Columbia Union Conference

On April 19, a day blessed by sunshine and bright skies, the members of Chesapeake Conference’s Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md., met on property purchased six years earlier to break ground for a new PK-12 facility.

After much thought and prayer, Pennsylvania Conference treasurer Rudolph “Mo” Pelley announced his retirement at the April 1 Executive Committee meeting. He has served the Seventh-day Adventist Church faithfully and with integrity for 49 years, spending the last 22 years in Pennsylvania. Pelley loved his job and the opportunities it offered.

The Columbia Union Conference Office of Education recently conducted its first North American Division (NAD) REACH (Reaching to Educate All Children for Heaven) training session. Fifteen educators, representing elementary and secondary schools in each of the Columbia Union’s eight conferences, came to learn how to train others the REACH inclusion model. 

Under the theme “In Times Like These We Need a Savior,” the Columbia Union chapter of Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASI) recently met for their spring meetings. Held at Allegheny East Conference’s Liberty church in Baltimore, the meetings featured speakers G. Edward Reid, stewardship director for the North American Division and Robert Wallace, president and CEO of the Baltimore-based BITHGROUP Technologies, Inc. 
 

Women from across the Allegheny West Conference (AWC) recently gathered for a weekend of worship, fellowship, and relaxation. Called the Hadassah Conference, after Esther’s Hebrew name, the event was hosted by the Women of Worship chorus from the Glenville church in Cleveland. The theme for the weekend was “Commissioning Women for Impact.” Presenters spoke of faith, change, and consecrating oneself to God. All encouraged women to realize that salvation was a “a set up, to set us free from Satan’s bondage.”
 

Morten Juberg, communication director for the Columbia Union from 1965 to 1973, recently passed away at the age of 86. The Wyoming native served a short time as a carpenter and a pastor before turning a love of news into a lifelong career in church communication. He came to the Columbia Union after serving as public relations and Radio-TV secretary for the Southern California and Michigan conferences. While at the Columbia Union Juberg served as communication director, editor of the Visitor, and head of the Radio-TV department.

Chesapeake Conference’s Capital Brazillian Temple in Highland, Md., recently presented awards to the top six participants in the first 13 weeks of the InStep for Life program. An initiative of the North American Division, InStep encourages members in Bermuda, Canada, and the United States to embrace a more healthful lifestyle. The program officially started January 1, however some churches like Capital Brazillian got an early start in October. 

For decades members of the Better Halfs Club have met in each other’s homes every first Sunday of the month to organize family activities, social functions, charitable outreach, and to provide spiritual support. Recently more than 100 people celebrated the club’s 40th anniversary at the Columbia Union Conference’s headquarters in Columbia, Md. 

A few days before Christmas a fire destroyed Allegheny East Conference’s Cherry Hill church in Baltimore. The facility was erected in 1988, however, the congregation was formed 30 years ago. Police are still investigating the cause of the two-alarm fire. 

Adventist Community Services (ACS) recently received a letter of commendation from New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management for helping the state with a training exercise.