News Briefs for March 31, 2022
News reports from Adventist Health, Adventist Healthcare, North American Division, South American Division, United States.
Head Nods
Adventist scholars Calvin Rock and Prudence LaBeach Pollard were among four individuals awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Washington, D.C., on March 20, 2022. The award is the highest possible civil award for volunteer service awarded by the president of the United States. Pollard, currently acting vice president of Oakwood University, was particularly recognized for spearheading the university’s ministry to the so-called “food deserts” in Huntsville, Alabama, United States, where the school is located.
Rock, a former president of the same institution as well as a former vice president of the world church of Seventh-day Adventists, was cited for his more than 60 years of service in a variety of areas including academe, pastoral ministry, and church administration. Rock drew laughter from attendees to the ceremony at The Army and Navy Club when he said that he was “righteously embarrassed” to receive this recognition, “but at the age of 91, I’d better take it while I can get it.”
Read more at: https://adventistreview.org/news/two-seventh-day-adventists-awarded-the-u-s-voluntary-service-highest-honor/
Going On Ahead
Born on September 25, 1932, in Nairobi, Kenya, to parents from Goa, India, Jack Sequeira suffered a disabling stroke and died on March 26, 2022, in a Portland, Oregon, U.S. hospital.
Sequeira served the Seventh-day Adventist Church in many capacities in England, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and the United States.
Sequeira served as a district pastor for the Idaho Conference until 1987, when he was called to pastor the Walla Walla City Church in the Upper Columbia Conference. From 1991-2001 he served the Potomac Conference as pastor of the Capital Memorial Church in Washington, D.C.
He is survived by his wife, Jean; daughter Jenny; son, Chris, and wife, Nenette; and their children Jazmine, Parker, Shasta, and Luis.
Rolling Ahead
Roller Peps, a children’s series produced by the streaming platform Feliz7Play, won the bronze award in the Best Children’s Program category at the 49th International Christian Visual Media (ICVM) Awards. Results were released in early March 2022. ICVM is an annual event that recognizes the best among audiovisual contents with a Christian theme.
In the series, cartoon characters go through everyday situations that bring home lessons of civility, respect, and love for God and others. They also share biblical and social values. Available in Portuguese, Spanish, English, and Brazilian Sign Language (Libras), the series seeks to be inclusive. The characters utilize wheels to get around as a nod to children with special needs.
Read more at: https://noticias.adventistas.org/pt/noticia/infantil/serie-roller-peps-e-premiada-em-festival-internacional/.
A Head for Medicine
Dr. Raul Ayala, with Adventist Health, will head the organization of family physicians in California, U.S. He’s been part of the California Academy of Family Physicians, a 10,000-member organization, since he was in medical school and started serving on the board in 2015. He was recently appointed to lead the organization as president-elect, shaping the future of California’s healthcare system, reported news site ABC30.
Head Honchos
Howard University is planning a replacement hospital on its campus in northwest Washington, D.C., according to an article in the Washington Business Journal.
The $650 million, 600,000-square-foot teaching hospital will be operated by Adventist HealthCare (Gaithersburg, Maryland) and will include 225 beds and a Level 1 trauma center, reported Healthcare Design magazine.
The project will receive $100 million in funding from the federal government, according to the article. Completion is slated for 2026, and the existing Howard hospital will close once the new facility opens.
Heads Up
Do you have Muslim friends but are unsure of what to say about Ramadan? Wondering why this month matters? How to connect heart-to-heart and have deep, faith-based conversations? Wish you had resources to know what to do? An online webinar, “Ramadan: History, Opportunities, and Resources to Share” delves into the topic this Friday, April 1, 2022. You can join the webinar via Zoom at this link. Meeting ID: 628 114 1739; Passcode: 450717.
(Photo: Roller Peps, a children’s series produced by the streaming platform Feliz7Play, won the bronze award in the Best Children’s Program category at the 49th International Christian Visual Media (ICVM) Awards. The characters utilize wheels to get around as a nod to children with special needs. Photo by South American Division.)
