On October 15-17, 2009 a conference will be held at Andrews University that deals with issues of marriage and sexual orientation in relation to Seventh-day Adventist church teaching and public policy positions. The conference is being sponsored and supported by a wide-range of Church institutions, including the Andrews University International Religious Liberty Institute, Andrews University, the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, the General Conference Biblical Research Institute, the General Conference Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Departments, the North American Division Ministerial Department, Liberty magazine, the Church/State Council of the Pacific Union Conference, the North Pacific Union of Seventh-day Adventists, the Northwest Religious Liberty Association, Southern Adventists University, and Oakwood College. .

Conference Purposes - To provide a scholarly examination of questions that have been raised about the Church’s position on the Bible’s teaching on homosexual practice, to explore the religious liberty and social welfare implications of same sex marriage, and to promote sound and sensitive ministerial and counseling practices in dealing with issues of gender orientation. The conference is also intended to produce scholarly papers from a variety of disciplines for a book that can provide the church at large with resources and information to deal with this important topic.

Conference Structure - The conference will take place at Andrews University, in Berrien Springs, Michigan, over the course of three days—from Thursday evening through Sabbath afternoon, between October 15-17, 2009. The basic structure of the conference will be that of a typical scholarly conference—with a series of substantive presentations followed by general discussions. Topics to be covered are the Biblical and theological issues regarding homosexuality, the public policy and religious liberty issues in relation to the church’s response to same sex marriage, and psychological and counseling aspects of dealing with gender orientation. The portions of the conference on Friday evening and Sabbath morning held at the Pioneer Memorial Church will be open without charge to the general public.

Who Should Attend: This event is open to all who wish to attend. It will be of special interest to pastors, chaplains, counselors, psychologists, lawyers, religion teachers, theologians, and others who deal with the issue of homosexuality and church teaching and policy.