Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

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VISITOR MAGAZINE

May
2008

2008
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Welcome to the Internet presence of the Columbia Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. From our headquarters in Columbia, Md., we work to advance and execute the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the mid-Atlantic United States. To that end, we provide administrative leadership, governance, and support services to our conferences, ministries, healthcare institutions, elementary and secondary schools, and colleges.

NEWS

Baltimore Youth Join Millions for 20th Global Youth Service Day

By George Johnson, Jr.

Baltimore Adventist Community Services (BACS), a resource for executing, supporting and strengthening community service initiatives in Baltimore, mobilized more than 400 young people to participate in the 20th Annual Global Youth Service Day. Volunteers included thousands of Baltimore youth and their leaders, along with BACS executive director Darriel Hoy.

Global Youth Service Day, the largest service event in the world, mobilizes youth to identify and address the needs of their communities through service-learning and community service. Research continues to support service-learning programs as an effective method to increase student academic achievement. “Service-learning, when implemented with high quality, yields statistically significant impacts on academic achievement, civic engagement, acquisition of leadership skills, and personal/social development,” reports Shelley Billig from RMC Research Corporation and a leading researcher in service-learning. State Farm Companies Foundation is the presenting sponsor of the event. READ MORE AND SEE PICTURES

New Life Member Gets County Recognition, Promotes Prayer for Gas Prices

By Beth Micheals

Rocky Twyman, a member of the New Life church in Gaithersburg, Md., has been in the news for a number of community outreach activities and contributions. Most recently, in honor of National Volunteer Week (April 27-May 3), the Montgomery County Council honored Twyman during a meeting at its headquarters in Rockville, Md. Members of the council, led by president Mike Knapp, drew up a proclamation dedicating April 29 as Rocky Twyman Day. The acknowledgment was a result of Twyman’s assistance in recruiting nearly 14,000 minority donors for the national bone marrow registry since 1992. READ MORE AND SEE PICTURES

New Partnership Expands Hospital’s Services

By Adventist HealthCare Staff

Washington Adventist Hospital and Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Care, a federally qualified, comprehensive health center based in Washington, D.C., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of a primary care center in the Long Branch area of Montgomery County, Maryland. The primary care center, the first Mary’s Center location in Maryland, will offer a full range of vital healthcare services to residents in Montgomery and nearby Prince George’s counties, regardless of ability to pay.

“We believe our partnership with Mary’s Center and the opening of the primary care center in Long Branch will further expand access to healthcare services for the communities we serve---a key element in our Vision for Expanded Access initiative,” said Jere Stocks, president of Washington Adventist Hospital. “Together we are strengthening the region’s healthcare safety net.” READ MORE