September 25, 2001 New York City, New York, USA
In a full-page advertisement in the September 24 edition of the
New York Times, the Seventh-day Adventist Church pledged its
solidarity in prayer for those suffering in the aftermath of the
terrorist attacks on the United States.
"We wanted to reach out with a simple message of heartfelt
sympathy and support," says Larry Colburn, assistant to the
president of the Adventist Church worldwide. "And we felt the
best way to do this would be to affirm that our members around
the world are united in prayer for all those touched by the tragic
events of September 11."
"Praying--for the families, for our leaders, for our cities, for our
world," read the message, sponsored by the Adventist Church's
General Conference, which ran on page A13 of the New York
Times. Running across the bottom of the page was a
line-drawing of the New York City skyline with a gap where the
twin towers of the World Trade Center once stood.
Adventists have been galvanized by the events of September
11, donating money, providing on-site counseling and pastoral
care, giving blood, and opening their churches for prayer vigils
and special inter-faith memorial services.
"But this advertisement was something just a little different," says
Colburn. "It was an unadorned, no-strings-attached message of
caring from the worldwide Adventist faith community--a message
we felt was very important to give at this time."
The New York Times is distributed nationwide and has a daily
readership of more than 1.1 million. To view a copy of the
advertisement go to www.adventist.org.
Bettina Krause Adventist News Network Copyright © 2001
[This message has been edited by Richard Myers (edited 09-27-2001).]
