates the event will draw “a diverse quantity of both lay people and church officials who, working together, help keep the church strong and act as partners in framing its future.” Past GIENs have resulted in what Banks calls a “community of internet evangelists and ministers” with a mutual passion to fully develop the World Wide Web as a tool in spreading the gospel, and he expects GIEN 2007 will take that devotion to the next level. Additional details will soon be available on the event’s website, http://gien.adventist.org. [ANN Staff]

World Church: Adventist Photo Database Images Viewed Half a Million Times ... Churchphoto.de, a Seventh-day Adventist-run photo database launched during the 2005 General Conference Session in St. Louis, United States, reached image view number 500,000 at the beginning of November, 2006. The image-exchange platform offers royalty-free, affordable photos, graphics, and PowerPoint backgrounds created by Christian artists. Many of the selections—such as images of churches and worship services—are specialized and rarely found in general image galleries. “We are happy to see that the purpose of Churchphoto is being fulfilled. Christians from all over the world consider the image database to be a useful tool for enhancing their presentations, fliers and magazines,” says Matthias Mueller, Churchphoto project initiator and director of the German Adventist Media Center. To access the database, visit http://www.churchphoto.de/index.php. [CD/EUD/ANN Staff]

Australia: Avondale College Receives Federal Grant to Preserve Adventist History ... Australian national Minister for the arts and sport, Rod Kemp, announced early November that the Adventist Heritage Centre at Avondale College, a Seventh-day Adventist-owned tertiary institution in the South Pacific, has received a grant of nearly AU$6,500 to fund an extensive assessment and preservation survey of its collection. The Centre, which is based at Avondale College’s New South Wales campus, houses some 2,000 document boxes, each brimming with Adventist church records, publications and letters, among other historical items. Since its launch in 1977, the Centre has proved a valuable research destination for those studying Adventist history and church significance. The national grant is part of the Community Heritage Grants Program, which seeks to identify and preserve community-owned but nationally significant heritage collections and has, since its organization in 1993, distributed $2 million to more than 500 groups throughout Australia. [Avondale College/ANN Staff]

United States: Loma Linda University Professor Talks Laughter On CNN ... A Loma Linda University (LLU) professor and researcher talked about the link between health and happiness in a special program on CNN on November 19. The one-hour program was called “Happiness and Your Health: The Surprising Connection.” It will air again on November 23, at 1:00 p.m. P.S.T. The program features Lee S. Berk, DrPH, an expert on the benefits of laughter. Berk is an associate professor of health promotion and education in the School of Public Health and an associate research professor of pathology and human anatomy in the School of Medicine at LLU.  Adventist News Network interviewed Berk on the same subject in January. Find the story Adventist Laughter Expert: Stop Being so Serious—Your Life Depends on It”  at http://news.adventist.org/data/2006/00/1136472049/index.html.en.
Visit www.cnn.com/happiness for more information on the program. [Loma Linda University/ANN Staff]

West Indies Union Conference Appoints First Woman Treasurer ... For the first time in its 100 year history the West Indies Union Conference has voted a woman as its Treasurer. Carmelita Findlay succeeds Pastor Herman Ming, who has been serving the Union as Treasurer since 2000.  In his response to this historic milestone, Union president Pastor Patrick Allen said “It is a very exciting time for the Union as it is the first time that a woman is appointed to such a high office. [Ms. Findlay] is capable, competent, cordial, candid and compassionate. We are confident that she will give quality leadership to one of the largest treasuries in the Inter-American [region],” he added. Findlay, who holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration, is also a Certified Professional Secretary. [West Indies Union/ANN Staff]

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