12_4q

Laugh Out Loud…

L eaders come to power

and take their places

in the stream of their predecessors.

Often they give honor to them by

saying that they are standing on the

shoulders of those who have served

before them. Standing signals lack

of motion.

A leader, who operates within his

own sphere, rarely looking outside

of his assigned territory for anything

else that may be of value, is said to

be the victim of a Silo Mentality. In

religious terms, latent in that kind of

thinking may just be a hint of self-

righteousness.

Regional Conferences in the North

American Division of the SDA

SILOS and SHOULDERS

Allegheny’s New President

Beat the Holiday Blues…

Holiday Health Tips

Should I Vote?

I S S U E

Tech Times Issue 00 Month Year

FOURTH QUARTER 2012

04

Church are blessed with a carefully

applied operational autonomy.

Clearly they operate within the gener-

ally accepted policies expected of all

SDA organizations but because of so-

cial and cultural differences, however

slight, they are expressed and imple-

mented differently and sometimes con-

tested vigorously.

It should be emphatically noted here

that historically they have never de-

parted from strict denominational Bibli-

cal beliefs and practices. However,

they have been an ever present

“gentle-needle-of-prodding” in social

matters involving the dignity of man

that has benefitted the World Church

immeasurably.

PASSPORT

Continued on page 2

this issue

THE NEWS LETTER FOR

REGIONAL CONFERENCE RETIREES OF

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

CREDITS EDITOR:

Joseph W. McCoy

ASSISTANT

EDITORS:

Paula E. Thompson

Judith B. McCoy

LAYOUT/DESIGN:

Paula E. Thompson

SDA Regional Conference Retirement Plan 7000 Adventist Blvd. Huntsville, AL 35896 256.830.5002 ph. 256.830.5078 fax www.regionalretirement.org [email protected]

P1

P3

P4

P7

P7

SILOS and SHOULDERS

Henry J. Fordham, III

Allegheny East Conference

‘The New Guard’

Allegheny East Administration Building

Page 3

At Grandma’s...Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents. At bedtime, the two boys knelt be-side their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs. “I

PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE...I PRAY FOR A NEW NINTENDO...I PRAY FOR A NEW VCR… His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, “Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn’t deaf.” To which the little brother replied, “No, but Gramma is!”

A Christmas Gift… A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas. After hearing about this extrava-gant gift, a friend of his said, “I thought she wanted one of those sporty four-wheel-drive vehicles.”

“She did,” the husband replied. “But where was I going to find a fake Jeep?”

Christmas Fireman… In a small Southern town there was a “Nativity Scene” that showed great skill and talent had gone into creating it. One small feature bothered me. The three wise men were wearing fire-

men’s helmets. Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I left. At a “Quick Stop” on the edge of town, I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded into a rage, yelling at me, “You damn Yankees never do read the Bible!” I assured her that I did, but simply could-n’t recall anything about the firemen in the Bible. She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a passage. Sticking it in my face she said “See, it says right here, ‘The three wise men came from afar (many Southerners say “far” for fire).”’

Happy Holidays

Currently Regional Conferences

are faced with declining growth

among its core target group, fal-

tering Church Schools, disap-

pearing ABC’s, a slowed pace of

financial growth and generation

of young adults who just do not

seem to have the unwavering

commitment to the Church of

that characterized their fore-

bears. The times demand col-

laborative visionary deter-

mined rising and running.

In the last two years we have

had leadership changes in 7 of

the 9 Regional Conferences.

Like it or not, activities involving

leadership changes are in the

best sense of the word, political.

In the secular world a politician’s

primary objective is to be re-

elected. The same seems true

in varying degrees in the reli-

gious SDA world. The choice

before these 7 new leaders is

whether to stand on shoulders of

the few in their own silos or rise

out of their silos and run, not

stand, on the shoulders of the

many. The many are the 9 in

the broader sense.

This is the great SDA movement

and while our pace may have

slowed in recent times it is still a

movement. It is said that things

in motion tend to remain in mo-

tion. We are the messengers of

Revelation 14 flying in the midst

of heaven.

7 HOLIDAY HEALTH tips:

Flying indicates unobstructed movement that soars above all

obstacles. These are the End Times. We have an End Time

message. I pray our 7 new leaders see and understand this;

and along with the original remaining 2, call the signals that

quicken the pace for all 9 that finds us rising, running and yes,

flying above all obstacles.

