Allegheny East Conference | Seventh-day Adventist Church

Funeral Leads to Baptism

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

Toward the end of 2019, Minnie Redcross, one of the matriarchs of the Hillside church in Harrisburg, Pa., passed away. Among those present at her funeral was her great-great-niece, Dereasha Leaks.

At the service, Leaks felt impressed by the Holy Spirit that she needed to return for a Sabbath worship service. Shortly after, she began attending services regularly. Her husband, Kevin, also enjoyed attending, and soon they began studying with one of the church elders and his wife. Eventually, Leaks decided to fully embrace the Sabbath message and requested to be baptized.

First Church Dedicates Community Prayer Box

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

The Prayer Ministries team of First Church in Washington, D.C., recently dedicated their community prayer box. The concept for the box came about when the team, inspired by Hebrews 4:16, sought to connect with their community in a meaningful way. After a team member saw a “Free Book” sharing box, in which community members “take a book or leave a book,” they formulated an idea to start a community prayer box.

The group wanted a box that would be durable, weather-resistant and represent their care for the neighborhood. They ended up choosing a steel church barn mailbox, and a church member hand inscribed the calligraphy on the box.

Rehoboth Church Relaunches Food Pantry in Pandemic

Story by LaTasha Hewitt

In response to the pandemic, Rehoboth church members in Reading, Pa., wanted to reach their neighboring community. After assessing community needs, Catrice Davis-Ford, Rehoboth’s Adventist Community Services leader, proposed relaunching the church’s food pantry.

Davis-Ford discovered Helping Harvest, an organization that partners with churches for food distribution. To spread the word about the relaunch, members shared flyers within a five-mile radius and began preparing for the COVID-safe initiative.

Church members distributed food on the church grounds, making it safe and easy for individuals to pick up their pre-packaged boxes and keep the line moving. The meals included enough food for a family to eat for two weeks.

Germantown Member Creates 2021 Calendar

Erica Keith, a member of the Germantown church in Philadelphia, grew up reading Bible stories. “While I learned some good lessons from the stories, many of the stories focused on the men of the Bible,” remembers Keith. As an artist, she realized she had the ability to create images of the women in the Bible whom she envisioned. This year, Keith decided to produce the Women of the Bible 2021 calendar (pictured).

January 29, 2021: No Need to Operate

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isa. 40:28–31, NKJV).

In my 35 years of ministry, these verses have carried me through many storms and blessings. This passage became even more relevant when I got into a terrible car accident.