News

Andrews University Music Department Receives Instrument Donations
The Department of Music at Andrews University has recently received several generous donations in the form of musical instruments. These instruments will be housed in either Hamel Hall or the Howard Performing Arts Center and will be used by various music students, faculty, and performers.

Bread and Better Life Café to Launch Summer 2025
In late March, the Southwestern Union hosted preview events in anticipation of the launch of a new community outreach initiative, the Bread and Better Life Café. The development of Bread and Better Life Café has been spearheaded by Southwestern Union Health Ministries director Randall Phillips, along with leaders from the union and a partnership with the North American Division.

Washington Adventist University Recognized as an “Opportunity University” in New Carnegie Classification
Washington Adventist University has been officially recognized as an Opportunity College and University (OCU) in the latest Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, a distinction awarded to only 16 percent of more than 3,000 colleges and universities nationwide.

International Concert Pianist, Alumnus Jonathan Mamora Returns as Assistant Professor to La Sierra University
On April 9, Mamora landed among the final field of 30 pianists selected for the Van Cliburn. The extensive selection process began in October 2024 with 340 pianists from 45 countries. Competition performances took place from May 21 to June 7 in Texas, just weeks before Mamora and his wife, Stephanie, were set to embark on a new chapter in their lives. Effective July 1, Jonathan will begin his new role as an assistant professor of music and director of keyboard studies at La Sierra University’s Department of Music.

Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Among Patmos Chapel’s Community Heroes
When Patmos Chapel Church in Apopka celebrated Community Guest Day on October 5, 2025, the congregation was in for a surprise. Along with the six special guests being awarded for their service to the community, a video crew from the ABC television network showed up. The film crew was taping a news report on Florida’s voting rights movement, spearheaded by one of Patmos’s honorees, Desmond Meade, president of the Florida Restoration Rights Coalition (FRRC).

An Adventist Church in Louisiana Sets a Template for Participation in Pentecost 2025 Initiative
As the calendar has turned the page from December to January, the light has effectively turned green for Pentecost 2025, a comprehensive, all-hands-on-deck revival and evangelism initiative of the North American Division. Winston Taylor, pastor of the Cedar Grove Seventh-day Adventist Church, with a core team of about 15 members, has already established significant connections with the community through multiple outreach efforts. A first fruit of this goal is scheduled for March 9–29 in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Groundbreaking Oxford Handbook of Seventh-day Adventism Published as New Reference Work about Global Adventism
Ten years ago, after delivering a well-received presentation at the annual American Society of Church History meeting, Michael Campbell, North American Division director of Archives, Statistics, and Research, pitched the idea of a book on Adventism to the head book editor at Oxford University Press. Intrigued by Campbell’s introduction to Adventist scholarship, the editor invited him to submit a proposal. Their conversation was the catalyst for the groundbreaking Oxford Handbook of Seventh-day Adventism, a 39-chapter volume published in 2024 after much prayer and revision.

Southern California Conference Moves Quickly to Mobilize Outreach as Wildfires Descend
Around 5:30 a.m. on January 8, 2025, the alert sounded on John Cress’s phone. He and his wife would have to evacuate their home in the Glen Oaks neighborhood of Glendale as the Eaton Fire charred a path toward them. The sky was black with smoke and tinged with red and orange.