Joseph W. McCoy

Executive Director

Walter Arties First Director/Producer

November 2-3, 2012

L et the holidays begin…! Well, that is with these all important tips in mind. According to About.com—

Senior Health, it’s important to incorporate a healthy lifestyle while planning and enjoying your holiday season. Health and fitness experts say New Year’s resolutions may not be necessary if you can remember the following: 1. Include EXERCISE in your routine daily. 2. Because you’ll be shopping….be mindful of your steps

(as in ped-o-meter steps); make it count for something. Have fun with friends while counting your steps.

3. Because you’ll be sooooo busy...remember to take meds on time and if going out of town...get your refills ahead of time.

4. Always eat your fresh salads first. This prepares the stomach for digestion. Then eat your veggies, which leaves little room for fattening desserts.

5. Pay attention to food and drug interactions. Know what you’re eating (seasonings such as cloves, sage or thyme); often they may interfere with the body’s ability to make use of your meds.

6. Be careful pulling out those year-old decorations...that dust might trigger your allergies.

7. Take your vitamin C and eat plenty of fresh veggies to keep your body’s immune system up. Holidays often mean colds and flu.

Charles D. Books Walter J. Pearson Carlton P. Byrd

Reunion

S ometimes church folk wonder if it’s their Christian duty to vote. The thoughts for not voting vary from the candidates not being very honest— to thinking that voting on certain issues just may com-promise their values. Historically speaking, it was at the third annual ses-sion of the General Conference in 1865, May 17 in Battle Creek, where this conundrum (voting) faced this church. The delegates in attendance were Uriah Smith (elected secretary), J. N. Andrews, J. H. Wag-goner, Joseph Bates, James White (who was elect-ed president of the General Conference at this ses-sion), and Ellen White, I. D. Van Horn (elected treas-urer), M. E. Cornell, and J. N. Loughborough. One of the resolutions adopted at this session was

to express condolences and sorrow for the assassi-nation of Abraham Lincoln. A second was the subject of voting. That resolution stated:

“Resolved, That in our judgment, the act of vot-ing when exercised in behalf of justice, human-ity and right, is in itself blameless, and may be at some times highly proper; but that the cast-ing of any vote that shall strengthen the cause of such crimes as intemperance, insurrection, and slavery, we regard as highly criminal in the sight of Heaven. But we would deprecate any participation in the spirit of party strife.” RH., May 23, 1865 For over 100 years, that resolution has been a guide for the church. It was reaffirmed as the posi-tion of our church the following year. It has never been changed to date. We all have a choice... Let’s exercise it, knowing we have a right and duty to do so. P. E. Thompson, Assistant Editor Information for this article was provided from a reprint from Adventist Review, September 18, 25, 1980, by Paul A. Gordon.

DECODE… Enjoy Happy Holidays!

Passport Staff

“We are the messengers of Revelation 14 flying in the midst of heaven. Flying indicates unobstructed movement that soars above all obstacles.”

Should I Vote?

7 2

Allegheny East Has A New

N ew to the presidency but not to the ‘realm’ of leadership, Elder Henry Fordham , III was

elected to become president of Allegheny East Con-ference at the Fourth Quadrennial Constituency Ses-sion October 7, 2012. In his own words, Fordham states he may not be a perfect president...but a pray-ing president. His territory which stretches from Pennsylvania (east of Potter); Virginia (east of Clarke);2 counties in West Virginia; Maryland (except Garret and Allegheny counties; New Jersey; Delaware and the District of Columbia. He hails from a long line of spiritual leaders , 27 minis-ters to be exact. He humbly accepted his position as he shared his family history of servant leaders. “..two union presidents, six conference presidents and sev-eral teachers.” Although Elder Fordham attended Pine Forge Acade-my, he is a graduate of Oakwood Academy in 1961. He attended Benjamin Franklin School of Science and Arts becoming a certified X-Ray Technician. He married Sharon Elaine Wright. Blessed to this un-ion were three sons and one daughter (deceased). Henry felt the tug of the Holy Spirit in 1970 to enter the gospel ministry—attending Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. Graduating in 1973 with a dou-ble major in History and Theology. The Fall found Elder Fordham matriculating at Ohio State University seeking a Master’s degree in Jewish history. From 1974—1976 he taught at Pine Forge

