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nterview by V. Michelle Bernard
In an Anxious Kind of Mind, Randy Fishell, a member of the Chesapeake Conference’s Willowbrook church in Boonsboro, Md., shares his story of how his life turned around after years of struggling with anxiety disorders.
Read our interview with Fishell to find out more about his story and the book:
America was founded by religious refugees. At our best, we continue the tradition by welcoming those in greatest need. At our worst, we close our doors to those in dire distress, as we did in 1939 when we rejected the call to bring 20,000 Jewish children to America. As a result, many of those beautiful children were starved, beaten, brutally abused in unimaginable sadistic ways, and systematically slaughtered in the Nazi death factories. Today as we see men, women and children reaching out to us in hope, we can either open our hearts, or we live with the eternal consequences of turning our backs.
The following are the top nationality of refugees who have resettled across the Columbia Union (by state) in the last three years.
Source: Pew Research Center
Story by Kimi-Roux James
On June 16, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the humanitarian arm for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, will commemorate World Refugee Sabbath.
ADRA works with refugees in 39 countries providing food, clean water, hygiene kits and shelter and offers livelihood and education trainings to help refugees sustain their nutrition and generate income. It recently undertook a new project to send letters on behalf of refugees in dire distress to local lawmakers.
Terri Saelee (pictured with a Mizo member), North American Division Adventist Refugee and Immigrant Ministries coordinator, believes it’s vitally important to reach out to refugees. “Reaching refugees is at the core of finishing the work because when we reach other cultures they can do a work we cannot do to reach their own people and other related language groups, both here in North America and in their home countries, where we cannot send missionaries.”
Editorial by Rick Christman
I've always had an interest in health and wellness. While in college, I served as a student missionary “health educator” for one year in Papua New Guinea. While living in remote jungle villages, I learned the devastating impact of malaria, dysentery, viruses and poor hygiene. I was grateful to provide the villagers with basic health education, as well as diagnose and treat (I’m not sure that was a good idea!) their various illnesses through natural remedies and medication. To my surprise, many of the villagers experienced improved physical health!
Story by Tiffany Doss
Last week the USS Yorktown WWII aircraft carrier became the temporary residence for students from Potomac Conference's Desmond T. Doss Christian Academy in Lynchburg, Va. Seventh through 10th grade students spent three days and two nights on board the historic ship at the Charleston Harbor in South Carolina.
Story by Tiffany Doss
After seeing the success of nationwide storytelling competitions and exhibitions such as The Moth, a National Public Radio (NPR) show and podcast, last year Richard Castillo, an associate pastor of the Sligo church in Takoma Park, Md., set out to create a program built around storytelling.
Story by V. Michelle Bernard
The Allegheny West Conference’s (AWC) Young Adult department recently partnered with Jerome Hurst, AWC Community Service director, the Cleveland Chapter of the NAACP and the People for the United Way African American Ministers Leadership Council to host “Moving from Disparity to Equity,” a justice and community conference.