News Briefs for July 7, 2022
News reports from Canada, Colombia, Guyana, Jamaica, Nigeria, United States.
Flagged
The presence of the Vatican flag at the 61st General Conference (GC) Session in St Louis, Missouri, U.S., on June 11, 2022, generated heated debate on social media platforms, even drawing the attention of Jamaican newspaper The Gleaner. While some defended the display of the Vatican flag, others said it was the result of “subtle demonic influences.”
All Up in Their Business
The Alberta government’s targeted enrollment expansion program will invest $600,000 (in Canadian dollars) in Burman University over the next three years. The investment aims to support more than 88 new seats to expand enrollment in the Bachelor of Business Administration program.
Making Cents of Stewardship
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in North Colombia recently released the first episodes of an animated series for children to be used throughout its local churches. The series is the first initiative of its kind launched by the Children and Adolescent Ministries of the church in North Colombia, produced by the church’s Hope Media Colombia center.
The series features Aby and Lucas, two friends who live in a small village where they experience great adventures every day and learn to become true stewards of Jesus with the help of their teachers, Zory and Mr. Charles. Titled “True Stewards of Jesus,” each of the 12 episodes in the series is five-to-six minutes long, focuses on Christian stewardship and includes an accompanying activity book.
Laboring Together
The Guyana Department of Labor and the Adventist Church there are teaming up to collaborate on training for youth. The training will focus on livelihood creation and the program will be launched on July 10, 2022.
The Dank Disappointment
Police in Nigeria have freed at least 77 people who were kept in a church basement by pastors who preached to them about Christian believers ascending to heaven with the second coming of Jesus Christ.
The people rescued from the church in Ondo state included 23 children, some as young as 8 years old. Local residents told The Associated Press that some Whole Bible Believer Church members were kept there since last year.
Prayer Back in U.S. Public Schools
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 27, 2022 that a former Washington state high school football coach had a right to pray on the field immediately after games.
The 6-3 ruling was a victory for Joseph Kennedy, who claimed that the Bremerton School District violated his religious freedom by telling him he couldn’t pray so publicly after the games. The district said it was trying to avoid the appearance that the school was endorsing a religious point of view.
(Photo: The presence of the Vatican flag (center) at the 61st General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. on June 11, 2022 generated much heated discussion on social media and even caught the attention of Jamaican newspaper, The Gleaner. Photo via Gleaner website.)
