News
Providing Encouragement and Assessment
NAD Administrators Affirm Work and Assess Needs During Visit to the Guam-Micronesia Mission
Beginning January 4, 2024, a North American Division administrative team visited several islands within the Guam-Micronesia Mission for two weeks. “We wanted to provide encouragement and do an assessment of needs and see how we could better support the work there,” said NAD president G. Alexander Bryant.
Unearthing History: The Dino Dig Experience at Southwestern Adventist University
For many, the pull of uncovering ancient relics and the mysteries of the past is an irresistible draw. Southwestern Adventist University (SWAU) offers a unique opportunity to step back in time with its Dino Dig Experience, a dinosaur excavation research project in the Lance Formation of eastern Wyoming, United States. This program, held annually in June, brings together students, families, and international participants to uncover and study dinosaur fossil remains.
Gillette Residents to Be Welcomed to “Night at the Camporee”
In just five weeks, the International Pathfinder Camporee will have moved west to Gillette, Wyoming. From August 5-11, 2024, roughly 60,000 young people from 100 countries will transform the Gillette Cam-Plex Facilities into a tent and RV city. Over numerous site visits since 2020, camporee officials have found significant interest among community members in attending the nighttime mainstage events. However, because minors attend the camporee, background checks would be necessary for these additional guests. Thus, camporee leaders decided to host a “night at the camporee” on August 4, which will offer community members a 90-minute sneak peek of the "Believe the Promise" evening program.
It is Written Wins 14 Telly Awards
It Is Written is pleased to announce that it has won 14 Telly Awards this year. The awards received highlight It is Written’s versatility and excellence in media production, with several programs earning multiple honors.
Common Ground
On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, North American Division leaders met with student leaders from universities across the division. The goal was to determine what young people are concerned with and discuss what they might want church leadership to know. “We really want to know what you have to say,” stated Tracy Wood, director for youth and young adult ministries at the NAD, at the start of the online meeting. “The voices of students from your campuses can and do have a significant impact across North America.” In addition to five church leaders from both union and division levels, eight students were also present, representing Adventist and non-Adventist campuses across the country.
Extended, “Gamified” Sonscreen Film Festival on Gather.Town Connects Students with Growing Filmmaking Network
The annual young adult film festival sponsored by the North American Division became an extended virtual experience through a six-session-long program on Gather.town, a customizable video-conferencing space that allowed for enhanced virtual interactivity among attendees. Sonscreen Film Festival 2021 took place every Friday, from April 2 to May 7, from 4-6 p.m. EDT, on the gamified platform that has been described as a combination of Zoom and the “Among US” video game.
Southwest Region Conference Elects Oakwood Alumnus Carlton P. Byrd as President
On Sunday, May 23, 2021, the executive committee of the Southwest Region Conference of Seventh-day Adventists convened at the Dallas City Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church in Texas to elect a new president. The committee met and prayerfully considered several esteemed candidates. After being led by the Holy Spirit, they ultimately voted to elect Carlton P. Byrd as president.
The Promise to Be Forgotten
Recently I listened to a podcast that contemplated the “right to be forgotten.” The episode featured the staff at a medium market newspaper who were grappling with the balance between relevant media coverage and an individual’s right to privacy. Because of the longevity of the Internet and the paper’s extensive online archives, local residents’ minor legal offenses haunted them years after they had paid their fine, served their probation, or even had their court records expunged.
Adventist Church in Canada Issues Statement After 215 Unmarked Children’s Graves Discovered
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada mourns with the families of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation and all the Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island (Canada) following the discovery of 215 unmarked children’s graves at the former site of the Kamloops Indian Residential School.