Church Calendar (continued)

Today:               Sermon by Gerry Boucher.

      Vegetarian buffet after the service.  Everyone is

encouraged to stay for the food and fellowship.

2:30 p.m.: Adventist Advantage TV on Cox Cable
      statewide interconnect "B" channel 14 and on Verizon
channel 33.  Windows of Hope & Dr. Nedley.

7:30 pm, Jacob's Well, free gospel concert

Mondays:           Please pray for our prison ministry (ACI

      medium one) that happens every Monday night & is led by

      Bruce Knight, assisted by Michael Pelletier, John Ferreira, &

      Pastor Bill.  Call Bruce to help: (401) 949-0259.

12-step program, meets at the Johnston church with

Nancy Ingham providing leadership. Everyone welcome.

Wednesdays:       7:00 pm, Bible study led by Claire

      Entwistle (401-678-0035).  Everyone is welcome!

Thursdays:         Please pray for our prison ministry (ACI –

minimum security) that happens every Thursday night

& is led by Charlie Petit assisted by Peter Griswold, & Don

Panciera. To help, call Charlie Petit: (401) 397-4514.

Nov 20-22: Public High School Student weekend at Camp Winnekeag!  Want to go?  Contact Bruce Knight at 949-0259.
 


Nov 28, Sabbath:     Sermon by Allie Quigley.

4:30 pm, Endless Praise in concert in Johnston!
     Plan to bring your friends and their friends for an
 outstanding concert that will help you give thanks!

Dec 5, Sabbath:     Sermon by Jonathan Davidson, assistant manager of the SNEC Adventist Book Center and graduate of Southern Adventist University with a major in religion.

From the Pastor’s Desk

The contract has been signed!  Kronenberger & Sons, Inc. will send on or about November 30 two men for a week with a high lift bucket to reach all parts of the building for inspection and for temporary repairs of the exterior including the damaged chimney and removal of loose surfaces, and the enlargement of the downspouts in the valley that caused the damaging flood in the Sanctuary.  They will also provide a detailed recommendation for future restoration of the entire masonry exterior.   We are asking the LORD to replenish the $9,500.00 that will be spent in the next month for these repairs that were not in our budget.  Thank you for considering making ADDITIONAL OFFERINGS above and beyond the Lord's tithe and normal offerings.  If you do, please be sure to write the amount of your offering on the line for LOCAL CHURCH BUDGET. 

Academy Support Needed

For those who want to support students at Union Springs (USA) and Blue Mountain (BMA) Academies, please write “Academy Fund” on the first blank line under Christian education on your tithe and offering envelope and enter the amount of your enclosed donation.  Thank you for your help for Yharitza & Allie (USA) and Sarah & Roseangel (BMA) during this school year!

2009 Sunset Time / Offering Schedule

Nov 20/21          4:20/Local Church Budget


Nov 27/28          4:16/Atlantic Union College
 


Dec   4/5                        4:14/ Local (Johnston) Church Budget

Dec 11/12                        4:14/Adventist Community Services:

Inner City Ministries

Dec 18/19                        4:17/ Local (Johnston)  Church Budget

Dec 25/26                        4:20/So. New England Conference Budget

Other Events & Notices


(out of Burrillville, Johnston, & Wickford District)

Abundant Living Weekend in Norwich CT, Nov 20-22


Paula Eakins, M.S. & Curtis Eakins, N.D., 3ABN telecast hosts, will present free health seminars; topics include:


• A Balanced Approach for Stress Management

• "Paula's Story"- her personal story on conquering cancer


* Food samples and free recipes!


• and more!


Cooking Class- Cooking on a Budget!


Advance Registration - Contact: (860) 889-4742 or Email: norwichsda@charter.net (to register for cooking class)


$10 per person fee for cooking class ONLY!  If you or a guest would like to attend the cooking class and are unable to pay the fee, please contact us at the email address above.


Sponsored by:
Norwich Seventh-day Adventist Church


Address: 400 Harland Road
Norwich Connecticut 06360


Check for updates at: www.norwichsda.org


Date: Friday thru Sunday; November 20-22, 2009


Time:


Friday, 5:30 p.m.;


Saturday 11:00 a.m. & 3:00 p.m.;


Sunday (Cooking Class) 3:00-5:30 p.m

PlusLine Can Help You & Your Church with Family Life

-Organizations that can help you home-school your child.

-Books on how to teach your child about sex.

-A preliminary list of clean and unclean foods.

-Organizations that help troubled youth.

-Help with Sabbath employment problems.

-Help in finding a Christian counselor.

-Locate an Adventist hospital or physician in your area.

-Locate an Adventist adoption agency.

-Locate Adventist retirement centers and/or nursing homes.

Go to www.plusline.org to search for any of these topics.

A recent Wal-Mart Policy Change is affecting Adventist employees. If you or anyone you know works at

Wal-Mart, contact North American Religious Liberty Association – West at 805-413-7398 or 916-446-2552

From the Pastor’s Desk

Due to the many questions I am receiving about vaccines and the flu, here is some information from Dr. Handysides, Director of the Department of Health Ministries of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.  The short version is to get the vaccine (when it's available and recommended for your age and health condition) and to follow the lifestyle recommendations outlined below.  (Unfortunately, this bulletin does not allow space for the entire article.  However, if you ask for it, I will prepare copies of the entire report.)

Please consult your physician before using any information you find in this health article. Only your doctor can determine if the information you find in this article is right for you.

Who Should Get Flu Vaccine for REGULAR SEASONAL FLU?
United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Who should get a flu shot? 

The flu shot should be given to protect people who are most likely to have serious health problems if they get the flu.

These people should get the flu shot: 



Children ages 6 months to 23 months. 


People who are 65 years of age and older. 


