Advent Movements – Decker, Bryan

Auburn Academy Announces New Principal

Last month at Auburn Adventist Academy, Edward T. Decker Jr., announced to the school in a Skype call that he will become the new principal by early August. Decker, who is currently working on a Ph.D. in leadership from Andrews University, is a respected and well-known leader in the Northwest. Says Decker, “By God’s grace and strength, I desire to demonstrate integrity and compassion as I proceed, with excellence, in the goals God puts before me.” Decker will be joined by his wife Gladys, who used to teach English at Auburn. Their son, Trei, graduated from Auburn in 2012 and daughter, Alexi, is currently a student there. Watch the recorded Skype call on Facebook and read the complete story from AuburnAcademy.org.

Bryan Departing Walla Walla University

Alex Bryan, senior pastor at the Walla Walla University (WWU) Church in College Place, Wash., has been named president of Kettering College, in Kettering, Ohio, effective June 1. Bryan, who has served WWU for the past four years, will be the sixth president of the college, replacing Charles Scriven, who is retiring. In addition to a teaching role for the WWU School of Business and School of Theology, Bryan also served on the president’s cabinet as an advisor on vision and strategy. “This decision has come at the end of many long weeks of prayer as we have sought God’s leading,” says Bryan. “We hold deep affection for this church and this campus. The Walla Walla family is our family now, and always.” Read the full story at GleanerOnline.org.

Advent Movements – Hoover

Hoover Accepts UCC Presidency

Paul Hoover, Georgia-Cumberland vice president for administration, has accepted the invitation to become Upper Columbia Conference president. Pictured here with his wife, Patti, he hopes to make the transition to his new role in Spokane, Wash., by March 31. Hoover, who is replacing Bob Folkenberg Jr., has served as a pastor and administrator in the Kentucky-Tennessee, Oklahoma and Georgia-Cumberland conferences. “We are deeply honored and humbled to accept the opportunity to serve with so many dedicated wonderful people,” says Hoover. “We look forward to following God’s leading and becoming a part of the Upper Columbia Conference family.” Read more about Paul Hoover at GleanerOnline.org.

Advent Movements – Torkelsen, Staddon, Schreven, Birch

Remembering Max C. Torkelsen (1926–2012)

Max C. Torkelsen, longtime husband, father, church pastor, educator and administrator, passed peacefully to his rest at home in Portland, Ore., on Saturday evening, Dec. 8. He was 86. Torkelsen’s service for the Seventh-day Adventist Church began in a five-church district in North Dakota, moved into educational work as a principal and superintendent, and continued into conference administrative posts. He served as North Pacific Union Conference executive secretary from 1971–1974, and as president from 1976–1980. In later years he was a world church general vice president. He is survived by his wife, Ardis, sons Max and Monte, daughter Myrna Smith, seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Services will be private, but information on how to direct memorial gifts and condolence cards are available online. A Facebook page, Honoring the Life of Max C. Torkelsen Sr. provides an opportunity to share thoughts and memories with the family online.

Staddon will be New Montana VP

Sharon Staddon will join the Montana Conference office at the end of January as vice president for finance. She replaces Ray Jimenez who recently moved east to work with the General Conference. Staddon and her husband, Theron (pictured here) are moving from the Alaska Conference where she has held a similar position since 2007. She brings a wealth of experience to Montana, including owning her own CPA company, serving as a financial officer for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency and working as a General Conference auditor.

Leo Schreven Remembered

Our prayers are with the Leo Schreven family, following his death at the age of 51. Schreven is survived by his wife Tamara, daughter Cierra, parents Leonardus and Johanna, brothers John, Herman, sister Nellie, their spouses and children. With his All Power Ministries based in Kettle Falls, Wash., Leo Schreven was widely known for evangelistic meetings and seminars he presented around the world.

Alf Birch Remembered

Alf Birch, long time Northwest pastor and administrator, passed away Friday, Jan. 11, 2013, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Birch, who retired as Oregon Conference president in 2001, was serving as a part-time associate pastor at the Meadow Glade Church in Battle Ground, Wash. Originally from South Africa, he came to the Northwest in 1989 and held various positions for the remainder of his career in both the Oregon and North Pacific Union conferences. A memorial service will be held at the Meadow Glade Church on Sabbath, Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. His family invites you to share personal memories of Birch at this Facebook memorial page. Read more about him at GleanerOnline.org.

