On March 6, 2020, Versacare Foundation awarded $1,420,000 in grant funding to 189
Adventist primary and secondary schools across the United States and Canada in
support of STEM education (science, technology, engineering, math).

            This was
Versacare Foundation’s fifth successive year funding STEM grants and marked the
third consecutive year it funded every school that applied for a STEM
grant. The STEM grant program has provided funding in three categories: 

• $5,000 for smaller schools of three classrooms
  or less
• $10,000 for larger schools of four or more
  classrooms and 12-year schools
• $10,000 for senior academies 

            The many
uses of STEM funds include the purchase of interactive classroom whiteboards,
tablets, or Chromebooks for student use, equipping or updating student computer
labs, installation of 3D printers and related software, initiating or funding
robotics programs, instruction in software coding, and the equipping of
chemistry, physics, and biology labs, and more.

            Versacare
Foundation is the largest independent private foundation supporting the varied
ministries of the Seventh-day Adventist Church with grant funding. A
self-funded lay organization, it is composed of both lay Adventists and present
and former Adventist Church employees. It awarded its first grants in 1990,
totalling $26,000, to five different Adventist ministries. Since then, it has
awarded more than 1,430 grants
totalling over $28,250,000.

            This year
13 Adventist schools in four conferences in Canada received Versacare funding,
totalling $105,000:

Alberta Conference

Mamawi Atosketan Native
School   

$10,000

Parkview Adventist Academy

$10,000

Sylvan Meadows Adventist School  

$5,000

Woodlands Adventist School  

$5,000

British Columbia Conference

Deer Lake
Seventh-day Adventist School   

$10,000

Fraser Valley Adventist Academy

$10,000

Manitoba-Saskatchewan Conference

Riverside Christian School

$10,000

Ontario Conference

Adventist
Christian Elementary School 

$5,000

College Park Elementary
School 

$10,000

Crawford
Adventist Academy  

$10,000

Crawford
Adventist Academy East Campus

$5,000

Grandview
Adventist Academy

$10,000

Windsor
Adventist Elementary School

$5,000

The SDACC Office of Education is deeply appreciative of what
Versacare has done and continues to do in support of Adventist education across
the North American Division (NAD).

            After funding nearly half of
all Adventist primary and secondary schools across the NAD with STEM grants,
Versacare Foundation has ended its STEM school grant program and, for 2021,
will focus on funding STEM training for teachers. 

            For more information about Versacare
Foundation’s grant program, please visit www.versacare.org. 

Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/news/church-social-closeness

On Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, Ontario Conference president, Dr. Mansfield Edwards, offered words of comfort during a memorial service held at York Region. The service, attended by 400+, was for employee Bahareh Karami, a York Region environmental sciences technologist.

Karami, 33, was one of 176 killed
on January 8 when a plane, heading from Iran to Ukraine, was shot by the
Iranian military. On the 13^th, colleagues and friends, as well as
loved ones streaming in from Tehran, offered emotional tributes to Karami, described
by her boss as a “shining light.”

Edwards’s message, titled “When Life Isn’t Fair,” was relatable and uplifting to the multifaith crowd. Quoting Vance Havner’s book on grieving, Though I Walk Through the Valley, he spoke on the “dark days” we all face, “days of despair and discouragement, when there are more questions than answers.”

Speaking on the “senseless
atrocity” killing Bahareh and 62 other Canadians and causing “dark days in our
country,” Edwards noted, “Human beings—intelligently designed—are wired to
respond negatively to … death.” He then offered a few faith-based approaches to
grief:

1. Affirm your new reality by beginning your
   healing.
2. Pursue your nagging need for answers, as David
   did with God in Psalm 13.
3. Cherish and reinvest in the people God has
   placed in your life.
4. Trust God even when you don’t understand the
   happenings around you.

Edwards, a volunteer chaplain
with York Regional Police, was requested by ceremony organizers to speak after
having handled all religious aspects of the Dec. 6, 2018, swearing-in ceremony
for York Region mayors and regional councillors.

Later, Edwards reflect on our mandate as Adventists. “Jesus after His resurrection instructed us to go into all the world, not just huddle in each other’s company at the expense of our mission. We must be sensitive to the needs of the community [as Christ was].”
—-Christelle Agboka, Ontario Conference

Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/news/ontario-conference-president-mansfield-edwards-offers-solace-at-iran-plane-crash-funeral

Video script:

Dear Adventist family throughout Canada,

During this time greatly engrossed by the news of the coronavirus, be at peace. The same Jesus who calmed the winds and waves cares for you and those dear to you. 

As a Church, we will continue to follow the guidelines outlined by public health officials and government leadership. We encourage our membership to consult their local conferences for specific information within your region.

 And while we take our precautions, I charge you to remember who we are. 

Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada, we are the Church that loves the Lord and does for others what we would want done for ourselves. 

We are the Church that amidst the panic purchasing, sees the single mother living pay cheque to pay cheque, stressed over how she will provide for her family during this crisis, and offers our blessings of time and money to assure her troubled heart. 

We are the Church that seeks the elderly and vulnerable and ensures they are equipped with groceries and sanitation supplies, because we desire to keep those at higher risk safe. 

We are the Church that supports church leaders as they develop plans to meet congregational needs and prepare churches with proper sanitation. 

We are the Church that works together, as a national congregation, to provide peace amidst the storms of fear.  

We are the Church that knows the call to love our neighbours never ceases.

Together, we will stay connected to Jesus, the Light of the World, so we can shine in every one of our communities. 

Fear not, my friends. 

As the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada prepares for our Sabbath worship and fellowship during our national crisis regarding COVID-19, and our schools cope with rapid adjustments, it is important for the SDACC to encourage our membership to consult their local Conferences for specific information as it pertains to their locality. Some provinces have already issued cautions with large gatherings and some have given specific directions as to the size of these gatherings.