People 2 years old or older who have an underlying, long-term illness (heart or lung disease, metabolic disease [like diabetes], kidney disease, a blood disorder, or a weakened immune system (including people with HIV/AIDS)). 


Women who will be pregnant this season. 


People who live in nursing homes or other chronic-care places. 


People who are 6 months to 18 years of age, and take aspirin daily. 


Health-care workers who take care of patients. 


People who have or take care of a baby under 6 months old. (Do not give a flu shot to babies under 6 months.) 


Who should not get a flu shot? 



Babies under 6 months old should not get a flu shot.



Healthy people 2 to 64 years old should wait to get a flu shot or skip getting a shot this season. 



What about the nasal-spray vaccine, sold as FluMist ®? 

FluMist ® is a vaccine that you spray in your nose instead of getting as a shot. Healthy people, ages 5 to 49 years old, can get Flumist ® this season. This is a good option for people in this age group who have or care for babies under 6 months of age or for health-care workers who take care of sick patients. Do not use FluMist ® if you are pregnant or if you care for or live with someone whose immune system is very weak and that person has to be kept away from all germs. 



What can you do to help stop the spread of flu? 

These are good health habits you should use to protect yourself and others.

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze – throw the tissue away after you use it. 
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If you are not near water, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner. 
Stay away as much as you can from people who are sick. 
If you get the flu, stay home from work or school. If you are sick, do not go near other people so that you don’t make them sick too. 
Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs often spread this way. 


What if you are someone who should get a flu shot and your clinic or doctor does not have vaccine? 

Contact the health department or ask your doctor or someone at your clinic where you can get a flu shot.

Some public clinics that have flu shots may be posted at the American Lung Association website.

Vaccine Refusal – source

By Allan R. Handysides, M.B., Ch.B..

Q: With the recent outbreak of a new strain of influenza, there has been a lot of talk about the dangers of vaccines. I have seen a lot of activity on the internet about the dangers, and wonder if there could be a “cover-up” of the side effects. What is your take on the situation?

A: Firstly, we too have noted the flurry of internet activity, much of it against the use of vaccines. It is important to recognize that there is a vocal “anti-vaccine lobby” and always has been. This group pounces upon any and every possible side effect, real or imagined, to try to dissuade people from using vaccines. These are the group of people who promoted the idea that thimerosal, a mercury-containing stabilizer in measles vaccines, was causing autism. The amount of mercury was so tiny, it contributed little more to our total mercury load than does the atmospheric pollution prevalent everywhere; yet, the claims resulted in multi-millions of dollars being spent on research to either confirm or refute the allegations. No evidence of linkage between the vaccines and autism could be found. Every time a new vaccine is developed, the same type of scare campaign is mounted.

                  It is very difficult to tie a rare side effect to any medication, and studies require the use of control groups to monitor the background rates of spontaneous events. For example, a person may claim the vaccine causes headaches, but if one thousand vaccine recipients are compared to one thousand controls and the rate for both groups is 16 headaches per 1,000, it is difficult to claim a vaccine is causing the effect. A single person who develops a rash or neuropathy or diabetes shortly after the vaccine does not prove it is a complication of the vaccine. Such conditions occur spontaneously, and the event may be coincidence rather than caused by a vaccine.

Vaccines are tested in large numbers of people, and equally large numbers of controls are monitored. It is these studies that reveal what may be real complications. The numbers of real complications with vaccines are usually extremely small, though reputable producers of any vaccine or medication will withdraw a product rather than risk the population’s health.

As with most things, people neglect to enter into the equation the results of not doing something. For example, with birth control pills, side effects are well-described; but consider the far greater number of complications that attend a given number of pregnancies.

Modern societies have not faced the lethal epidemics that confronted our great grandparents. Few indeed have sat watching infants gasp to the grave with diphtheria. Not many beggars with distorted, wasted limbs grab our attention in the cities today. Smallpox killed half its victims, leaving the rest scarred for life with disfiguring pox marks all over their faces. Vaccination has eradicated this disease. To watch a youngster in the throes of tetanus is a gut-wrenching experience. I spent two weeks supervising the care of an Amish youngster who had to be paralyzed and ventilated while he battled with tetanus.

As a society, we have no understanding of the specters of death. Vaccines rank with clean water and sewage disposal, refrigeration, and antibiotics as the greatest advances in medicine of the last one hundred years. Ellen White and her household were vaccinated against smallpox, giving us a sensible example.  Measles, mumps, and rubella are diseases whole classes of medical graduates may not have seen.

Studies have shown that children who are not immunized are not only at risk for themselves, but for others. Outbreaks of disease often have geographic boundaries that are defined by pockets of the population refusing such immunization. In fact, unvaccinated children have 35 times greater chances of contracting measles. Some delay vaccination erroneously, seeking to protect their younger children. Their children then become vulnerable at an age of high risk to contracting disease. Even what used to be common-place diseases, like chicken pox, can prove lethal. I shall never forget seeing a 7-year-old boy die from chicken pox encephalopathy, nor the agony of his anguished mother as she clutched his lifeless little body.

Because many states demand immunization, but leave an exemption for religious objection, some seek to have the Church endorse their personal choice as a religious tenet of Adventism. It is dishonest for us to participate in such deception.  Clearly, we recognize an individual’s right to choose – but would be duplicitous to pretend this refusal of vaccine is based on Seventh-day Adventist doctrine.

Unlike many Americans, I trust information coming from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta – and I’m a British Canadian! There is no reason in the world why vaccine producers would do anything but produce the best, most effective, and safest vaccine possible. It is in their own, as well as society’s, best interest to do so. There may be the occasional complication, but thousands of lives will be saved.

If you choose to refuse immunization, that is your prerogative. But it is not an evidence-based position to urge others to follow your example.