by Lisa McDowell

After four months of online church services, the Dale Wright Memorial church members in Germantown, Ohio, organized their first drive-in worship service in the parking lot. Service participants, wearing masks and maintaining physical distancing protocols, stood under a small tent, while church members stayed in their cars, forming a semicircle around the tent. Worshippers tuned into the service on 88.3 FM, watched on their phones via Zoom or listened from their cars. Some members even brought lawn chairs and sat in front of their cars.

Charis McRoy, a senior at Spencerville Adventist Academy, has enjoyed writing poetry to express her emotions and experiences ever since the third grade. Through the years, she decided to author a book on the Bible story of Esther. Remembering what she had learned about Esther in Sabbath School, she wanted to journey deeper into that Bible story.

Editorial by Terry Forde

Nearly 100 years ago, in 1921, Chinese essayist Lu Xun wrote, “Hope is like a path in the countryside. Originally, there is nothing –but as people walk this way again and again, a path appears.”

If you come across a path in a woods, or across a field, you may ask: “Where does this path lead?” or “Why is there a path here?”

Paths don’t just come out of nowhere. Sometimes they exist because people started walking there for a shortcut. Sometimes they exist because someone planned them out on a map and set about creating them. In either case, someone had to pave the way.

Story by Salena Fitzgerald

Takoma Academy (TA) began the year in a virtual learning setting. Faculty and staff continue expanded opportunities for students to learn in a rigorous, yet accommodating structure. Teaching and learning in a remote environment, however, can pose challenges. TA recognizes these concerns and spent the summer bolstering their ability to offer effective virtual learning and additional supports for students academically, spiritually, socially and emotionally.