News Articles

In today’s hustle and bustle, it is easy to take for granted the things that are most common to us: our cars, our houses, our jobs. But, imagine being laid off unexpectedly, and the rainy day fund rapidly drying up. For those who are not fortunate to get assistance, the result could inevitably mean a radical life change — homelessness.

Pueblo First Seventh-day Adventist’s Angels of Kindness program is serving a need for the less fortunate in Pueblo, Colorado. On the second Sabbath of every month, a group of volunteers prepare a warm, fresh meal for those in need in the Pueblo area.

When Elgin, Illinois, church pastor Gabriel Bardan joined a clergy meeting and introduced himself as the pastor of the Elgin Seventh-day Adventist Church, the chairman, a mainline Protestant pastor looked at him and asked, "Where have you been so far?" Bardan acknowledges, "Indeed, we had been disconnected from the community for a long time. Now, our goal is to become a community hub!"

Despite hectic schedules, three high school students in Redlands and Loma Linda decided that helping disadvantaged individuals was worth putting in longer days. Their decision and subsequent experiences serving others solidified their career interests in medicine and were also among the reasons the students were awarded the largest scholarship given by La Sierra University.

Andrews University continues to expand efforts to be a blessing to those beyond its campus. The first annual Celebration of Community Engagement took place this past fall in the university’s Buller Hall. The program included a "poster session," musical selections, and video presentations that highlighted more than a dozen university departments and clubs involved in community engagement projects led by professors and students.

More than 100 people from diverse faith traditions attended the second annual Religious Freedom Prayer Breakfast hosted by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America (NAD). The event held on Jan. 16, 2020, recognized Religious Freedom Day in the U.S., and included prayer for elected officials, the community, the nation, for peace and places of worship, and for unity of spirit.

Mile High Academy (MHA), local Denver, Colorado, churches, and the community have joined together as they honor the life of one of their students who passed away on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2020.

Pulse Cafe and is a place that draws 600 to 800 patrons for Sunday brunch alone, each hungry soul coming to dine on vegan “chicken” and waffles, or breakfast burritos, or sweet corn tamales, and more, all made from as organic and as locally sourced produce as possible. This is evidence of a forward-thinking and sophisticated business plan, but Pulse’s real mission is to use its service, menu, and other offerings to benefit the community. A restaurant as an institution to benefit the community? While this altruistic motivation may astound the general public, it should be a well-known method and standard operating procedure for any well-informed member of the Seventh-day Adventist community of believers. It certainly is for Lance Wilbur and his wife, Evita, managers of Pulse, and the owners, Ted Crooker and Keith Rehbein.

Twenty-nine children with special needs were the stars of the second annual Christmas nativity talent show in Auburn, Washington, in December 2019 — all because of one boy with a vision.

Kari Paulsen, whose phone ministry of calling those who need encouragement was an integral part of her life, passed to her rest Jan. 10, 2020, in Oslo, Norway, at the age of 85. Jan, her husband and the past president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, was at her side.