Advent Movements – Harris, Folkenberg, Jimenez

New Associate Superintendent of Education for Washington - Washington Conference announced this week that Archie Harris will be joining their office in mid-November as associate superintendent of education. Currently serving as director of education, youth, communication and health for the Montana Conference, he has spent the last 18 years in Montana, with six and a half of those at the conference office. Harris, a native of the Northwest, brings a wealth of teaching and leadership experience to the job. “We are looking forward to all the contributions Archie will bring to our team,” says Kelly Bock, Washington Conference vice president for education. Learn more about Harris’ new roll at the Washington Conference.

Folkenbergs to Leave Upper Columbia for Hong Kong - Bob Folkenberg Jr., has accepted a call to serve as president of the Chinese Union Mission based in Hong Kong. He and his wife, Audrey, will be leaving to assume this new post effective January 1, 2013. Folkenberg has served as Upper Columbia Conference (UCC) president since early 2009. During that time he implemented the Share the Life evangelistic initiative, which has been responsible for more than 1,000 requests for Bible studies and hundreds of baptisms. Folkenberg also led out in the reconstruction of the UCC headquarters in the wake of the 2008 fire that destroyed much of the previous facility. North Pacific Union Conference leadership is working with the UCC nominating and executive committees to find a new president. In the meantime, Doug Johnson, UCC vice president for administration, is serving as interim administrator for the conference. Read more about the Folkenberg’s time at UCC.

 

Jimenez to Join NAD Office – Ray Jimenez III, currently Montana Conference vice president for administration/finance, will begin a new role Jan. 1, 2013, as an associate administrator for the North American Division (NAD) Adventist Retirement office in Silver Spring, Md. Before coming to the Montana Conference in 2006, Jimenez served as treasurer for the New Jersey Conference.

Advent Movements – Wibberding

Idaho Pastor to Serve as State Senate Chaplain

Jim Wibberding, Cloverdale Church pastor in Boise, Idaho, has been chosen to serve the Idaho State Senate as Chaplain for the 2013 legislative session which begins in January. Wibberding was officially selected on Oct. 21 by the Idaho Senate President and the Senate Search Committee comprised of bipartisan leaders in the Idaho Senate. The decision confirms the efforts of Greg Hamilton, Northwest Religious Liberty Association (NRLA) president, who has been working for the past year with retired Idaho Senator Grant Ipsen to propose a qualified Seventh-day Adventist candidate. Wibberding, who will continue his main role as Cloverdale pastor, says, “I look forward to praying with our government leaders in Idaho and encouraging them in their work to preserve our freedoms.” Read more about Wibberding and this new role at the NRLA website.

Advent Movements – Jackson, Carlisle, VanOrden, Ritacca, Regalado, Remboldt

Jackson Named NPUC Education Registrar: Paulette Jackson, current Washington Conference associate education superintendent, has accepted a position as North Pacific Union Conference (NPUC) education registrar. She will begin her new responsibilities full time in October. Prior to her position with the Washington Conference Jackson served as Idaho Conference superintendent of schools. She brings three decades of experience to her new role at the NPUC. She has worked as principal at Holbrook Indian School in Arizona, and taught at Portland Adventist Academy, and Meadow Glade Elementary School and Columbia Adventist Academy, in Battle Ground, Wash.

WWU Welcomes Five New Faculty Members: Jody Carlisle and Steve VanOrden have joined the Walla Walla University School of Business faculty. Carlisle holds two master’s degrees in professional accounting and business administration. VanOrden has extensive experience in health care administration and also with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency. He holds an international business degree and a master’s in public administration. Also joining the WWU team are Elisabeth Ritacca in history and philosophy, Ferdinand Regalado in the School of Theology, and Anthony Remboldt as an aviation instructor in the department of technology. Read more about each HERE.

Advent Movements – McVay, Cushman, Hardinge

McVay Will Step Back in as WWU President

John McVay has accepted the invitation from the Walla Walla University (WWU) Board of Trustees to serve once again as president of the university. McVay, who had resigned from his post as WWU president last winter to return to teaching and research, will begin his successive term on Jan. 1, 2013. “We are delighted that Dr. John McVay has consented to continue his leadership of Walla Walla University upon the completion of his current study leave/sabbatical,” says Max C. Torkelsen II, chairman of WWU’s Board of Trustees. “He has that rare combination of gifts for scholarship and research, education and experience, and administrative skills which uniquely qualify him to lead our university.” McVay says two of his priorities in his second term will include

Advent Movements – WWU Presidential Search, Ligman

Update on WWU Presidential Search Process

The recent vote of the Walla Walla University (WWU) Board of Trustees has engendered a great deal of discussion among the university community and beyond. Alex Bryan, who currently serves as the WWU Church senior pastor, was turned down for the president spot during the board’s July 1 meeting. But some are championing the cause for him to be reconsidered. An expanded statement on the process from Max Torkelsen, North Pacific Union Conference president and WWU board chair, is available HERE. On-campus meetings will take up the search process again this coming Monday.