During a crisis we will have many opportunities to practice a Christlike generosity to others in our church and those in our communities.  This is a time for our churches across Canada to shine in our communities. Please practice Health Canada guidelines as you minister to those in your communities and those within our churches.

Please consult the following updated guidelines:

1. If you have recently traveled to a COVID-19 infected area or you are currently showing signs of having a cold or flu like symptoms, we ask that you STAY HOME. There are many with compromised health conditions that you might spread the virus to and you have a moral and spiritual obligation to remain at home and worship online or with your family.
2. If it is absolutely necessary for you to leave your home, implement a hug and handshake free zone and maintain a safe distance (at least 2 metres) from others.  We also strongly urge that potlucks and Communion be suspended till further notice.
3. Have a church plan ready to meet the needs of the elderly and those who live alone or with special needs. Develop plans and assign people to regularly check in on them and make sure that the necessary supplies are on hand to care for sick and elderly members.
4. Avoid all unnecessary physical contact with others at church or school and wash hands often (with warm water and soap) while avoiding contact with one’s face.
5. Provide hand sanitizers to everyone who enters the church or school.
6. Regularly clean high-touch surfaces during Sabbath School, church services and in our local schools.
7. Place offering plates at the back of the church instead of having the plates circulating during collection.
8. Consult your local health department and Health Canada to pass along reliable information to your membership.
9. Support those who are front line workers.  They may be extra support as they serve on the front lines in our health care facilities.
10. Practice the 8 laws of Health while promoting a lifestyle that will strengthen the immune system.

Resources

There are several resources available that will be helpful to churches and members as they evaluate how to best move forward with the mission of the church.

• Adventist Risk Management: COVID-19 Insurance FAQ’s and Resources
• AdventHealth: Video podcasts, including special considerations for congregations

Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/news/sdacc-recommended-guidelines-regarding-covid-19

Burman University and the Alberta Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church Adopt Memorandum of Understanding.

Lacombe,
AB, October 23, 2019: In May 2019, Burman University initiated a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the Alberta Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church regarding Parkview Adventist Academy (PAA). The goal of the MOU is to
transfer governance and ownership of Parkview Adventist Academy from Burman
University to the Alberta Conference. On Oct. 4, 2019, the Burman University
Board of Trustees voted to approve the offer of the MOU to the Alberta
Conference. On Oct. 20, 2019, the Alberta Conference Board of Directors voted
to accept the offer.

            The
MOU between the two organizations, which goes into effect Nov. 1, 2019,
outlines that the Alberta Conference
will commence ownership and operation of PAA in the fall of 2020. Burman
University will also provide land and an endowment that will facilitate the
building of a new high school. The Alberta Conference will assume full
responsibility for the planning and construction of the new facility. PAA will
remain at its existing location until the new building is complete. A date for
construction has yet to be determined.

            Burman
University and the Alberta Conference have worked diligently to ensure the
long-term success of PAA. The Alberta Conference is happy to accommodate the
transition of PAA from a Burman/Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada entity
to an Alberta Conference school.

–Republished from Alberta Adventist News

To view the entire Alberta Adventist News magazine, go to https://www.albertaadventist.ca/news/aan.

Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/features/agreement-reached-for-new-governance-and-ownership-of-parkview-adventist-academy

Forty-four
sick children had a warmer Christmas this past year thanks to the quilting
ministry of the Truro, Pugwash, and New Glasgow Seventh-day Adventist churches
in Nova Scotia. Headed by Jean and David Streifling, the churches prepared the
handmade children’s quilts in record time when an opportunity came to
distribute them at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax—the largest pediatric
hospital that serves patients in Atlantic Canada.

          Although the church members couldn’t
enter the children’s ward directly, they were told by the nurses that the
children had loved their quilts and the parents had expressed sincere
appreciation for the beautiful Christmas gifts.

          One quilt that
was given away recently went to an 18-year-old girl waiting for a stem cell
transplant in the cancer ward. When she heard about the ministry and was
presented with her own quilt, she was overcome with emotion, especially since
the quilt had a Bible verse on it. This girl was trying to memorize a Bible
verse before her transplant, but it was difficult. Now she was happy to have a
Bible verse to take with her when she went into the hospital. The member prayed
with her and assured her of God’s love.

          Another recent
story happened when two of the church members met a young lady in a store who
had that very morning lost her home in a fire. She, her husband, her three
young children, and even the pet birds had made it safely
outside, but aside from a single box of precious
papers, they had lost everything else. The smell of smoke was still
noticeable on her clothing—all the clothing she had left. They had contents
insurance but, because a renovation had been in progress, had no house
insurance at all—basically a total loss. Touched by the devastation she clearly
felt, the members raced to our church nearby and retrieved the one quilt we
still had in stock there, also purchasing a gift card for her to buy other
things they so desperately needed.

          “Oh, you didn’t need to do that” was
her response. Yet there were tears of appreciation in her eyes as the members
replied, “This is our way of doing what we can to help out.” It was our way of
giving her another “hug” to let her know that the community cares. The members
headed home to make three more quilts, including a queen-sized one, so that
each family member could have a quilt of their own which included a Bible
message of God’s care (Num. 6:24–26) embroidered on its back. These, along with
a warm coat, were given to the family the following day. This is the latest
giveaway in a quilting ministry that has produced and shared over 450 quilts
since its inception, including quilts for families who have lost their homes,
for people who are severely ill, and for new
mothers.

          Each quilt we give has a Bible verse embroidered on the back as well as a message of love from our Adventist church.

—Alexandra Richards, co-pastor of the Truro, New Glasgow, and Pugwash churches

Source: https://adventistmessenger.ca/news/wrapped-in-the-bibles-promises