The Year-end Meeting of the Inter-European Region of the Seventh-day Adventists (EUD) was held from October 30-November 2, 2020, via virtual platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation. During the meeting, the 68 participants, representing the administration of the countries belonging to the EUD territory, had the possibility to examine topics related to social justice. Two are among the most important.
Racism. The first one is a statement on “One Humanity: A Human Relations Statement Addressing Racism, Casteism, Tribalism, and Ethnocentrism”.
This topic was discussed at the Annual Council of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventists on October 14, 2020.
Below is an excerpt from the document on racism.
The moral duty of declaring biblical principles in the treatment of fellow human beings has become paramount as the world increasingly recognizes the lingering scourge of racial injustice, tribal conflicts, and caste system bigotry suffered by millions of persons in every society and world region.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (Adventists) acknowledges the important responsibility of making its commitments and compassion clear to a world expecting both words and deeds in harmony with the teachings of Jesus. “Our commitment flows from our mission to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to ‘every nation, tribe, tongue, and people’ (Revelation 14:6) in our troubled world, as we recognize only Christ can change the human heart,” declares the statement.
The Adventists maintain their allegiance to the biblical principles of equality and dignity of all human beings in the face of historic and continuing attempts to use skin colour, place of origin, caste, or perceived lineage as a pretext for oppressive and dominating behaviour.
These attempts are a denial of our shared humanity and we deplore all such aggression and prejudice as an offense to God.
The Document has been voted unanimously.
To read the whole document, see here.
Domestic violence. The second subject that caught the attention of the members of the Executive was related to domestic violence. This topic has been presented by Harvard professor and researcher David Williams, remotely. He gave an exhaustive overview of this intolerable affront to the human dignity.
The Adventists have a very clear position regarding the practice of violence in general and domestic, in particular. No abusive act perpetrated on a human being, whether a woman, a child, or a man, is justifiable.
The presentation of David Williams, entitled “Enditnow: Effectively Confronting the Challenge of Domestic Violence,” sought to educate committee members about the state of the issue around the world and then show what the Adventist Church can do to make a difference in society.
To read the presentation in more detail, see the article in the Adventist Review here.
The EUD administration, after the presentation of this topic, invited the Executive Committee to move to create a Task Group on Domestic Violence at the EUD level. Considering the complexity of the circumstances that embrace the family environment, generally, the task group includes departmental leaders such as the Children, Women and Family Ministries leader, with precise terms of reference: 1. To evaluate the current need concerning domestic violence in the Church in the EUD territory; 2. to prepare a survey of existing resources in this area; 3. to suggest possible strategical steps to address current needs and issues in regard to domestic violence in the Church.