Ligman Named WWU Acting VP for Academic Administration

Scott Ligman has been named Walla Walla University (WWU) acting vice president for academic administration. Ligman’s appointment began July 1 following the departure of Ginger Ketting-Weller who is now dean of the School of Education at La Sierra University. Ligman is currently WWU associate vice president for academic administration, a position he has held since 2008. He also holds the rank of professor in the Department of Biology where he served for nine years as chairman. Ligman earned his doctoral degree in zoology with an emphasis in physiology and neurobiology from Oregon State University, and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Andrews University. Read more from Walla Walla University HERE.

Advent Movements – Ketting-Weller

Ketting-Weller Accepts La Sierra Position

Add one more administrative post to the search list for Walla Walla University (WWU). Ginger Ketting-Weller, WWU vice president for academic administration, announced this week that she will become dean of the School of Education at La Sierra University in Riverside, Calif., beginning July 1. Ketting-Weller has served as a vice president at WWU since 2002. During her 10 years of service, Ketting-Weller has led the academic program and hired 40 percent of the current faculty. Prior to her service at WWU, Ketting-Weller was a professor of education at Pacific Union College, where she was named Educator of the Year in 2000. She has also worked in the K–12 Adventist educational system in Redlands, Calif., and Lincoln City, Ore. Read more from the WWU website HERE.

 

Advent Movements – Rogers

WWU Vice President Headed to Southern Union

Ken Rogers, Walla Walla University (WWU) vice president for student life and mission, has accepted the position of youth and young adult director of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Rogers will continue serving in his current position through the end of this school year. During his six years of service WWU service, Rogers has led student life departments and programs. Working with 33 staff members, Rogers oversees the areas of student housing, food services, campus ministries, student activities, campus health, campus security, and counseling and testing services. From 1990 to 2006, Rogers was campus chaplain at Southern Adventist University, where he also served as youth pastor for the campus church from 1986 to 1990. Read more from the Walla Walla University website HERE.

Advent Movements – Klam, McVay, Wintermeyer, Patzer

Norman W. Klam, North Pacific Union Conference treasurer from 2002–2008, died Sunday evening, Jan. 1. He was 66. Klam was a patient at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash., where he had been since suffering an auto accident Monday, Dec. 26, 2011. He leaves his wife, Marlene; daughter, Cheri, a physician in Vancouver; son, Jeffrey, Northern California Conference assistant treasurer; and several grandchildren. Klam graduated from Walla Walla College in 1968. Among other posts throughout North America, he served as treasurer for the Oregon Conference from 1986–1992. A memorial service is scheduled for Jan. 14, at 3:30 p.m. in the Meadow Glade Seventh-day Adventist Church, 11001 N.E. 189th St., Battle Ground, WA 98604. Read more at GleanerOnline HERE.

John McVay announced this week his plan to resign as Walla Walla University president effective July 1, 2012, so that he can return to the classroom. McVay and his family will continue to reside in College Place, Wash., where he will serve as WWU professor of theology, specializing in New Testament studies. McVay became the university’s 23rd president in 2006. “The opportunity to join the excellent team of professors in the School of Theology is energizing for me,” he says. “I look forward to serving WWU students as teacher, mentor and friend.” Read more at gleaneronline.org HERE.

 

Jay Wintermeyer, Upper Columbia Conference spokesperson, reports that the Upper Columbia Academy board has invited John Winslow (pictured here) to assume the role of principal for the coming school year. Winslow, who previously worked at UCA as vice-principal, currently serves as the principal for Campion Adventist Academy in Loveland, Colo. He will take up his new duties this summer for the 2012–2013 school year, replacing Troy Patzer who plans to begin work as an UCC trust officer. UCA, in Spangle, Wash., is the largest Adventist boarding academy in North America.

 

 

Advent Movements – Worf, Parker

Northwest Mission Institute Director Selected

The North Pacific Union Conference executive committee, in its Nov. 13 meeting, voted to approve Jason Worf as the director of the newly-formed Northwest Mission Institute. The NPUC-sponsored and funded institute will be located at Walla Walla University to train Bible-worker coordinators. NPUC leaders hope these trained coordinators will be hired to help local church members learn how to positively engage Bible studies within surrounding neighborhoods and communities. Worf, most recently the Amazing Facts publishing director, will begin his new role in January to develop the new institute and its initial phases of operation.

