European leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church stood in a minute of silence and solidarity with the people of France following the Nov. 13 nighttime attacks that killed at least 129 people in Paris.
Leaders of the church’s Trans-European Division invited Mario Brito, president of the Inter-European Division, whose territory includes France, to the podium at the start of a Sabbath morning worship service in an emotional recognition of the tragedy being suffered by the people of France and, by extension, the rest of Europe.
“Today we are all French,” Brito told the group of 130 Adventist leaders and family members attending leadership training meetings in the Balkan country of Montenegro.
He expressed his “deep consternation” but also his solidarity with the people of France.
Brito said he has been in close contact with Ruben de Abreu, president of the church’s Franco-Belgian Union. While all churches in Paris were closed on Sabbath, Nov. 14, as part of a national state of emergency, the Adventist Church in Paris has made its facilities available to the authorities and was available to help in any way possible, he said.
Brito also said that such tragedies could not be unexpected “when people turn away from God’s directions and wisdom.” More
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