News Articles

Following the news of the March 15, 2019, massacre of Muslim worshipers in Christchurch, New Zealand, Gabriela Phillips and Gerald Babenezhad, two leaders part of Adventist-Muslim Relations in the NAD, reached out to Muslim neighbors and a local mosque. The following two stories share what happened during those visits.

On March 8, the Versacare Foundation awarded $1,159,000 in grant funding to Adventist Education, including $920,000 to 118 primary and secondary schools across the United States and Canada in support of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) education.

The community service efforts of the Emmanuel-Brinklow Seventh-day Adventist Church in Ashton, Maryland, have caught the notice of local and state government leaders. The congregation recently received a citation from the Maryland General Assembly (MGA) for its “Brinklow Cares” initiative.

The 14-year-old patient sitting in front of me insisted that her decision to become a vegan was unrelated to being bullied and called “chubby” in elementary school. Instead, she cited reasons related to animal rights and a desire to become “healthier.” Nothing about the straight-A student with severe muscle wasting, skeletal limbs, and a protruding abdomen heralding liver failure was healthy. This local teen was unlike any eating disordered patient I had ever encountered.

More than 1,200 youth and young adults in the United States’ fourth largest city rallied together to give testimonies of how their Pathfinder clubs and youth groups spread the love of Christ on Global Youth Day. The youth rally took place on the afternoon of March 16 at the World Harvest Outreach Seventh-day Adventist Church in Houston, Texas. Youth from congregations belonging to the Texas Conference and Southwest Regional Conference shared stories from their outings earlier that the day.

Jerry D. Thomas, writer of nearly 60 books for children and adults, passed away on Friday, March 15, 2019. His works include the best sellers "Messiah," "Blessings," and "A Thoughtful Hour." Thomas also wrote and created popular series such as "Detective Zack," "Great Stories for Kids," and "Shoebox Kids." He was 59.

The first-ever Rise Up Against Abuse Rally was held on the campus of Andrews University from March 7–10, 2019. Sponsored by the Offices of University Wellness and Diversity & Inclusion, this rally was the official launch of the new Rise Up Against Abuse initiative, designed to help people use awareness, education, intervention and prevention to take decisive actions against all forms of abuse.

This is the second of a six-part series that will introduce the officers and directors of the North American Division who have begun settling in to their newly elected positions. Randy Robinson was officially voted to serve as treasurer for the North American Division on November 2 during the division’s 2018 Year-End Meeting. Robinson had previously worked as treasurer for the Southern Union for nearly 11 years.

The leadership of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America is shocked and saddened by the recent violence that took the lives of 50 worshippers as they celebrated their Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. What should have been a quiet time in worship quickly transformed into a time of despair, fear, and pain. Our prayers go out to all those impacted by this senseless act of hate.

On March 3, 2019, a series of tornadoes touched down in Alabama and Georgia, killing 23 people and injuring at least 90 (reported as of March 6). The worst devastation occurred as a large and long EF4 “wedge” tornadohit Lee County, Alabama. The tornado weakened to EF3 strength as it crossed into Georgia, causing wide destruction in several towns. “ACS DR has been in contact with the disaster response community since the tornadoes struck,” said W. Derrick Lea, Adventist Community Services Disaster Response (ACS DR) director.