News Articles

The North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD) is pleased to welcome Robert (Bob) Burrow in the new role of NAD General Counsel. On June 27, 2023, the NAD executive committee elected Burrow to serve in this capacity; he officially began in August.

Students who have difficulty in school are no longer written off as “problem students” but rather, they are often diagnosed with ADHD or Dyslexia. Through evaluation, students are finally given the tools to encourage comprehension and regulation, prompting a more efficient education. This approach is desperately needed in our schools, and teachers such as Martha Muñoz have risen to the challenge. 

When Mari Bowerman began working at Adventist Information Ministry (AIM) as operations supervisor a year ago, she noticed they were receiving “quite a bit of calls” from people struggling with depression. Recently, AIM director Brent Hardinge took a critical step toward meeting interests’ wholistic needs by appointing Marshall McKenzie as assistant director for pastoral care. Keying in on the mental health aspect, Bowerman sought out training so AIM staff could better respond to callers exhibiting signs of depression and high risk of suicide.

This past year saw the creation of a new Pathfinder honor. My own daughter, along with two of her friends, were the initial catalyst to beta-test and help develop the requirements. As we did so, it became an opportunity to look at little-known or even unknown stories of early Adventist women.

“We have to always be open [to] re-educating ourselves, reconfiguring and rethinking.” During the North American Division’s 2023 Educators’ Convention, held August 7-10 in Phoenix, Arizona, a participant in a seminar on the 21st-century challenges impacting educators highlighted continuous learning as the key to staying relevant amid technological advances, shifting societal and economic norms, and other changes. With 300 seminars spread across six breakout sessions, the convention underscored that the best educators are lifelong learners.

The Sonscreen Film Festival original short “Those Were the Good Days” has received the “Best Short Film North America” award at the Kids International Family Film Festival. The six-minute film, which was produced in collaboration with Pacific Union College, has also been named as an official selection of the upcoming Topaz Film Festival, by the Women in Film Dallas Scholastic Grant Fund, and was honored as an Atticus Award Finalist at the California-based Daddying Film Festival & Forum earlier this year.

Attendees of Ophelia Barizo’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) seminars at the recent NAD educators’ convention would never have guessed that she had been hospitalized just days prior. The smiling woman in front of them, a passionate STEM education consultant, showed no trace of illness.

“I’ve found the cheat code, the thing that makes life worth living – I have Jesus. And I’m privileged to live this life in service to others,” said Akehil Johnson, the North American Division’s Adventist Christian Fellowship (ACF) student association president at the 2023 Adventist Christian Fellowship Institute (ACFI). He continued, “Living in this joy is living like heaven is today.” The institute, held July 25-29, 2023, at the University of Ottawa, brought together 75 campus ministry leaders, pastors, youth and young adult ministry directors, and supporters. Themed “The Good Life; Heaven Now,” as described by Johnson, ACFI encouraged participants to embrace and share the abundant life promised in John 10:10.

Within the three full days of North American Division Educators’ Convention, which ran from Aug. 7-10, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona, were dozens of breakout sessions hosted by experts and educators, each with specific topics for dedicated teachers to enjoy. The five general sessions, however, gathered all 6,000 attendees in one room to listen to dedicated speakers and to worship.

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, in Jamaica, Virginia, after an extended illness. She was 71.