It Is Written Selects New Speakers
hawn Boonstra, former speaker for It Is Written (IIW) Canada, has been named associate speaker of It Is Written International in California. Mark Finley, IIW director-speaker, recently became the new director of global evangelism for the General Conference; and Boonstra will assume more responsibility within IIW as Finley's global evangelism duties increase.
Boonstra, a native of British Columbia, joined the Adventist Church in 1993 after attending It Is Written evangelistic meetings in the city of Victoria. A political science graduate of the University of Victoria, he received theological training at Andrews University and became an Adventist pastor. Six years ago he was invited to serve as associate speaker of It Is Written Canada under the leadership of then-speaker Henry Feyerabend, and in 2001 he became the speaker.
Replacing Boonstra in Canada is Bill Santos. Born in Canada, he attended Brazil Adventist University in Sao Paulo and became fluent in Portuguese. While still a theology student, he pastored a growing church and conducted evangelistic meetings.
Returning to Canada after graduation, Santos found no ministry openings. He was hired by and later became executive vice president of Employment Management Professionals Inc. in Toronto. Among his clients were the governments of Ontario, Florida, North Carolina, and several other U.S. states.
In 1998, in addition to his other responsibilities, Santos accepted the position of pastor of the Harmony Adventist Church in Toronto. He officially joined the Canadian It Is Written staff in February.
In a country of 30 million people, IIW Canada enjoys a market penetration of 34 percent. An estimated 2 million Canadians watch the program weekly. IIW International, pioneered by George Vandenman in 1956, can now be viewed in 130 countries.
For more information about It Is Written, or to view programs online, visit www.itiswritten.com.
LLU Adds School of Science and Technology
The Loma Linda University (LLU) Board of trustees recently approved the addition of an eighth school, the School of Science and Technology, to its present existing programs.
Formerly part of the Graduate School, the new entity includes the behavioral sciences (marital and family counseling, social work, and psychology) and natural sciences (biology and geology). A new component in technological sciences is planned.
Ronald Carter was appointed interim dean for the School of Science and Technology.
Former GC Treasurer Dies
Kenneth H. Emmerson, 85, treasurer of the General Conference (GC) from 1966-1980, died February 4, 2004, in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Born in Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1918, Emmerson graduated from Pacific Union College, Angwin, California. He and his wife Dorothy served the Adventist Church in Cuba, Europe, and the Inter-American and South American divisions. In 1960 he became an associate treasurer of the General Conference, and in 1966 was elected GC treasurer.
Soon after retiring to Walla Walla, Washington, he was invited to be a GC field secretary, with assignments at Loma Linda University, Pacific Press, and Harris Pine Mills. Completing 45 years of denominational service, he retired again in North Carolina.
Emmerson is survived by his wife, Dorothy; a daughter, Anita Folkenberg of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia; two sons, Robert J., of Huntington Beach, California, and Richard K. of Franklin, Massachusetts; six grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.
"Sometimes people mistakenly assume that denominational financial officers are cold technicians, only interested in counting money," says former GC president Neal C. Wilson, who worked with Emmerson for many years. "Ken was a competent business and spiritual executive. His greatest satisfaction was in helping to solve problems so as to fulfill the highest possible soulwinning expectations of God's people."
Adventist Couple Named
"Washingtonians of the Year"
Jesse and Mary Reaves, founders of the Fourth Street Adventist Soup Kitchen in Washington, D.C., were named "Washingtonians of the Year for 2003" and featured in Washingtonian Magazine's January issue along with several other honorees. The couple have coordinated meals for the homeless every Sunday for 30 years.
The soup kitchen actually began in the Reaves' home in 1973, and meals were served from the Fourth Street Friendship Church. In addition, Mary encouraged social services such as tutoring, distribution of donated clothing, and care of the sick. The couple also started a Pathfinder club for area youth. Eventually a club for adults called Regeneration was formed for addicts and people with HIV/AIDS. Now in their 70s, the couple continue to serve their community.
