New Jersey Conference

Photo by summitcheese from flickr

Editorial by Jim Greene

According to Webster’s Dictionary, “hope” has several connotations based on the way you approach the usage of the word. We can “hope” that something will happen—“I hope I can win a new car in the drawing.” Or, we can state with assurance that our “hope” is based on trust and reliance that something will happen—“Jesus is coming again!” The hymn, “We Have This Hope,” is a strong affirmation of our faith and hope in the coming of the Lord, based on the promises found in God’s Word. Every time I sing this song, my spirits are lifted, and I am inspired to share the good news that Jesus is coming again!

Elisa Maragoto, principal of the Lake Nelson Adventist Academy in Piscataway, N.J., speaks at the Hispanic Women’s Retreat.

Editorial by Elisa Maragoto

The idea of being “In His Presence,” the theme of this year’s Hispanic Women’s Retreat, unifies every aspect of who we are. At the event, we learned, through the story of Esther, that it is in His presence we find our true identity. Our past and present circumstances and mistakes do not and should not define us. As we find refuge in His presence, we come to understand that our identity is in Jesus.

The New Jersey Conference recently welcomed several new pastors.

In 2012 Joel Brisson graduated from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary (Mich.). He was a lay pastor in Lynn, Mass., prior to joining the New Jersey Conference. Brisson will serve as the associate pastor for the Maranatha French church in Newark, the Philadelphie French in Jersey City and the All

Nations Community church in Maplewood. Brisson and his wife, Klaudia, have a 3-year-old, Josiah, and 1-year- old twins, Krislie and Klael.