News | Seventh-day Adventist Church

REACH Columbia Union Urban Evangelism School Launches Second Year

Story by Jason Vanderlaan

REACH Columbia Union Urban Evangelism School launched their second school year at the end of August with a cohort of eight students. The students come from various places across the Columbia Union, as well as from Indiana and Northern California.

After an introductory week of orientation and classes with Brown, the students joined the Pennsylvania Conference’s REACH Philadelphia church for a weekend spiritual retreat. During this time, the students connected with church members and learned more about the people and ministries they’ll be involved in throughout the year.

Columbia Union Welcomes New Associate Director for Secondary Education

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

During a meeting today, Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee members affirmed the appointment of Jacqueline Messenger, Chesapeake Conference superintendent of schools, as the Columbia Union Conference’s associate director for secondary education.

Columbia Union Executive Committee Re-Appoints Employees

Emmanuel Asidedu, Celeste Ryan-Blyden, Harold Geene, (front) Carol Wright, Tabita Martinez, Ileana Espinosa, Evelyn Sullivan and Tiffany Brown (Jaqueline Messenger not pictured)

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

During the September 15 Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee meeting, members voted to re-appoint seven Columbia Union staff members to their current positions. They also appointed Tabita Martinez as undertreasurer beginning February 1, 2017, when Carol Wright retires. Celeste Ryan-Blyden will reassume Visitor editor responsibilities.

REACH Columbia Union Urban Evangelism School Welcomes New Director

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Today Columbia Union Conference Executive Committee members met Tiffany Brown, the new director of the REACH Columbia Union Conference Urban Evangelism School, based in Philadelphia.

“We are very excited about Brown assuming leadership of our school,” says Frank Bondurant, vice president for Ministries Development. “She possesses the combination of pastoral, canvassing and teaching skills that we need in a director. In addition she has a degree in Urban Community Development and is able to relate to and engage young adults.”

Fall Fitness Festival to be held at LivingWell this Sunday

Story by Livingwell Staff

LivingWell, formerly known as Potomac ABC, is hosting their Fall Fitness Festival this Sunday, September 18 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 12004 Cherry Hill Road, Silver Spring, Md.

“We excited to host this event to show our customers and the community the benefits of being physically, mentally and spiritually fit. We believe a fitness lifestyle benefits all aspects of a person’s life and we’re looking forward to sharing information that can assist our customers on their journey to fitness in all of these area,” says Laura Worf, General Manager of LivingWell.

The first 50 customers through the door will receive “goodie bags” filled with a variety of fitness items. Free vegetarian hot dogs will be served starting at 11:30 a.m.

Several seminars are scheduled:

10 a.m.       Diabetes: What you Should Know
11 a.m.       Your Drugs and You
Noon           Introduction to Raw Foods
1 p.m.         Faithful Fitness
2 p.m.         Commandments for an Extraordinary Life
3 p.m.         A Topical Glance for an Internal Status
4 p.m.         Energize Yourself! With Pastor Mike (Especially for kids, young and old!)

Health screenings will be held throughout the day as follows:

Forum Begins Conversation on Social Justice and the Church

Story by Tiffany Doss

“We are here, because talking saves lives,” said Jose Rojas at the opening of We Stand For All, a forum at Potomac Conference’s Sligo church in Takoma Park, Md., designed to discuss if the church should have a role in social justice—a question that has become more prevalent following a rally on the National Mall where nearly 1,000 Adventists stood together for prayer and peace.

Fire Spotted at Blue Mountain Academy Campus Barn

Statement from the Pennsylvania Conference

Thursday night at approximately 9:15 pm a fire was spotted in one of the barns that a local farmer uses to store his equipment and some bales of hay on the campus of Blue Mountain Academy (BMA), Hamburg, Pa. Due to the dry summer and a recent heat wave that made matters worse, it appears a spontaneous combustion occurred, causing the fire.

Very quickly local volunteer fire departments were dispatched and brought the fire under control. At no time were any of our students at risk, as the barn is a one quarter mile from campus. A special thank you goes out the men and women of the local fire departments that braved extreme heat to extinguish the fire.

Pine Forge Academy Celebrates 70 Years

Rocky Twyman ('66) interviews Lynda Johnson Robb.

Story and photos by LaTasha Hewitt

In the 1940s, Elder John H. Wagner, Sr., former Allegheny Conference president, envisioned a boarding school in the North where African-American high school students could attend without the racial issues of schools in the South. After purchasing the 575-acre Rutter Estate near Pottstown, Pa., the conference opened Pine Forge Institute on September 9, 1946, with 90 students.

Last weekend the school, now Pine Forge Academy (PFA), celebrated Alumni Weekend and 70 years of existence during the weekend themed “Legacy of Excellence.”

Beltsville Church Launches Second Site

Story by Kermit Netteburg

More than 300 people attended the inaugural service of the Beltsville church’s second campus on Tech Road in Silver Spring, Md., this past Sabbath morning. The church now refers to the original Potomac Conference church in Beltsville, Md., as the the Ammendale campus and the new site as the Tech Road campus.

Organizers stopped counting at 305 people. “We just couldn’t keep track after that,” says Will Johns, associate pastor, who serves as the campus pastor for the Tech Road site. He added that more than half the people were not from the Ammendale campus. (The Ammendale campus will celebrate its 60th anniversary in two weeks, September 17.)

Vine Haven Fourth-Grader Hosts Bible Study, Leads Eight Children to Baptism

Story by Cristina Macena

It’s not just the adults at the Bridgeton Spanish church in Bridgeton giving weekly Bible studies to their neighbors.

Every week Jaffet Vazquez, a fourth-grader at Vine Haven Adventist School in Vineland, teaches the children that live on Walnut Street more about the Bible and his best friend, Jesus. His mother, Susana Vazquez, prayerfully went to every mother on the street and asked permission for their children to attend Bible studies at her home. Many said yes and about 13 children ages 5-10 meet at the Vazquez home weekly for Bible studies. Jaffet uses what he has learned in class from his teacher, Violeta Molina, and Pastor Raul Rivero, Bible class teacher, to share with his friends about God’s love and gift of salvation.