EUD Health Promotion Newsletter 1 No. 25, Third Quarter 20001

Health Promotion

NEWSLETTER

ENCOURAGING LETTERFROM THE GENERAL CONFERENCE

Health Department of the Euro-Africa Division Number 25, Third Quarter 2000

EDITORIAL

Dear colleagues and friends:This Newsletter was intentionally delayed to be

released after the General Conference WorldSession in Toronto, June 29 - July 8, 2000, with thepurpose to include pertinent news. It was a greatinspiration to see the progress of the gospel all overthe world, to shake hands with our brethren fromthe other side of the globe and to hear their experi-ences. What a wonderful variety of people andcultures we have in our Adventist world family!

The session’s theme “Almost Home” pervadedevery sermon. Jan Paulsen, Seventh-day Adven-tists’ world reelected President, emphasized in hisclosing message the importance to be united forthe soon coming of our Lord. As EG White said,“The work of God in this earth can never be finisheduntil the men and women comprising our churchmembership rally to the work, and unite their effortswith those of ministers and church officers.” GospelWorkers, p. 352.

It is with this spirit that we here in the Divisionoffice commit ourselves once more to our Lord’sservice and look forward to serve you best duringthis new quinquennium.

Yours, for better health

J. HawlitschekEUD Health Department.

May 2000“In so many ways the work of God’s church is

advancing and blessing the lives of men andwomen. Perhaps some of the most tangible bless-ings are experienced by those who encounter our"health ministries" workers. It has been my privilegethis last month to visit our work in Rwanda where

brave people are putting their lives back togetherafter some of the most horrifying experiences ofthis last century . At our hospital at Mugonerothere are over three thousand buried in a massgrave and yet a spirit of reconciliation and a deter-mination to rebuild and face the future in hope isexpressed by so many. Flying over flooded Mo-zambique my heart ached for its children anddesperate inhabitants. The message we love istruly one of hope and care, and the want of theworld is of people like you and me who becomehopeful and caring. There are so many of us wholive in a state so blessed that we at times becomeinured to the suffering of those living in less fortu-nate settings. Oh, that in our hearts there will growa sense of man’s vulnerability and our oneness witheach other, that we will join hands around the worldin love and mutual support. It is truly in the caringfor each other that we become Christ like.

In writing this little note I want to encourage allyou dear folks interested in "Health Ministry" to bearever before you that ours is a message of grace.The EUD is a division of great strengths and poten-tials. I have noted with pleasure the many activitiesand the future plans. The concept of developing anoutreach in health in Mozambique is a wonderfulway to express love in action. Mozambique hashad its share of problems to batter it into a state ofneed. It is a place to begin a work with a plan thatincorporates a comprehensive view of the missionof the church into the local setting. The develop-ment of local human resources along with a sup-portive infrastructure is foundational. The recogni-tion of accountability as a measure of responsibilityneeds to be taught and learned to ensure thesustainability of new programs. To Dr HawlitschekI offer my congratulations on the way the EUD hascarried the health message. My associates at theGeneral Conference join with me in wishing all ofyou in the EUD all of God’s richest blessings in thisthe new millennium.”

Allan Handysides, MD - Director, GeneralConference Health Ministries Department.

EUD Health Promotion Newsletter 2 No. 25, Third Quarter 20002

WORLD HEALTH LEADERSMEETING IN TORONTO

Reports - Priorities - Challenges

FADS AND QUESTIONSON NUTRITION

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

During the GC sessions’ week Dr Handysidesprovided an opportunity for a meeting with worldDivision Health Department leaders. In the reportsand subsequent discussions several facts clearlypointed out:

1. The health message continues to be theentering wedge of the Gospel.

2. The health message, the “right arm” of theChurch, is crippled in many places.

3. The health needs differ greatly according tothe area of the world, economical development,and culture. However, the basic principles of healthreform, expressed in the NEWSTART lifestyle,continue unchanged and must continue to be thebasis in all health promotion efforts.

The health principles must be implemented inall Adventist institutions (hospitals, schools, retire-ment homes, publishing houses, Union and Confer-ence offices, etc.) and proclaimed from the pulpitsnot as a separate message but as an integral partof the plan of redemption.

4. Besides that, special emphasis may be puton different programs according to specific needs:smoking cessation, cooking classes, stress man-agement seminars, AIDS prevention, etc.

We live in a time when the youth, both outsideand inside our church, needs and is open to pre-vention regarding alcohol, drugs, and risky sexualbehavior. It is time to promote and integrate theAY2Y program in all youth activities.

5. The need of more networking betweenDivisions for exchange of ideas, materials, andspeakers. This will greatly potentiate our efforts andgive more efficient use of our resources.