News Notes
Shawnee Mission Medical Center, an Adventist facility located in metropolitan Kansas City, Kansas, was named one of the nation's 100 Top Hospitals by Solucient, a healthcare evaluation organization. The 383-bed hospital was recognized for excellence in quality of care, operational efficiency, and financial performance.
John Moyer, formerly secretary of the Oklahoma Conference, has been elected president. He replaces Rodney Grove who recently became executive secretary of the Lake Union Conference.
Ramiro Cano, formerly associate executive secretary, recently was elected executive secretary and ministerial director of the Central California Conference. He replaces Juan Rivera, who is now senior pastor of the Fresno Adventist church.
Nominations for 2004 Women of the Year awards are being solicited by the Association of Adventist Women. Nominees should be Seventh-day Adventist women who have made outstanding and unique contributions to home, community, and/or professional life. For a nomination form, write to: Women of the Year Awards Coordinator, Association of Adventist Women, P.O. Box 25025, Seattle, WA 98165-1925. Or e-mail Verla Kwiram, president, at [email protected]. The deadline is May 24.
Demetra Andreasen, community relations coordinator for Andrews University, was recently honored by Michigan Campus Compact (MCC) with a Faculty/Staff Community Service-Learning Award, MCC's highest annual award in the state of Michigan. MCC is a state-level nonprofit organization that promotes the education and commitment of Michigan college students to be civically engaged citizens.
The 2004 Maranatha Volunteers International Convention is scheduled for October 8-10 at the Gladstone campmeeting area in Oregon.
A "challenge grant" of $1 million was pledged to Walla Walla College by the Peterson Family Foundation. The Vancouver, Washington foundation has pledged to donate 50 cents for every dollar raised in 2004 toward the campus revitalization campaign, up to $1 million.
The La Sierra University's Wind Ensemble performed February 13 at the tenth national conference of the Christian Instrumentalists and Directors Association at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. The Riverside, California, group is directed by La Sierra professor of music Barbara Favorito.
Jefferson Christian Academy (JCA) in Texas has opened the Academy Lube and Wash in downtown Jefferson, where JCA graduate and mechanic Ron Collier employs and trains students to service and wash vehicles.
Carmelo Mercado, a pastor from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been elected vice president of the Lake Union Conference, replacing Otoniel Reyes, who now pastors a church in Houston, Texas.
The Texas Conference reported the largest number of baptisms of any local conference in North America last year. Thirty new churches were established.
NEWS COMMENTARY
Will Massachusetts Redefine Marriage for America?
BY MARK A. KELLNER, assistant director for news and information, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
n Feb. 4, 2004, the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts lowered the boom: it told state legislators that civil unions for same-sex couples weren't enough to satisfy the court's earlier demand for "equal" marriage rights. It had to be marriage, and nothing else.
"Either the institution of marriage will be protected, or it will be redefined out of existence," declared Family Research Council president Tony Perkins. Not even a 1996 bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by then-President Bill Clinton, the "Defense of Marriage Act," offers total protection, he claimed.
The issue of who can and can't marry isn't merely a question for religious bodies. Marriage confers certain legal rights--and responsibilities--that people have to take seriously if the institution is going to work.
In "The Beginning of the End for America?" Rebecca Hagelin writes, "To redefine marriage--the very core of what we know as family--is to wreak havoc on every other institution that holds our country together. From the legal system, to interstate commerce, to health care, to your neighborhood, everything would eventually fall apart. Why? Because the nuclear family--starting with the marriage of one man and one woman--is the very foundation of the entire human race and every single civil society since the beginning of time."
Stanley Kurtz, Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, says traditional marriage is important not just for the partners, but also for their offspring: "Children are helpless. They depend upon adults. Over and above their parents, children depend upon society to create institutions that keep them from chaos . . . They are us, and they are our future," he wrote in National Review Online.
Let's hope the Massachusetts legislature--if not the U.S. Supreme Court--can protect what four judges in Boston are trying to break.
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