Seventh-day Adventist

“I’m so happy to let you know that the Caravan of Hope (Caravana de la Esperanza) is going way beyond all expectations!” wrote an excited Ruben Ramos, assistant to the Columbia Union president for Multilingual Ministries, in an email sent this morning. “When the week of evangelism and harvest was planned with the leadership of New Jersey Conference, we set a goal of 100 souls for the whole week.”

Tomorrow will mark the grand opening of the Shady Grove Adventist Aquillino Cancer Center in Gaithersburg, Md. The center, the first of its kind in Montgomery County, offers personalized, expert care, with up-to-date technology and support services to treat various forms of cancer in one location.

The Women's Ministries team at New Jersey Conference’s Union City Spanish church recently led a weeklong evangelism series, themed “United in a Vision is Our Mission.” Together a team of seven women preachers allowed the Holy Spirit to use them to share God’s Word. One of the preachers, Glenny Morel, (pictured) was baptized only six months ago, while another was baptized 18 months ago.

It naturally worries church members to hear that the Seventh-day Adventist Church defends the rights of Muslims, Native Americans and even atheists. Why on Earth would we support the teachings of the Quran, the use of hallucinogens or a godless philosophy?

The Pennsylvania Conference is among several Columbia Union entities using video conferencing to reduce travel, costs and conflicting schedules. Some 30 pastors “attended” their recent fall meeting, which marked their one-year anniversary of holding these meetings online. We recently talked with Tim Madding, the conference’s director of Leadership and Spiritual Growth, to find out exactly how it all works.
 

Children came away from a one-week program held at Mountain View Conference’s Braxton church in Gassaway, W.Va., excited about BLT. No not that kind of BLT, but the three-part Bible Lifestyle for Today (BLT) program that combined songs and dramatized audio Bible stories, information about anatomy and a hands-on cooking class.

The Columbia Union’s own Walter Carson, Esq., is the only Adventist to successfully argue before the U.S. Supreme Court. In Hobbie v. Unemployment Appeals Commission of Florida, the Court reversed the appeals commission’s refusal to provide unemployment benefits to a woman who was fired for refusing to work on Sabbath. The Court found that a state could not treat a religious convert differently than a person whose beliefs preceded her employment.

Norma Jean Sahlin, a daughter of the Columbia Union Conference, lost her fight against ovarian cancer last Wednesday. She was 61. Sahlin was born in Takoma Park, Md., was in the Takoma Academy Class of 1970, and graduated from Columbia Union College in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in communication. She married Monte Sahlin on October 20, 1974 at Potomac Conference’s Sligo church in Takoma Park. This Sunday marks their 39th anniversary.

If you’re not actively engaged in telling others about God’s love and sharing His Word, then you really can’t call yourself a Seventh-day Adventist,” warns Lillian Torres, the Pennsylvania Conference and Columbia Union Bible worker who has dedicated her life to drawing people to Christ and training others to do the same. “Our goal as Christians should be to tell every person we interact with each day about God’s love.” She further explains, “If I’m not intentionally engaged in personal evangelism, I can’t claim to be an Adventist because we believe in the second coming of Christ and proclaiming it. And, being a Christian means to believe in Christ’s teachings and gospel, and showing it in character and practice. If I’m neither, then what am I?”

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