6. Several physicians were ordained in theSouth American Division during the past years. Thisprocedure is recommended not only for thosephysicians who besides of medicine also have anacademic degree in theology but for all thosephysicians who dedicated their lives entirely to theLord’s service, as advised by Ellen G. White inCounsels on Health, p. 540: “The work of the truemedical missionary is largely a spiritual work. Itincludes prayer and the laying on of hands; hetherefore should be as sacredly set apart for hiswork as is the minister of the gospel. Those who areselected to act the part of missionary physiciansare to be set apart as such. This will strengthenthem against the temptations to withdraw from thesanitarium work to engage in private practice.”

What about Spirulina or Blue-Green Algae?Spirulina is a brand name of Blue-Green Algae

or “Pond Scum” which comes from the scum thatcovers many stagnant bodies of water. It is com-posed of microscopic plants which cause the waterto smell foul and taste bad. Health claims for it isthat it is a perfect food that contains all the neces-sary nutrients to help individuals with medicalchallenges, that it is a super source of protein with65-71% complete protein, a plant source of vit. B12,or with the brand Chorella that it contains themiracle Chlorophyll. It is stated that Blue-GreenAlgae is an anti-bacterial agent and that no otherorganism can survive in the water. They claim it isnatural.

What are the facts? It is actually a highlyrefined product extracted by chemicals. In itsnatural form it has poisoned animals. The protein isof poor quality; comparable to peanut protein. Arecommended dose contains less protein than ahalf slice of whole wheat bread. The Food andDrug Administration study shows the B12 is proba-bly due to fecal matter, feathers and insects.

Chlorophyll is not absorbed by the body. Inspite of this being eaten by cows they still may getcancer.

By Dr. John Scharffenberg

Romania - More Health in the Media“For two weeks now, I am doing a weekly, half

hour health information and education magazinefor the National Radio Station (Cultural Channel). Itcame as a surprise, and the people there are veryopen and interested in bringing and promoting ahealthy lifestyle. We are trying to make the best outof this blessed opportunity. Pray for us.

We had the second Bucharest edition of theHealth Expo, and last week there was another onein Giurgiu, a town on the border with Bulgaria. Theattendance was high as usually, with the highestmedical and civil authorities in Giurgiu attendingthe opening ceremony. Last night we have beeninvited to the local TV station in Giurgiu and spokelive on vegetarian nutrition and NEWSTART for anhour.”

Reported by Dr. Gily Ionescu, Union HealthDepartment Director.

EUD Health Promotion Newsletter 3 No. 25, Third Quarter 20003

Romania - Medical Office in Bucharest“We recently opened an Adventist Medical

Center in Bucharest with 3 offices, one seminarroom and a laboratory. At the present time, we haveone family physician and one Natural Remediesspecialist. There is already a 600 patients waitinglist. We also have 1 or 2 health education seminarsevery week, and the participation is good. We arecurrently working to open the laboratory, where wehave the equipment to do most of the necessaryblood tests. We are hoping to get a contract withthe Medical Insurance Company for the laboratory,too.

We need to get a second hand ultrasoundmachine. This would be very helpful, and wouldsignificantly increase the appeal of the patients toour Center.”

Reported by Dr. Gily Ionescu, Union HealthDepartment Director.

Adventist Scientist Comments on Retraction ofEvolutionary "Missing Link" Claim

Loma Linda, CA, USA ... [ANN Bulletin: April18, 2000] --------------------

The retraction by the prestigious NationalGeographic magazine of its claim to have pre-sented “a true missing link” connecting dinosaurevolution to birds has been welcomed by the headof the Seventh-day Adventist Church's GeoscienceResearch Institute.

In its November 1999 issue, National Geo-graphic claimed that a fossil recovered from Chinaportrayed an “Archaeoraptor,” a kind of “feathereddinosaur” that supposedly linked dinosaurs to birdsin an evolutionary series. A panel of experts con-vened by the magazine after doubts were raisedconcluded on April 6 that the fossil was a compos-ite of two different animals. After a brief “correction”in its March issue, the magazine has said it will bepublishing a report in the Fall on the contentiousissue.

“This situation does illustrate the benefits ofbeing cautious in rushing to conclusions,” com-ments Dr. James Gibson, head of the LomaLinda-based Geoscience Research Institute.“There's a danger in presuming, and it's easy to seewhat you expect to see.”

The investigating panel concluded that thefeathered dinosaur fossil had not received inde-pendent scientific corroboration, as would beexpected for such a finding and before making anyclaims.

“There's a lesson here for creationists as wellas evolutionists,” says Gibson. “You have to look at

the evidence, and you need to suspend judgmentuntil you know the whole story. You shouldn't berushing to conclusions, and not everything that ispublished is proved to be correct over time.”

Seventh-day Adventists are supporters ofcreationism and reject the theory of Darwinianevolution. [Jonathan Gallagher]

Czech Adventist Health Workers Launch Educa-tional CD-ROM

Kromeriz, Czech Republic .... [ANN Bulletin:April 18, 2000] -------------------

Adventist doctors and nurses joined with thecivic organization Life and Health for a healthconvention held April 7-9 in Kromeriz. During theconvention, Adventist health workers launched anew instructional CD-ROM designed to presentprinciples for healthy living in an accessible,easy-to-understand format.

