Northern Lights

Damon Washington was ordained on October 8 at the Grand Advent church in Oakland.

Washington says his journey to being a minister was “born out of bible studies offered at his place of work and curiosity of the Sabbath.”

Earning a Master of Divinity in 2018, Washington spent three years as an associate pastor with the Nevada-Utah Conference and has served our territory as a district pastor since January at the Pittsburg and Oakland Emmanuel Temple churches.

Kevin Robert, church growth and evangelism director, said, “Damon has a deep love for his community and is the first to lead out in any effort; a true shepherd connecting people to Jesus Christ.”

Celebrating his eighteenth year of marriage to Jeanice Warden-Washington, he said about his ordination, “I’m still trying to process the Lord’s blessing and faithfulness in my life leading to this event.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 20, 2022

On September 11, the Richmond Beacon Light church served over 170 people in their community by hosting a free dental, medical and vision clinic. Moreover, participants enjoyed free haircuts, a healthy diet presentation, and free vegan soul food as the day of ministry progressed.

Pastor David Woolcock said, “One of the best outcomes of our event was that guests had time to receive several treatments if needed. Not just dental, not just medical, it provided an opportunity for our team to make new friends for a longer period.”

Woolcock continued, “This event could not have happened without the support of James Lim, the director of health ministry for which we are incredibly grateful. The conference contribution and commitment to preaching the gospel and our community’s healing ministry is a blessing.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 20, 2022

What started as an idea to feed young adults and engage the local community with a healthy eating message, blossomed into an event that connected people to an abundant life with Jesus Christ.

According to Dan Garza, district pastor of the Woodland and Vacaville churches, “The original plan was to invite several veggie and vegan food trucks to the NCC headquarters in Roseville and feed about 300 young Adventist adults as well as some additional community members.”

However, God had bigger plans. According to Garza, “When we placed a $20 ad on Facebook, we received over 2,000 positive responses, and from that surprising result, it was on!”

Picked up by Sacramento Channel 31’s Good Day program, interest swelled, and by Sunday at 11 AM, ten food vendors and over 1,000 people flooded the Douglas Avenue headquarters parking lot.

Creative dishes ranged from vegetarian Mexican cuisine to vegan shrimp, curry delights, coconut candy, and fruit drinks. According to attendee Linda Neal, “My doctor advised me to start eating a more plant-based diet, so now I’m a vegan wanna-be. This event was right on time. I had a vegan hot dog and loved it.”

According to one young adult ministry team member, “Many people and groups eagerly chatted at length with SDA young adults asking questions about the Adventist faith, why we hold the health message as necessary, Sabbath rest, and our connection to Blue Zones.”

Garza concluded saying, “We have already received many requests to hold another event, and prayer requests from our QR-coded prayer signs located around the venue.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 20, 2022

Recently, 140 fifth to eighth graders from seven territory schools tumbled out of vans, cars, and a hired bus at Rio Lindo Academy.

Part athletic field trip and part reunion, Rio’s annual sports camp is a longstanding tradition inviting every NCC school, including homeschoolers, to attend.

Basic skills are taught for football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, and softball. The workshop is staffed by volunteers ranging from retired athletic coaches, pastors, teachers, and current Rio students.

One parent identified the importance of her 7th grader connecting with the Rio high-schoolers by saying, “They are so patient with our kids, it’s really neat to see them coach just like the adults. My son talks about sports camp the whole year!”

A visiting teacher said, “Our kids don’t get the kind of specialized sports skills training and practice at our school like they have here. I watch and learn the drills too, so we can use them for weeks after sports camp.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 13, 2022

The 2022 African American Ministries 45th Annual Convocation was recently held at the Grand Advent SDA Church in Oakland.

Friday’s evening service was met with a slight hurdle as worshippers were met with a power outage. Neither dismayed nor discouraged, the program went on as scheduled as pastors and elders sprang into action to purchase generators and lighting to illuminate the sanctuary.

Guest speaker, Dr. Myron Edmonds used the outage to highlight the power of the Holy Spirit. Local church member Kim Merriweather said, “I left the service feeling deeply moved and despite the lack of electricity, the sermon, coupled with the outage set the tone for the weekend because it forced recognition of the power of God”.

