News
Providing Encouragement and Assessment
NAD Administrators Affirm Work and Assess Needs During Visit to the Guam-Micronesia Mission
Beginning January 4, 2024, a North American Division administrative team visited several islands within the Guam-Micronesia Mission for two weeks. “We wanted to provide encouragement and do an assessment of needs and see how we could better support the work there,” said NAD president G. Alexander Bryant.
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
Students, Alumni Reach the Hearts of the Homeless Through Feet
As a Loma Linda University student, Tevita Palaki once skipped meals to financially support his budding ministry. Today, the non-profit organization, United Feet, which Palaki launched as a sophomore in 2015, sends out volunteers up to four times a week to serve local homeless by offering them the Christian act of footwashing.
“No One Should Ever Be Discharged From Our Care”
As North Americans wrestle with the social and political implications of providing affordable healthcare to more than 360 million people, the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s healthcare system on the continent is also reshaping itself to meet the needs of the changing market. Adventist World editor Bill Knott, on behalf of Adventist Journey magazine, recently interviewed Terry Shaw, since December 2016 president and CEO of Adventist Health System, the largest of the five Adventist healthcare systems in North America.
Race, Protest, and Adventist Leadership Addressed in New Book
Calvin B. Rock, former long-time president of Oakwood University, former chair of the Loma Linda University Board of Trustees, and retired general vice president of the General Conference, has authored what one prominent Adventist historian claims is “the most important book ever published on race relations in the Adventist Church.”
New Resource, Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones: Adventist Edition, Previewed at April Meeting at NAD Headquarters
On April 20-21, 2018, a select group of lay members, pastors, educators, and church administrators attended a meeting held at the headquarters of the North American Division (NAD) of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, to participate in a workshop and preview a new resource titled "Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones: Adventist Edition."