One of United States most prominent health topics came into focus last month with a panel of Loma Linda University Health experts identifying issues surrounding the opioid addiction and abuse epidemic, setting the stage for a discussion of proper pain management by health professionals and addressing underlying matters in addiction.
Top Seventh-day Adventist leaders in Inter-America met with Maranatha Volunteer International (MVI) leaders yesterday to discuss rebuilding efforts in the recently hurricane-ravaged territory in the Caribbean. Leaders briefly took note of the scope of damage to churches and schools after hurricanes Irma and Maria in the worse hit islands during a meeting at the Inter-American Division (IAD) headquarter office in Miami, Florida.
Two La Sierra University social work faculty members and a university church pastor gave a presentation at a national conference recently on ways churches and social workers can join forces to better meet the needs of impoverished populations. Associate Professor of Social Work Daphne Thomas, Assistant Professor of Social Work Marni Straine, and university alum Steve Hemenway, a La Sierra University Church pastor, led a workshop titled “Bridging Gaps: Social Workers Provide Solutions in Faith-based Arenas” for the National Association of Christian Social Workers convention.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North Caribbean Conference territory is counseling church members and community members as they continue to recover from the devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria. A team from the CW Educational and Behavioral Center based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, toured several churches and communities in St. Croix and provided crisis counseling, which helps individuals cope with life after traumatic events.
Montemorelos University, an institution operated by the Seventh-day Adventist in Inter-America, was granted a special Silver Medal from the French National Academy of Medicine last week. The medal was presented to Ismael Castillo, president of Montemorelos University, during the institution’s first Healthy Lifestyle Summit on Nov. 2-4, 2017, in Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. “This Silver Medal represents special recognition to the institution for its contribution to the advancement of medicine and marks a further step in the relationship that we share,” said André Parodi, honorary president of the French National Academy of Medicine.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Costa Rica is providing assistance to hundreds of affected families after Tropical Storm Nate hit the Central American country. The storm, which hit on Oct. 5, 2017, took the lives of more than two dozen people. It also caused widespread flooding, resulting in mudslides and the destruction of roads, bridges, and homes. Thousands of people were displaced. The government reported that 42 roads were damaged across seven provinces, and more than 7,200 persons stayed in shelters. Nate hit the country after two straight weeks of heavy rainfall.
Florida Hospital, in partnership with Cox Media Group Orlando and the Florida Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, hosted a second “Blessings for Puerto Rico” collection drive in the US state of Florida, where Central Floridians showed their generous support for the ongoing Puerto Rico relief efforts by filling a total of eight 24-foot box trucks with dozens of pallets of donated items.
It is said that “Perfection is an unattainable goal, but it is in striving for it that makes us achieve greater levels of excellence.” This statement is true and reflective of the life of Senator Floyd Morris who received the Doctor of Philosophy Degree (PhD) from the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, Nov. 3, 2017. Senator Morris, the second blind person to achieve the highest level of academia at the university in its 69-year history, was one of eight visually impaired individuals who earned their degrees in the 2017 graduation exercises.
On November 1, a group of eight Seventh-day Adventist attorneys from across the United States were admitted as members to the bar of the United States Supreme Court. The event was organized by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Office of General Counsel. General Counsel, Karnik Doukmetzian sponsored their admission and officially moved the names during the ceremony and Chief Justice John Roberts admitted the attorneys. Those admitted were Harold Cleveland Jr., Allison Dichoso, Theodore Flo, Meredith Jobe, Maria McPhaull, Josue Pierre, Leesa Thomas, Jesus Uriarte.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Southeast Mexico opened its new headquarter office during a special ceremony held in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, on Oct. 22, 2017. Dozens of top church administrators from across the Inter-American Division (IAD), along with local church leaders and members, witnessed the ribbon cutting ceremony and toured the new facility.
Exactly 500 years to the day after Martin Luther is said to have posted his 95 theses at the door of Wittenberg Castle church, Seventh-day Adventists have published a new book that explores the profound—and complicated—legacy of the Protestant Reformation. The book, A Conversation on the Reformation, Christian Identity, and Freedom of Conscience, was launched October 31 at the church’s General Conference world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, by Ganoune Diop, director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty (PARL). In introducing the publication, Diop said the goal was to study the impact of the Reformation on a core Adventist value—the freedom of religion and belief.
She was afraid to smile because of her missing teeth but thanks to a dental clinic held during a special initiative by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Venezuela, Martha Ferrer can smile again. “I am so happy and thankful because now I can smile big with the five new teeth that this dental clinic has provided for me,” said Ferrer.