News
Adventist Community Services Prepares to Help After Tornadoes Strike Missouri, Kentucky, and Wisconsin
Yesterday afternoon, a devastating tornado struck Kentucky and St. Louis, Missouri. In Kentucky, 14 are reported dead. In St. Louis, five deaths have been reported, along with widespread damage. At least 20 blocks of the city sustained damage. More than 5,000 properties are without power, and local emergency services are actively responding. As ACS begins to respond, they urge members to pray for those impacted and those providing assistance.
Union Adventist University Receives Grant for Culinary Medicine Teaching Kitchen
The Ardmore Institute of Health has awarded Union Adventist University’s Master of Public Health Program a grant to establish a culinary medicine teaching kitchen (CMTK). The $35,000 will purchase six commercial-grade mobile workstations, each including the culinary tools and appliances to support two students at a time, enabling the university to host classes of up to 12 students in the teaching kitchen. Any remaining funds will support a student garden that was established by the university’s first public health cohort last year.
Mid-America Union Conference Executive Committee Appoints New Communication Director
During its regular spring meeting, the Mid-America Union Executive Committee voted to approve a recommendation by MAUC’s administrative team outlining a leadership transition for the union’s communication department. Following the vote, then-director Brenda Dickerson became the associate director, and then-associate director/digital media manager Hugh Davis became the new director, effective May 1, 2025. This transition of titles, initially proposed by Dickerson, serves as a model for succession planning and smooth leadership transitions in appointed positions.
James P. Willis II Elected as New Vice President for Education for the Pacific Union Conference
The Pacific Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has elected James P. Willis II as its new vice president for education, effective July 1, 2025. He will succeed Dr. Berit von Pohle, who is retiring after a distinguished career spanning 46 years in Adventist education
NAD Statement on 2018 General Conference Annual Council Vote
This is a very challenging time for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America. Actions taken at the 2018 General Conference Annual Council meeting in Battle Creek, Michigan, did not have the outcome for the church that we had strived toward.
Document Voted at Annual Council Outlines Process for Dealing With Non-Compliant Church Entities
On Oct. 14, 2018, after more than five hours of presentations and discussion, the General Conference Executive Committee, at its Annual Council meeting, approved a recommendation from the church’s Unity Oversight Committee: the creation of a new compliance process to assist with the need to implement church policies and voted actions.
“Side By Side” Adventist songwriter, Jeff Wood, Passes Away
After six years of declining health that included two bouts with cancer, Jeff Wood, Adventist song writer, screenwriter, producer and director, passed to his rest on Oct. 11, 2018, in Angwin, California. He was 67. Wood made a significant contribution to Seventh-day Adventist Church media during the course of a career spanning several decades. He may best be known for his song “Side By Side,” originally recorded by the Heritage Singers — and sung in thousands of churches around the world.
Adventist Women Leaders Invited to Connect Through Newsletter and at Luncheon
On Sept. 13, 2018, the North American Division (NAD) Administrative Committee voted to adopt and endorse the Adventist Women Leaders (AWL) initiative. What started with a lunch for 15 women gathered in a conference room at the NAD Year-End Meeting in October 2017 has grown to more than 50 subscribers to an email newsletter published twice each month.