Sabbath morning more than 500 worshippers of all ages filled the sanctuary. Maikapo Mehn, said, “Overall, the convocation reminded me about how great of a reunion it will be when our Heavenly Father comes to take us home.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 13, 2022

One would expect a school campus to be quiet in the summer; Sacramento Academy was anything but quiet.

In July, Pixie, a member of the Granite Bay Hilltop Church, walked through the doors with a mother and her three sons. Iulia and her family came to Sacramento from Moldova, seeking asylum from the war in Ukraine.

Currently, the school has ten students displaced by the war enrolled from kindergarten to high school. These students have built connections and friendships with their classmates in the first few months of school, despite the language barrier.

“Sometimes God works in our lives in unexpected ways. Although we have been given the opportunity to practice our school theme, ‘More than Me,’ I feel that I am gaining more of a blessing from my relationships with these families than they have gained from us,” said Michelle Piner, registrar. “I am impressed by their courage and positivity amidst incredible hardship.”

“At first, some students felt unsure about ‘the new kid who speaks no English,’ said Kat Schroer, vice-principal of K-5. “Now you see this same student running happily with classmates and making motions for ‘I’ve Got a River of Life.”

A month after school started, Iulia emailed the school to let us know that her very shy kindergartener said (in English), “Bye, Mom!” as he ran off to class. A small miracle.

Featured in Northern Lights • October 13, 2022

From September 15 to October 15, as a nation, we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

The 2022 national theme is Unidos: Inclusivity for a Stronger Nation. This theme encourages all voices to be represented and welcomed to help build stronger communities and a stronger nation.

In 1968, Hispanic Heritage Week began under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover 30 days starting September 15. In recognition, we would like to highlight the Hispanic work in our territory.

The first Spanish-speaking church was organized in Oakland in 1925 by lay evangelist Rudolfo Limas, a Portuguese sailor. This church disappeared from the written records, but the gospel message spread, and new churches were established in St. Helena, Hayward, Fairfield, Lodi, and Stockton.

By 1978, following a major evangelistic campaign in the Bay Area led by Eliezer Benavides, then Pacific Union Hispanic Coordinator, another Spanish church was organized in Oakland. Together with the other five churches, the collective membership was 475 people.

Since then, the growth rate of Hispanic work has increased exponentially, with 3,350 members by the end of 2021, several church plants, and missional groups throughout Northern California. As the 2022 national theme implies, united we are stronger.

Featured in Northern Lights • October 6, 2022

The NCC Young Adult Department is constantly developing new and practical ways to connect with the community.

One creative event will be a vegetarian and vegan food truck extravaganza in the NCC headquarters parking lot in Roseville. This community-relevant event will take place on Sunday, October 16, from 11 AM to 3 PM.

Organizer and pastor of the Woodland church Dan Garza expressed, “Our team is expecting so many young adults at our holistic health conference, we decided to share the love of Jesus with the surrounding community by using food. With a $20 internet advertisement we received over 300 requests for information on the event! What better way to engage the community and promote healthy living than to invite the whole town?”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 6, 2022

Recently, 190 student leaders with 90 sponsors and staff members from around the Pacific Union Conference attended the Student Leadership Conference at Leoni Meadows.

The event is held every year and student leaders engage in leadership activities, gain inspiration from featured speakers, and network with their peers.

According to one student participant, “Everyone here is singing and participating, and they are asking, how can we get the kids at our school to participate like this?”

Nick Sigler, student association sponsor from Rio Lindo said, “This conference is an opportunity for campus leaders to “network, conspire, and come back to school ready to brainstorm.”

One Rio student leader reflected, “It was great to be back at Leoni. We’ve not only had fun, but we have learned how to be better leaders through service, including washing the feet of my friends.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 6, 2022

On Sunday, October 2 almost 200 children riding bicycles and tricycles attended the 2022 Adventurers Bike Derby.

The event is held annually to offer a safe venue for Adventurers to earn their cycling award of riding five miles or more.

The bevy of riders with their bikes and trikes met on the campus of Sacramento Academy to ride around the running track, with a smaller course for younger children.

Barry van Iderstein, children’s ministries director said, “The event was a huge success. This was the first derby in three years due to the pandemic, so we were blessed to have such wonderful participation and spectacular weather for the event.”

Featured in Northern Lights • October 6, 2022