“Research shows that lifestyle impacts ourhealth significantly,” said the producer of theCD-ROM, Petr Skrla, Ph.D., director of the Sev-enth-day Adventist health department in the CzechRepublic. “The new CD-ROM is intended to providethe latest scientific information in an attractiveformat to all who would like to participate in propa-gating a healthy lifestyle.”

The convention focused not only on motivatingdoctors, nurses, and volunteers to be involved ininstruction in the areas of healthy lifestyle andprevention of addictions, but also offered profes-sional lectures and seminars.

“It is very important for all who want to work inthe area of health to stay constantly in touch withthe newest scientific knowledge regarding ahealthy lifestyle. Conventions like this one are goodopportunities to gain access to new information,'”said Jana Krynska, M.D., chief of the pulmonarydepartment of Bata's Hospital in Zlin and chair ofLife and Health.

In addition to the formal presentation, profes-sional workshops for doctors, nurses, and instruc-tional workers were held. More than 200 partici-pants attended the convention. [Bedrich Jetelina]

Walk Around the World 2000More than 4,500 Seventh-day Adventist young

people marched in the streets of 20 Romaniancities on May 28 to call for greater public aware-ness of the dangers of tobacco and other drugs.All together summed 40,000 km which is actuallythe circumference of the earth! This is really Walk-ing Around the World!

In Bucharest, in a smoldering heat, 600 youth

LITERATURE & MATERIALS

KEY DATES 2000

THOUGHT OF THE MONTH

marched 9 km, thus making a total of 5,400 km. Theline of marchers was 500 meters-long andwas opened by a coffin with a couple of hugecigarettes (6 m long) followed by many bannersexposing the dangers of smoking. The marchershad blue-and-white caps with the words "Be Smart- Don't Smoke!"

The same evening the largest TV network(PRO-TV) gave a very positive coverage prime timehour (about 4 minutes), unfortunately without men-

tioning the Adventist church which was sponsoringthe event. The news was also included in theirinternational program and repeated the next morn-ing. The news editor was commenting that in a timewhen people go to the streets for all kind of per-sonal interests, it's incredible to see these radiantyoung men and women marching for the sake ofothers’ life and health. Many local stations featuredthe marches from other cities.

Reported by Cristian Modan and AdrianBocaneanu

Tobacco Slides - 9 complete SeriesThe successful 9 slide series of the German

stop smoking seminar “Endlich frei” are now avail-able on CD-ROM either on PowerPoint (*.PPT) orCorel WordPerfect Presentations (*.SHW) format.

Supported languages: German, Spanish,Czech, Bulgarian, Romanian, Turkish.

Order from your Union Health Department.

Devotional Text on ComputerThere is a very nice little program which pre-

sents each day two new Bible texts for meditationon your screen every time you start your computer.It is completely FREE and is available in manydifferent languages. You can see and download itat http://www.losung.de

Note: In order to work properly the shortcuticon must be placed in the “Start Up” folder! (In theGerman computers it is the “Autostart”.)

NEWSTART Programs in RomaniaAll year round. There are also special pro-

grams for German groups and soon there will beEnglish speaking groups. Ask for more information.Place: Health Promotion Center in Herghelia. Phone +40-65-169 169, Fax +40-65-168 007E-mail: herghelia@netsoft.ro

AMALF Congress, France Date: October 27-29, 2000Place: MontpellierSubject: Food borne Allergies and Intolerances.Among the speakers will be the best specialists ofFrance. G +33 (1) 360.68.62.32

October 07-14 Week of HealthPrepare a special program for thechurch.

December 1 World AIDS Day Distribute the SDA AIDS-pamphlet. Focus on Biblical principles of pre- vention.

“Never indulge the feeling that you are notesteemed as you should be, that your efforts arenot appreciated, that your work is too difficult. Letthe memory of what Christ has endured for ussilence every murmuring thought. We are treatedbetter than was our Lord.”

Ministry of Healing, p. 476

The Health Promotion NEWSLETTER is a quarterly report about new health promotion materials,conventions, important addresses, working strategies, etc. For best effectiveness we kindly ask youto share such information with your co-workers and also to supply to our department pertinentinformation to be published. Let us unite in the proclamation of God's health message! Our address is: Health Department, Euro-Africa Division, Schosshaldenstr. 17, 3006 Bern, Switzerland.Phone +41-31-359 15 15, FAX +41-31-359 15 66. Jochen Hawlitschek, director, e-mailJHawlitschek@compuserve.com; Monica Braun, secretary, 104100.71@compuserve.com

EUD Health Promotion Newsletter 5 No. 25, Third Quarter 20005

The North American Health Ministries Department also has lots of information available at theirhomepage

http://www.northamerica.adventist.org/hm