Upper Columbia Conference Announces Leadership Transitions

The Upper Columbia Conference Executive Committee has selected Richard Parker (pictured here) as the new UCC human resources director and office manager. Parker has served as the director of youth ministries and Camp MiVoden for the past 16 years. He replaces Bill Skidmore who retired Sept. 30. Read more from the UCC website HERE. The executive committee also voted to invite Wendy Eberhardt to replace Parker as director of youth ministries. Eberhardt, who is currently the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference director for youth ministries, has accepted the invitation and will begin her new responsibilities in mid-October. Read more HERE.

Advent Movements – Parker, Eberhardt

The Upper Columbia Conference Executive Committee has selected Richard Parker (pictured here) as the new UCC human resources director and office manager. Parker has served as the director of youth ministries and Camp MiVoden for the past 16 years. He replaces Bill Skidmore who retired Sept. 30. Read more from the UCC website HERE. The executive committee also voted to invite Wendy Eberhardt to replace Parker as director of youth ministries. Eberhardt, who is currently the Kentucky-Tennessee Conference director for youth ministries, has accepted the invitation and will begin her new responsibilities in mid-October. Read more HERE.

Advent Movements – NPUC Officers, Pifher, Freedman, Mays

Northwest Delegates Re-elect NPUC Officers

North Pacific Union Conference delegates re-elected officers Max C. Torkelsen II (president), John Loor Jr. (executive secretary), and Mark Remboldt (treasurer) at the quinquennial constituency session held Sunday, Sept. 11, on the campus of Walla Walla University in College Place, Wash. On this 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 tragedies, delegates spent time in commemorative reflection of those events, while looking to the Adventist mission ahead. In conjunction with the NPUC gathering, WWU also convened its constituency session during a portion of the afternoon and affirmed reports from WWU administrators. Photos of both the constituency session and the Northwest Adventist Leadership Convention, which preceded the session, are available courtesy of Heidi Martella and the Washington Conference HERE.

 

NPUC Executive Committee Taps Pifher for Stewardship Role

Gordon Pifher has accepted an invitation of the North Pacific Union Conference executive committee to become director of stewardship, leadership and innovation. Currently serving as president of the British Columbia Conference, Pifher and his wife, Marie, will return to the Northwest where they worked for a number of years. He previously served as Upper Columbia Conference youth and family life director, Walla Walla College associate pastor, and most recently, from 1997–2005, UCC executive secretary.

Oregon Conference Gains a New Treasurer

David Freedman has joined the Oregon Conference as vice president of finance. He has spent the past nine years in a similar position at the Texico Conference based in Corrales, N.M. He has also filled treasurer positions in the Illinois and Alaska conferences. Freedman and his wife, Ann, plan to make the physical transition to Oregon sometime this month. This move not only brings him back to the Northwest, but adds another Freedman to the Adventist work on the West Coast. His brother, John, is Washington Conference president. While awaiting Freedman’s relocation, Dale Beaulieu has ably provided interim financial guidance for the conference.

 

Mays Picked as NPUC Disaster Response Coordinator

Larry Mays, Upper Columbia Conference pastor, will add the responsibilities of North Pacific Union Conference disaster response coordinator to his ongoing pastoral role. He takes over for Doug Venn, who is “retiring” from this volunteer position. The important function is provided in part by a small subsidy from each conference to coordinate this critical area of church readiness and community outreach.

 

 

Advent Movements – UCC, Wentland

Representatives from local and state government joined several hundred other people on Monday, June 20, to celebrate the Grand Opening of the newly rebuilt Upper Columbia Conference office building in Spokane, Wash. Robert Folkenberg Jr., UCC president, paid special tribute to the office staff, who, in his words, exhibited “a tremendous spirit and constant commitment to the mission of the church” in spite of the fire and temporary relocation. Bob Kyte, Adventist Risk Management president, says the insurance coverage to replace the original building, destroyed by fire in December 2008, currently represents the largest single payment in the history of the organization. The new one-story office is 4,000 square feet smaller than the facility it replaced. Read more and see a selection of photos HERE.

 

Wayne Wentland is the new Oregon Conference vice president for education, replacing John Gatchett who retired at the end of June. Wentland was most recently Gatchett’s associate. Dale Milam is the new associate director, and will operate from his home-base at Milo Academy in Days Creek, Ore. Carol McLeod has joined the department as an associate.