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Contents AUGUST 2009 In Every Issue 3 | Editorial 4 | Newsline 8 | Potluck 21 | Healthcare News 10 Newsletters News & Features 25 Allegheny East 27 Allegheny West 10 | Master Musicians 29 Chesapeake 31 Columbia Union College They create compositions 33 Highland View Academy that connect us to God. 35 Mountain View Their arrangements provide heavenly adulation and 37 Mt. Vernon Academy praise. And Sabbath after 39 New Jersey Sabbath, they usher us into 41 Ohio the presence of the Most 43 Pennsylvania High God. Meet 12 noted Columbia Union-based 45 Potomac composers, conductors, 47 Shenandoah Valley and arrangers who are mak - Academy ing their musical mark in 48 Takoma Academy the Seventh-day Adventist Church and beyond. 51 | Bulletin Board 18 | Hope and Glory (and Oratorios) 55 | Last Words Kara Watkins Keri Tomenko With a deep sense of mission, vir - On the Web tuoso Virginia–Gene Rittenhouse, founder and director of the Video – View a video story acclaimed New England Youth about Columbia Union College’s mission-focused Ensemble, uses her musical genius Music Department. to bring glory and honor to God Podcast – Hear the music and hope to audiences around the of some of this issue’s master world. Read about the lifelong musicians. journey of this gifted composer, Twitter – To get news and conductor, pianist, violinist, interesting tidbits, follow us teacher, and mentor, and discover at twitter.com/VisitorNews. how she ministers through music. columbiaunion.org 2 | VISITOR Editorial WALTER CARSON Judging the Judge his summer high drama played out in the United States Senate as it considered the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. TSotomayor was originally appointed to the U.S. District Court by President George H.W. Bush and promoted to the Federal Court of Appeals by President Bill Clinton. She’s Hispanic, offers an impressive résumé, and has an inspirational life story. If she’s confirmed, we’ll have six Catholic judges, two Jews, and one Protestant on the high court. The senators questioned her closely concerning her judicial philosophy and sought answers on specific legal issues likely to come before the court for its consideration, such as her stand on same-sex marriage, abortion, and other hot-topic issues that have political overtones. Because of the Supreme Court’s important role in interpreting the U.S. Constitution, especially the reli - gion clauses of the First Amendment, Seventh-day Adventist Church members have been very interested in her answers. Understandably, we are interested in what she has to say because The Great Controversy warns of a time when “Sundaykeeping” will be enforced by the United States government (p. 449). If a national Sunday law is considered by the Supreme Court, how might this new justice rule? We can obtain insights on how a judge might decide an issue by reading their prior judicial decisions. Interestingly, Judge Sotomayor has decided cases involving religion on at least 14 occasions. Her opinions regarding religious matters appear to be balanced, and there is no apparent hostility. She shows sensitivity to an individual’s personal religious beliefs and practices. She recognizes the right of religious organizations M to make certain employment decisions without govern - O C . S mental interference. E G A M I Y T T JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING E G / E E While Jesus promises us a full, more abundant life (see M A N John 10:10), some Adventists look at current events with C M N dread and foreboding. Instead of anticipating the joy of I W Y the Second Coming and seeing in last-day events reason B O T for hope, these persons spend countless hours connecting O H P the dots of one conspiracy theory after another. They seem to be most happy sounding an alarm of pending doom instead of living the Christian life and heralding the good news of Christ’s soon return. Will Judge Sotomayor be asked to determine the consti - tutionality of a national Sunday law? Will she vote with a majority of her fellow justices to diminish rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution on the separation of church and state? Will she vote to revoke religious freedom? We don’t know. But frankly it does not really matter; we won’t be granted heaven on how the final events of Earth’s history play out. Rather, we will be judged on how we treat our fellow man. As Christ explained in the final judgment scene of Matthew 25:35- 36, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (NIV). As you reflect upon the proceedings related to Judge Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court, don’t allow yourself to be drawn into fear mongering. Maintain a positive outlook, knowing that the current events are all a