Connecting Columbia Union Seventh-day Adventists

Columbia Union News

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. 

Two teachers recently received the Columbia Union Conference Office of Education Outstanding Educator Award: Carla Thrower, the principal of Potomac Conference’s Takoma Academy in Takoma Park, Md.; and Vail Bigelow Mason, 1st and 2nd grade teacher at Chesapeake Conference’s Mt. Aetna Adventist School in Hagerstown, Md.

During the two-and-a-half-day Pathway clinic in Beckley, 1,722 people received $6.5 million in free services that included dental procedures, eye exams and medical services such as cardiology, radiology, pediatrics, podiatry, HIV tests and minor surgical procedures, etc. Patients were also offered healthy lifestyle counseling, massages, haircuts and styles, spiritual literature, a vegan lunch and supper, the opportunity to visit the clothing distribution center and prayer with a chaplain.

Diana, a Beckley, W.Va., resident, joined the line at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, waiting for dental service. “I’m not afraid of the drill; I’m afraid of the bill,” she says, adding that she hadn’t been to a dentist in six years. "I can't afford dental care."