News briefs from Azerbaijan, Armenia, the Pennsylvania Conference, The 2020 Virtual Summit on Abuse, Southern Adventist University and AdventHealth: From ADRA (edited for length) – Immediately after the escalation of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region on September 27, (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) ADRA offices in both countries mobilized to supply urgently needed food and […]
by Bjorn Karlman | 15 October 2020 | Wednesday morning marked the last day of what has been a truly unusual, exclusively online Annual Council, that ran at a remarkable pace with fewer technical disasters than in-person gatherings of the past. There is reason to hope future Annual Councils capitalize on these efficiencies and save […]
by Bjorn Karlman | 13 October 2020 | To the delight of Adventists straining their eyes to watch the live feed, Annual Council was, once again, only scheduled to last 7:00 am to 11:30 EST today. Annual Councils sessions of yesteryear featured drawn-out debate, random videos, bizarre finger aerobics on breaks and deliciously unreliable vote […]
by Bjorn Karlman | 12 October 2020 | Annual Council (GCAC) in the age of COVID is lacking the (occasional) buzz that comes from the usual in-person gatherings. Although presenters are doing their best to capture the attention of the exclusively online audience, things just aren’t the same. Social media specialist @Skangelita summed up the […]
12 October 2020 | Sahmyook University, the Adventist university in South Korea, has allocated USD 1.2 million to COVID-19 relief scholarships for students. According to a story from Adventist News Network (ANN), each Sahmyook student is being offered ₩300,000 (approximately USD 250) COVID-19 for the first semester. In total, 5,281 students registered for the first […]
The City of New York has issued a temporary certificate of occupancy for the newly completed Northeastern Towers Annex. The ten-story building will provide 159 units of affordable housing for seniors aged 62 years and up. The $90.6 million-dollar project was financed with federal, state and local financing earmarked for subsidized senior housing. From […]
News reports from ADRA Germany, Brooklyn, New York; Accra, Ghana and Walla Walla University: From APD: The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Germany has been given a Fiat Ducato van by the Matthes car center. ADRA will use the vehicle for its second-hand stores. With this support, a number of activities that were […]
Petero Navosailagi, known as Pete, died early Sunday morning, September 20, while swimming, presumed drowned, at a Pathfinder camp—the day before his 32nd birthday. Navosailagi, originally from Lautoka, had worked at the Trans-Pacific Union Mission (TPUM) office in Suva, Fiji, for the past five years as the Union’s communication officer. The communications officer had helped […]
6 October 2020 | San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies shut down an event co-hosted by Loma Linda University Church and its youth ministry, Praxis, on Saturday night, October 3. The youth ministry organizers thought the pop-up car show would draw up to 20 cars. In reality, 3,000 people turned up, driving slowly through the Loma […]
5 October 2020 | A September 28 letter from the Florida Conference to current and former employees revealed that sensitive information including their names, social security numbers and financial information had been stolen from the conference network. The conference identified a “cybersecurity incident” August 26 and, according to the letter, learned on August 31, of “information […]
5 October 2020 | A group of Adventists in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, launched an online Bible study in March as the coronavirus pandemic restricted other forms of outreach. The group that now has grown to over 150 people meets via Whatsapp and Zoom. It is focused on engaging people outside the denomination. “Weekly lessons reach […]
1 October 2020 | The Trans-European Division (TED) announced today that Berkshire, England-based Newbold College will focus its future efforts exclusively on training pastors and church leaders. “With effect from September 2021 we will be pausing intake in our English Language Centre (including our Summer School in English), our Business and Humanities courses, and our […]
