News reports from Oakland, California; Loma Linda University; the Society of Adventist Communicators; the Philippines; and Avondale University:

Embracing Change

Post News Group reported that on October 8, the Northern California Conference held its annual convocation which, this year, was themed Embracing Change. The event took place at Grand Avenue Seventh-day Adventist Church in Oakland and 700 people attended.

“The guest speaker was Dr. Myron Edmonds, who pastors in Cleveland, Ohio. He spoke about how Christ wasn’t a traditionalist, and the work isn’t being done because some in the church don’t wish to change and they tend to demonize new ideas,” reported Post.

A Mobile Medical Health Van run by Oakland’s Immanuel Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church was stationed in front of the church and did health screenings and outreach for community members.

Pastor Damon Washington of Immanuel Temple Church, who was ordained at the event, prayed for his congregation’s health ministry to successfully partner with other agencies to tackle health disparities and violence. His congregation has pledged to work with Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back, members of which “want to make amends for the damages they have done to harm Oakland,” reported Post.

Seeds of Hope

A Loma Linda University Facebook update: Donors and supporters gathered at the 15th annual Seeds of Hope fundraiser, an event to provide scholarships for Loma Linda University Behavioral Health patients in need. 

This year’s focus spotlighted the services and programs supporting youth patients and their families on their journey to recovery.

Over the past year, Loma Linda Behavioral Health’s skilled care teams have provided more than 22,100 days of inpatient treatment and over 57,300 visits to the Partial Hospitalization and Outpatient programs. 

In 15 years, the Seeds of Hope event has provided over 300 scholarships to patients and their families who had no or limited access to insurance.

Let’s Communicate 

The Society of Adventist Communicators met at the North American Division headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, from October 13-15. A group of 210 communication professionals and college students met in person to network and grow their knowledge base as communicators, while more joined online. This year marked the first in-person version of the event since pre-COVID 2019 reported NAD News.

Say It With Sign

From a Southern Asia-Pacific Division news release:

On September 2022, at the mission office function hall of the Zamboanga Peninsula headquarters in the south Philippines, the church members of a local town called Ipil held its first community-wide Filipino Sign Language Training with the slogan “Say it with Sign.” More than 40 people from 14 churches in lpil came together for camaraderie and worship. Most of the guests involved are youth and youth leaders from their local churches. Some teachers were also present during the meeting. Thirteen deaf individuals were asked to participate as resource speakers to enrich, engage, and inspire the training. Twelve of these individuals work as sign language interpreters for the Mission View Adventist Church. Most of them are members of the Zamboanga Sibugay Deaf Association and the lpil Deaf Association.

The Great Appointment

Adventists from across the South Pacific and beyond watched The Great Appointment, a live program streamed from Avondale University Church and Sunnyside, the former home of Adventist co-founder Ellen White, in Cooranbong, New South Wales. 

The program provided a fresh perspective on the Great Disappointment of 1844 and its influence on the Adventist Church.

“Hosted by Avondale University students Rahel Gungadoo and Olivia Morton, The Great Appointment was engaging, interactive and full of variety. Among the highlights was a heritage drama live from Avondale University Church, written by first-year theology student Hadassah Liebke. The Kahoot! quizzes were very popular, as was the launch of specially designed Heritage Heroes cards. Several Pathfinder groups tuned in to complete their Adventist History and Heritage honor,” reported Adventist Record.

The program can be viewed on Adventist Media’s YouTube channel.

Image: Screenshot from Adventist Media YouTube channel – The Great Appointment video

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