Story by Kettering Health Staff
The Kettering Health family congratulates Jonathan Duffy, former executive director of Mission and Ministry, on his retirement at the end of 2023. Since joining Kettering Health in 2020, Duffy helped advance the system’s mission outreach and spiritual care functions by developing strong community relationships, leading our chaplains across the system, and advancing outreach to underserved communities.
Story by WAU Staff
Last week the Washington Adventist University Honors College led a delegation of 18 high school students to The Hague International Model United Nations (THIMUN) conference in The Hague, Netherlands. The students are all from Columbia Union Academies and will represent Lithuania and Samoa at the conference. THIMUN, one of the oldest and largest MUN conferences in the world, attracts more than 2,000 student delegates from international schools all around the world. This is the second year that students from the Columbia Union will attend the conference and they are the only delegation from Seventh-day Adventist Schools.
“Blessed”: That’s the word that exudes from Adalberto Agosto-Burgos as he describes the past three years of his life.
Adalberto was born and raised in Puerto Rico, where he served as a police officer for 13 years. In 2014, he found himself with a new co-worker: Ken Pitney from Lebanon, Ohio, who had been assigned to work on the island.
The two served together for three years before Ken had to return to his hometown for a family emergency in 2017. Having built a strong friendship, they vowed to stay in touch.
Editorial by Stephen S. Lee
“Daddy, I have a riddle for you,” my younger son gleefully declared. “What goes up but never comes down?”
Before I could muster a response, he quipped with playful mischief, “Your age.”
If, like me, you resist the inevitability of aging, it might be a subtle sign that you’re already on that journey, as the young eagerly anticipate the swift passage of time.
The 96-year-old elder at my church, a figure I deeply admire, often cautions me with a friendly admonition, “Pastor Lee, don’t you dare grow old.” Despite my sincere attempts to heed his advice, I find the relentless march of time undefeated.
Story by LaTasha Hewitt
For years, Joyce Steele’s family made it a point to worship with her at Allegheny East Conference's Mizpah church in Philadelphia on the Sabbath closest to her birthday. Even after she passed away in 2023, her children wanted to keep the tradition going and, as usual, attended this year on the Sabbath following their mother’s birthday.
The family, who travels from New York, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania, are committed to keeping the tradition alive as long as they are able to. “We want to honor her memory, as well as thank the Lord for giving her to us,” says Janet Steele, her daughter. “It also provides us with our own sense of comfort.”
Story by Rebecca Ingle
Kettering College has added a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) track to their offerings, with the first cohort starting in January 2024. The MSN degree will have an emphasis on Nursing Leadership and is intended to prepare current nurses for roles in leadership, such as a director of nursing, nurse manager, educator or researcher.
Content in the core curriculum includes leadership, health promotion, organizational behavior, human resources, financial management, evidence-based practice, quality improvement and mentoring.
The goals of the MSN program are aimed at guiding students
- To lead teams in a collaborative, dynamic health care environment.
Editorial by Gary Gibbs
I knew I was listening to an exciting answer to prayer as I heard the speaker describe an inspiring initiative called “Back to the Altar.” I had been earnestly seeking God for strategic initiatives for our conference’s new quinquennium, which began after the constituency session in October 2023.
Our team identified several key ideas we felt God was leading us to as conference staff, and pastors met for prayer and planning. We determined that a renewed focus on a personal relationship with Jesus would be one of the more important initiatives. We long for each member to experience a deepening of love for Him and to grow in the qualities of being Jesus’ fully committed disciple.
Story by Alicia Adams
In the world of literature, certain books transcend their pages, seeping into the very fabric of people’s lives, reshaping destinies, and fostering movements that echo through time. One such work, The Great Controversy by Ellen G. White, has become a catalyst for profound transformations, and a newly launched website, ShareGreatControversy.com, features the testimonies of people whose lives have been forever changed following an encounter with this classic book.
The website captures scenes of the book’s impact by showcasing true stories of well-known figures and everyday people alike who, after reading The Great Controversy, embarked on transformative journeys that rippled through their families, churches, and the world.
Story by Ashley Boggess
Spiritual growth and development are the most important tenets of a Christian education at New Jersey Conference's Lake Nelson Adventist Academy. The goal is to help students learn to “Be the Light,” the theme for this school year and the focus of a recent Week of Prayer. How can students be a light when they are surrounded by the world’s darkness?