part of God’s great plan for this time and place. Most of all, remember Christ’s purpose for coming to this world—that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Walter E. Carson, Esq., serves the Columbia Union Conference as vice president and general counsel. AUGUST 2009 | 3 Newsline BETH MICHAELS church services. Carson and Public Affairs and Adrian Westney, Columbia Union Conference associate Religious Liberty News director for Religious Liberty, led in a Sabbath School panel dis - cussion moderated by Nicholas “It is always exciting to share 50 Attend Fourth Miller of the Andrews University with our political leaders the cru - Capitol Hill Summit International Religious Freedom cial importance of religious free - More than 50 supporters of the Institute (Mich.). John Graz, dom. … When it is suppressed, so North American Religious Liberty PhD, (bottom) PARL director for are all the Association (NARLA) gathered at the worldwide Adventist Church other free - and secretary-general of the Sligo church in Takoma Park, Md., doms our International Religious Liberty for the 2009 Capitol Hill Summit. country takes Association, presented the mes - for granted,” sages for divine worship. comments “This is the one event each five-time year that allows the Adventist summit attendee Sonja DeWitt Church to dramatically highlight (above), a member of the Capitol its ministry and concerns on reli - Memorial church in Washington, gious liberty to the thought lead - D.C., and an attorney specializing ers of Washington in an intimate in discrimination law. and personal manner,” states On Thursday evening, atten - Barry Bussey dees gathered—along with repre - (right), direc - sentatives from embassies, tor for the government offices, nongovern - Office of The four-day, fourth annual event mental organizations, and the Legislative started with a daylong lecture by Adventist Church—for the sev - Affairs for the union Public Affairs and Religious enth annual Religious Liberty worldwide Liberty (PARL) directors from Dinner in Washington, D.C. Rep. Adventist Church. “It lends credi - across the North American Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri, bility to our work and ensures Division on important issues cur - co-chair of the International that we are part of the conversa - Religious Freedom Caucus, rently affecting Seventh-day tion.”— Kevin Gurubatham Adventists. They also gave rigorous presented the keynote address. training on lobbying techniques On Sabbath morning at Sligo Adventists Help Pass church, Walter Carson, Esq., and how to effectively influence Columbia Union Conference Anti-Tobacco Bill congressional legislation. A group of Adventist partici - vice president and general coun - On Thursday, after a brief pants from the 2008 Capitol Hill sel, worked with other union worship by Michelle Chin, an Summit are to be commended PARL leaders to coordinate a Adventist legislative aid for Sen. for their lobbying efforts that special Sabbath School and two John Cornyn of Texas, attendees helped pass the Family Smoking N formed groups and visited N Prevention and Tobacco Control A / R offices on Capitol Hill. By day’s E Act. Summit participants—work - N U A end, they had voiced their sup - ing in part through Rep. Roscoe G. R B N port for religious liberty and the Bartlett of Maryland, a well- A G E Workplace Religious Freedom known Adventist political M Y B Act (House Bill 13; read more at leader—joined the more than S O T O religiousliberty.info) to nearly 1,000 public health, faith, and H P T 100 congressmen, senators, and I other nongovernmental groups M M U legislative aides. who supported the bill S 4 | VISITOR Newsline that President Barack Obama Union Increases subscriptions, which are sent free signed into law June 12. The Liberty Offering of charge to thought leaders, bill gives the Food and Drug In spite of bad economic politicians, and community lead - Administration unprecedented downturn, Columbia Union ers across the nation. authority to regulate tobacco. constituents have modestly “In addition to offerings, we “It is very increased their previous sup - have seen some remarkable expe - gratifying to port—by nearly 2 percent—for riences of God taking care of His see a bill the 2009 Liberty magazine offer - own; jobs of passed by ing. With the goal of breaking members Congress and $100,000, the union PARL depart - have been signed by the ment reports they are only about preserved president 12 percent shy of that goal. and their when I and other Adventists Liberty magazine is a publica - services helped lobby for it,” states Keith tion provided retained in Blair (above), a member of the by the PARL spite of the unfavorable climate,” Atholton church in Columbia, Md.

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