News | Seventh-day Adventist Church

Pennsylvania Conference Honors, Bids Staff Members Farewell

Story by Tamyra Horst

Pennsylvania Conference team recently said, “Goodbye” and honored pastor Lynn Gatz (pictured with his wife, Donna) and Blue Mountain Academy staff member Glenn Sutton (pictured with his wife, Kathleen) during camp meeting, as both retired and now begin new adventures.

Gatz has served in pastoral ministry for 50 years. Over the last 20 years, he pastored the Coudersport, Derrick City, Mount Jewett and Warren churches in Northern Pennsylvania. He and his wife are looking forward to time with family upon retirement—though he will continue to work as a chaplain in his community.

Dan Cochran to Serve as New President of Shady Grove Medical Center

Story by Katie Solovey

Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center has a new leader. Dan Cochran, the hospital’s Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, became its president effective Aug. 19. Cochran takes over for John Sackett, who is handing off duties at the hospital to focus on his role as Chief Operating Officer of the Adventist HealthCare system.

Terry Forde, the Chief Executive Officer of Adventist HealthCare, announced the changes internally in July, praising Cochran’s talents as an executive. “Dan has managed the complexities of hospital finance and been a stalwart supporter of Shady Grove’s growth and patient experience initiatives,” Forde said.

Kleyton Feitosa: What Cancer Brought to My Life

Story by Liz Anderson

Kleyton Feitosa had always been a planner. When considering decisions for himself and his family, he would envision life seven to 10 years in advance. But for Feitosa, who pastors Chesapeake Conference’s Living Word church in Glen Burnie, Md., his years-long journey with cancer seismically shifted that perspective.

The Brazilian native’s desire for mission service was sparked in high school after reading a book about a missionary who served in Papua New Guinea. Feitosa married Delma, his high school sweetheart, and continued making plans for a career in cross-cultural ministry.

Book Release: Bible Principles for Growing Disciples

Story by Anna Bartlett

Emil Dean Peeler, senior pastor of Allegheny East Conference's Capitol Hill church (DC), recently wrote Discipleship Guide: Bible Principles for Growing Disciples. Peeler holds a doctorate in ministry, and has served in various positions of leadership in the body of Christ and broader community, most notably as pastor, conference evangelist, author, associate ministerial director, college professor, and director of Church Growth and Evangelism of Southeastern California Conference.

Peeler draws not only on his personal experience growing up Adventist and growing in discipleship with God, but also his 33 years and counting ministerial experience to write his new book.

Book Release: I Love Tomatoes

Story by Anna Bartlett

Max Forbes-Goulding, a teacher at the New Jersey Conference's Waldwick Seventh-day Adventist School, recently wrote I Love Tomatoes, a fictional story about 12-year-old Anna and her family of undocumented workers, the challenges they face and the choices she must make.

Forbes-Goulding was born in London, England to immigrant parents from Jamaica, but shortly thereafter her parents returned their family to Jamaica where she lived until she completed her education and began teaching. She spent a year teaching English in Mexico, and then immigrated to the United States when she married her husband, also the child of immigrant parents from Jamaica, and a U.S. citizen.

Music Release: My Home

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

My Home, a recent album of original music and hymns arranged in a Bossa Nova style, is the result of three years of work by Felipe Paccagnella, a member of Potomac Conference’s Washington Brazilian church in Takoma Park, Md.

To find out more about his inspiration behind the album, we interviewed him:

Visitor: How long have you been involved in music, and specifically writing and arranging?

Forgiveness and Health

Story by Grant Leitma

Christian Record Celebrates 120 Years of Service

Story by Patricia Maxwell

This year Christian Record Services, Inc., (CRS) celebrates 120 years of ministry to the blind. “With the Lord’s guidance, it is the members, donors, volunteers and employees who have made Christian Record impactful all of these years,” says Diane Thurber, president. “To all of you, we say a hearty ‘thank you.’ And we invite those who are just now learning about who we are and what we do to join our community.”

When Done Correctly

Editorial by Jeremy Garlock

It is often said that the youth are the future of our church. I respectfully, yet passionately, disagree. I believe that the youth are the passion and energy of our church right now. A quick look at history will show us that God has always been passionate about youth.

The clear majority of Jesus’ 12 disciples would have fallen into our youth or young adult categories.

During the Dark Ages and the Reformation, youth and young adults did much to preserve the work.

400 Attend Hispanic Ministries Children’s Festival

Children re-enact one of several events from the book of Exodus during the recent Hispanic Ministries Children’s Festival.

Story by Heidi Shoemaker

Pyramids on white sands, hieroglyphics, a mummy and drawings of Pharaoh on the walls transported our imaginations to Ancient Egypt,” shares Wanda Lugo, director of the second annual Hispanic Ministries Children’s Festival (Festival Infantil) in the Ohio Conference.