News | Seventh-day Adventist Church

Morocco Earthquake: ADRA Intensifies Efforts to Assist Victims in Hardest Hit Areas

2023 Morocco Earthquake aftermath from ADRA International

Story by ADRA Staff

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) emergency response teams are on the ground in Morocco ready to deliver humanitarian relief to victims in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake and aftershocks that devastated the country, on September 8. The major quake, with a magnitude of 6.8 and a depth of 18.5 kilometers (about 11.5 mi), caused massive destruction and loss of life, leaving countless people and towns in desperate need of assistance, according to local officials.

John Rengifo Appointed Ministerial Director at Chesapeake Conference

Story by Evan Knott

John Rengifo, lead pastor of the Ellicott City (Md.) church, has accepted an invitation to serve as the next ministerial director of the Chesapeake Conference. The announcement comes after the Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee unanimously affirmed the recommendation from conference administration.

Nino Transitions to Columbia Union Education Team

Story by Stephen Lee

Her name derives from Hebrew, and it means “compassionate friend.” Without a doubt, Ruth Nino lives up to her name, further cementing its meaning with total devotion and loyalty to Seventh-day Adventist education.

Nino started her ministry of education in the New Jersey Conference’s (NJC) Tranquility School in Andover. She later taught at Waldwick Adventist School—the school she attended during her elementary years and where her love for education grew.

Dupont Park Member Receives National Humanism Medal

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

Gina Brown, an Allegheny East Conference Dupont Park church member, located in Washington, D.C., was recently awarded the 2023 National Humanism in Medicine Medal from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. Brown received the award “in recognition of her transformational global leadership, innovative educational practices, and embodiment of nursing,” according to the foundation’s website.

Brown, who has served as dean of the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences at Howard University since 2015, received the award alongside four other notable names in health care at the Arnold P. Gold Foundation annual gala.

ARM Launches Two New Products Exclusively for Educators

Adventist Risk Management, Inc. (ARM), has launched two new products exclusively for educators--a School Safety Kit e-book and a teacher-based Risk Training Center (RTC) course. Both products were debuted to educators at last month's North American Division Educator's Convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

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Read the September October 2023 Visitor Magazine

Image of the Phoenix Convention Center by Kelly Butler Coe, Columbia Union Visitor

Columbia Union Educators Get ‘Schooled’ at the North American Division Educators’ Convention and other stories from the September/October 2023 Columbia Union Visitor.

Readied, Reunited, and Recharged

Rick Bianco, Ohio Conference superintendent of schools, greets Adelina Simpson and Cinthya Hernandez, Clifton Christian Academy educators.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Prior to the start of the 2023–24 academic school year, some 500 teachers and staff from the Columbia Union Conference joined 5,000 other educators at the North American Division (NAD) Educators’ Convention, themed “Something Better,” in Phoenix.

Video: Creating Community In the Adventist Classroom

At the 2023 North American Division's Educators' Convention, Potomac Conference's Richard Castillo asked Kelly Wiedemann from Shenandoah Valley Academy how she uniquely builds community in her classroom. Here's what she said.

Debra Brill, Former North American Division Vice President for Ministries, Passes to Her Rest

Story by Kimberly Luste Maran/NAD / Photo by Dan Weber

Debra Clements Brill, former vice president for ministries for the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, passed to her rest on August 27, 2023, at her home in Jamaica, Virginia, after an extended illness. She was 71.

Brill retired on October 1, 2019, after serving the division as a vice president for 21 years. “It’s been my great joy to work with gifted leaders who love God and His church!” said Brill upon her retirement.