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Takoma Academy Chorale to Participate in 2024 World Choir Games

Story by Lulu Mwangi

This July, the Takoma Academy (TA) Chorale will be traveling to New Zealand and Australia to minister in song and service and to participate in the 13th World Choir Games (WCG). The group is excited to participate in this event for a second time and plan to both win medals and souls for Christ. The event in Auckland will welcome 25,000 people singing in 300 choirs and representing nearly 70 countries.

TA’s first appearance at the WCG was 2018 in South Africa where the choir won one gold medal and two silver. A fundraising campaign is currently underway to help alleviate some of the travel cost for the students. Please keep the participants and plans in prayer.

New Hispanic Ministries Coordinator Joins Pennsylvania Conference

Story by Tamyra Horst

The Pennsylvania Conference is excited to welcome Alberto Balio and his wife, Milerqui De Paula, back to its state. Balio is the new Hispanic Ministries coordinator and pastor of the Reading Emmanuel Hispanic church.

“We are thankful to God for leading Pastor Balio to return to our conference,” shares Gary Gibbs, president. “He had a significant influence in advancing and building our work among the Spanish language population when serving in Pennsylvania before, and we believe God will use his heart for people, his passion for evangelism and his sense of mission to impact and grow the work in our Hispanic churches.”

Take a Trip Into Adventist History

Image courtesy GC Archives

The Columbia Union Conference—which covers the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States—is home to many locations where people of the Seventh-day Adventist faith made (and continue to make) history. But how did the greater Washington, D.C., area become a church hub in the first place? And where can one find impactful, lesser-known historic sites within the Columbia Union territory?

World Refugee Day: ADRA Shines a Spotlight on the Plight of Refugee Children and the Power of Education

Story by Iris Argueta / Image courtesy ADRA
 
As the world prepares to observe World Refugee Day on June 20 and World Refugee Sabbath on June 15, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) reaffirms its commitment to bringing attention to the challenges faced by millions of families, women, and children forced to flee their homes due to conflict, persecution, violence, and climate change. 
 
ADRA has been working to aid refugees and internally displaced families for more than four decades. The global agency recognizes especially the plight of the more than 43 million children who are displaced from their homes, and represent over 41 percent of the world’s refugees, according to UN data.  
 

Volunteers 'Plug In' to Enrich Spring Valley Academy

Home and School volunteers help organize the international vegetarian food fair.

Story by Angela Peach

Spring Valley Academy (SVA) is blessed with dedicated faculty and staff who treat their jobs as a calling. But with more than 530 students this year, there are myriad opportunities for volunteers to “plug in” and work alongside SVA faculty and staff to enrich and encourage the students and better the school.

A Powerful Opportunity for Parents

Natalya Zaritskaya/Unsplash

Editorial by Todd Casey

There is something powerful when children see their parent(s) daily set aside time to worship their Creator God both personally and corporately as a family unit. It is through daily connection with God that families receive a fresh supply of His mercy and grace.

Ron and Krista Mainess: Changing the Future for Greater Dayton Families

Changing the Future for Greater Dayton Families

Story by Konni Lorenz

Krista drives home with two toddlers in the backseat of her Mercury Mystique and waits for her fiancé, Ron, to answer the phone.

“Ron,” Krista begins slowly when he picks up. “I can understand if you don’t still want to get married, but I could not let these 15-month-old twin boys go into the system.

So, I’m bringing them home.”

Earlier that day, Krista’s niece, a 20-year-old single mother, awaited a verdict on her case. Krista sat in the courtroom, supporting her.

ADRA’s Mobilized Response Supplies Immediate Aid to Flood Victims in Brazil

Story by Iris Argueta/Natalie Bruzon
 
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has mobilized aid to respond to the devastating floods in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The country declared a state of emergency on May 2. ADRA deployed a needs assessment team to evaluate the developing situation and identify gaps in humanitarian assistance to coordinate a comprehensive strategy for urgent aid to thousands of beneficiaries.