Columbia Union Churches Win Activity Awards
Story by Visitor Staff
The North American Division’s (NAD) 2013 InStep for Life Awards recently confirmed what many around the Columbia Union already knew—we love being active and healthy! Several Columbia Union members recently
received awards in Orlando, Fla. The 2013 awards recognized Seventh-day Adventist unions, conferences, churches, schools and Pathfinder clubs for engaging their communities in healthier living year round and during their Let’s Move! Day in September.
The awards recognized the Columbia Union over all, the Allegheny East and Potomac conferences, and Sharon Temple Junior Academy in Wilmington, Del., for scoring top miles. Allegheny East’s Pine Forge Academy church in Pine Forge, Pa., accumulated the most miles of any NAD church.
With obesity on the rise among young Americans, Katia Reinert, PhD, thought it was important to involve some of the youngest members. “We had a Pathfinder’s challenge this year, and gave $1,000 to the top 10 clubs with miles and participation rates for this year’s international camporee,” she shared. “We worked with the Youth Ministries Department because we wanted to engage more youth and kids.”
The result was that two Columbia Union clubs won $1,000 toward this year’s Forever Faithful International Camporee in Wisconsin for accruing top mileage. Atholton Faithblazer Pathfinder Club from Chesapeake Conference’s Atholton church in Columbia, Md., had 8,950 miles of activity while the Bulldogs Pathfinder Club from Allegheny West Conference’s Greater New Hope Community church in Canton, Ohio, had 5,096 miles of activity. Potomac’s Patterson Avenue church in Richmond, Va., also received $1,000 for having some 26 percent of their members participate. Reinert is planning a three-day InStep for Life challenge at this summer’s camporee.
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