Story by Doug Walker and Visitor staff
More than 100 students, staff and faculty from Washington Adventist University (WAU) in Takoma Park, Md., braved stiff wintery gusts to participate in the National School Walkout marking one month since the shooting that took the lives of 15 students and two staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. They were among students from across the Columbia Union Conference and elsewhere who participated.
Story by Philip Baptiste
Story by Valerie Morikone
Doddridge County, West Virginia recently named Arthur Calhoun, M.D., their 2017 “Citizen of the Year.” Calhoun, a member of the Toll Gate church in Pennsboro, W.Va., received a proclamation from Jim Justice, the governor of West Virginia, and was recognized by the Senate of West Virginia.
Editorial by Janesta Walker
I love people! I am fascinated by the uniqueness of each person I meet: their talents, personalities, cultures, quirks and mannerisms make each one special. From strangers in the mall or interesting characters at Walmart to family members, students, colleagues and friends—no two are alike. There are quiet ones whose depth of wisdom astounds me and bold ones whose courage challenges me. There are creative ones whose artistic expressions mesmerize me. Then there are the intellectuals whose knowledge boggles my mind and entertainers whose humor lightens my heart.
Story by Heidi Wetmore
Students from the Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) broadcast journalism class recently participated in a 36-hour film festival. Julio Munoz, associate director for Communication at the North American Division and director of the SONscreen Film Festival, along with Emily Mastrapa, a local lmmaker and Spencerville alumna, served as festival mentors.
Each lm had to incorporate the same prop, charac- ter and line of dialogue. “Giving constraints to student lmmakers empowers their creativity,” shares Robert Martinez, organizer and broadcast journalism teacher.
Story by LaTasha Hewitt
Story by Lori Zerne
Highland View Academy’s (HVA) mission is “to inspire and mentor [their] students to excel in all Christ calls them to do.” The administration and staff believe that Christ calls the students now, not just in the future, to be the hands and feet of Jesus. In line with HVA’s mission, students and faculty are devoting the second week of March to perform service projects both domestically and internationally.
Historia de V. Michelle Bernard
A partir de Abril 1, H. Candace Nurse se desempeñará como secretaria/ tesorera de Columbia Union Revolving Fund (CURF). Nurse, actualmente tesorera (CFO) de la Conferencia de Allegheny West (AWC), ha trabajado en AWC desde 2008 en diversas funciones, incluyendo asistente de tesorería y coordinadora de Recursos Humanos.
"Candace ha demostrado su perspicacia y habilidades en la Conferencia de Allegheny West y ha realizado un excelente trabajo", dice Dave Weigley, presidente de la Unión de Columbia y presidente de la junta de CURF.
Story by Elizabeth Camps
Church leaders do many things to safeguard and grow the church. They organize and lead evangelistic programs, install building alarms to prevent theft and mount re extinguishers in various areas of the church.
But the reality is, if they do not have a designated emergency plan, and do not practice this procedure, churches could quickly lose all that they have protected in a matter of minutes, say risk management experts.
Durante años, Tony Liriano tuvo el sueño de comenzar y dirigir una nueva iglesia. Tony y su esposa, Maria, estaban entusiasmados por la oportunidad de plantar una iglesia y difundir el evangelio en Garfield, NJ. Desde que comenzó el proyecto hace más de un año, Tony, quien dirige la iglesia de la conferencia de Nueva Jersey como pastor laico, informa un crecimiento de membresía de 10 a 60 personas. Los miembros invitan fielmente a sus amigos a asistir, se reúnen para una sesión de oración semanal y ayudan a llegar a aquellos que no conocen a Jesús. Una familia de seis miembros comenzó a asistir a la iglesia después de que Tony los saludó en la calle y los invitó a asistir. María dice que la clave de su crecimiento es el ambiente familiar y los miembros que "actúan como Jesús y no juzgan".