, news editor, Adventist Review
A Seventh-day Adventist pastor has met with British Prime Minister David Cameron on the sidelines of government meeting.
Sam Davies, pastor of the Bedford Central Adventist Church, spoke briefly with Cameron at the government meeting in Bedford, located 45 miles (75 kilometers) from London.
Davies was among a small group of religious leaders invited by local lawmakers to attend the meeting, where Cameron delivered a key government policy statement on marriage.
Davies said he was encouraged to discover that Cameron, who spoke one-on-one with guests prior to the speech, was well aware of the Adventist Church in Britain.
He also said he was impressed with several statements made by Cameron in his speech, including one that "families are the bedrock of our society."
By attending the meeting, Davies followed Jesus' example of “mingling with the people,” the British Union Conference said in a statement.
India’s remote state of Meghalaya has tentatively agreed to award university status to Northeast Adventist College.
A bill to rename the school as Northeast Adventist University was supported by Meghalaya’s Cabinet this week and now needs to go to the local legislature for approval, the local Shillong Times newspaper reported on March 19.
It was not clear when the new status might be awarded.
Northeast Adventist College, founded by U.S. missionary O.W. Lange in 1941, has an enrollment of about 200 full-time students. Another 1,000 students attend a local elementary school and high school.
Last year, another Adventist educational institution in India, Spicer Memorial College, changed its name to Spicer University after gaining government support.
Two Loma Linda University dental students have won awards from the American Dental Association Foundation in a first for any school in the foundation’s history, the university said.
The students, Kyle Poulsen and Jason Joo, both from the class of 2015, were awarded $5,000 grants for providing oral health care services to underserved populations. Poulsen received the Tarrson award for his work within the U.S., while Joo got the Zwemer award for work outside of the U.S.
“The school of dentistry is pleased and proud to have students whose activities have earned the respect of the American Dental Association and these two very prestigious awards,” said Ronald Dailey, dean of the Loma Linda University school of dentistry.
It is the first time that students from the same dental school received both of these ADA Foundation awards in the same year.
Steven Poenitz will become the new president of the U.S. Indiana Conference in April when the current president, Van Hurst, steps aside to care for his ill mother, the conference said.
The executive committee of the Indiana Conference, located in the Indianapolis area, has asked Poenitz to accept the position after serving as the conference’s ministerial secretary for the past six years. Before that, Poenitz worked as a pastor in the Georgia-Cumberland Conference.
Poenitz said he had appreciated working with Hurst, who will move to Shattuck, Oklahoma, and previous conference leaders.
“While I have not sought this role of leadership, I do find it a privilege to work with such dedicated pastors, teachers and laity in the state of Indiana,” he said.
Oakwood University is seeking online votes to win $50,000 to build a mile-long circuit of outdoor exercise stations emphasizing a healthy lifestyle.
Oakwood, based in Huntsville, Alabama, is the only Adventist-operated institute competing against other historically black U.S. colleges and universities for one of nine grants in the annual Home Depot Retool Your School contest.
The university won the first-place $50,000 grant in 2013 and, barred from taking the top prize two years in a row, secured the second prize of $25,000 last year.
The contest is held to help winners beautify their campuses.
People can vote for Oakwood at the competition’s website. Schools will win based on the number of votes and use of its social media hashtag. Oakwood’s hashtag for the competition is #Oakwood_RYS15
“Note: You can cast one vote per day per computer and/or electronic device!” university spokesman George Johnson Jr. said in a statement.
Voting ends April 20. Oakwood was in third place as of March 20.