Academy. He was called to pastor by president Luther R. Palmer. He was ordained in 1979. He would spend the next 34 years serving in pastoral ministry; Ministerial Secretary, Person-al Ministries Director, Director for Religious Lib-erty in AEC Corporation, interim pastor of sever-al conference churches; he has spent the last 12 years as Allegheny East Conferences’ Vice President for Administration before being elect-ed as president. He has traveled extensively as an evangelist in South Africa, East Africa, West Africa, England, Australia, Puerto Rico, Bogota Columbia in South America; he has also accepted assign-ments to conduct campaigns in India, where he met Mother Theresa in Calcutta. His service on several major committees include AEC Corporation, Columbia Union, General Conference of SDA Communications Commis-sion. His extensive work in the communities in Maryland earned commendations from Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore City, the U.S. Con-gress House of Representatives; also the Hon- orable Kwasi Mfume, Democrat from Maryland. He proudly accepted the positon as Mayor for the day in Preston, England and declared a Dis-tinguished Citizen of Louisville, Kentucky by its mayor, David L. Armstrong. His academic due diligence earned him a Doc-

torate in Theology on December 10, 2010, af-ter successfully completing The United Theo-logical Research University’s External Studies and Research scheme as prescribed by the University. Elder Fordham proudly and continuously pro-claims , “We can build on the possibilities and make them realities and by the sweat of our brow and the execution of our faith, we will not only become the avant-garde of our time, but also the children of our Most High God!” Sharon Fordham, Allegheny’s new First Lady, shared her sentiments regarding this sacred appointment by saying, “To think that as a child he played on the grounds at the confer-ence headquarters and, all these years later, God chose him to be the president...It’s an honor that the Lord chose him to lead this great conference in these last days.” Our congratulations to Dr. and Mrs. Fordham for accepting the call and challenge to serve in this capacity; purposed to move the Alle-gheny East Conference forward in these end- times. Front Cover: ‘The New Guard’- Guard—(n)(v) 1. To shield from danger or harm, especially by careful watching; To furnish with a protective piece. Senti-nel; patrol; lookout; watch; watchman; custodian.

Information for this article was provided by the AEC archives and

From page 3—New President

5 Ways to Help Prevent A House Fire By SF Learn State Farm™ Employee

House fires are the number-one disaster threat to homeown-

ers. Between 350,000 and 400,000 house fires occur each

year in the United States. Unlike natural disasters such as

tornadoes and floods, house fires are often preventable.

Observe National Fire Prevention Week this year by taking

these fire-prevention steps to help keep your home and your

family safe.

1. 1. Avoid the sun. Flammable products such as paint thinner

and lacquer can be ignited by heat sources around your

home—even by sunlight streaming through a window. Al-

ways keep flammable products in a cool, dark place and in

their original containers.

2. Control candles. Keep lit candles away from materials that

could easily catch fire, such as curtains. Never light candles

when you’re feeling drowsy—accidentally falling asleep

plays a role in 12 percent of all candle fires. Opt for battery-

operated candles if you want a little bedtime glow.

3. Enjoy your fireplace safely. The National Fire Protection

Association recommends making sure your fireplace has a

sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room. Al-

so, allow fireplace and wood/pellet/coal stove ashes to cool

before disposing in a metal container.

4. Keep your stove company. Never leave the kitchen when

you have food cooking on the stove. If you must leave the

kitchen for any reason, remove the pan from the heat and turn

the burner off.

5. Care for your cords. Electrical cords can produce heat, so

make sure they have room to “breathe.” Never trap them

tightly between a piece of furniture and the wall or run them

under a rug.

To page 6

Check the condition of cords regularly. Frayed wires

or those damaged by pets are potential fire starters. Learn more about preventing fires in the home from the

National Fire Prevention Association.

6 3

www.regionalretirement.org

[email protected]

Having such an impeccable driving rec-ord, I qualify to attend Traffic school. However, my vote has been counted! I plan to be more careful during the next early voting season. Don’t let anything stop you from voting but don’t follow in my footsteps…”Yellow Means Stop!”

Judith McCoy, Assistant Editor

From page 5— “Yellow Means Stop”

P racticing ‘faith’ every-day is a must on this

Christian journey. Scriptures say without it, it is im-possible to please God. We’re also admonished to ‘diligently seek him.’

How fitting then that we re-commit our faith to His cause this holiday season, while seeking to please such a great, good God.

One way to practice faith this holiday season is to believe that God will use our gifts and talents to encourage others who may be depressed, dis-couraged, and discontented. So many suffer from ‘I’m-short-of-moneyitis’, loneli-ness, and despair. We must prove to be the peo-ple who ‘care’ by choosing to relieve the heart-pangs and suffering.

Ways to strengthen our ‘faith’ this season may take on one or more,but not limited to the fol-lowing: Adopting a single-parent family for that special

holiday feast. As a family, embrace a humanitarian project

such as a mission trip, or giving sacrificially from would-be moneys for holiday gifts.

Adopt an elderly widow or widower, disabled community member, out-of-state students, or military personnel to share this time with family.

There are many other ways to show our faith. Any one of the above suggestions will bring great joy and happiness for the season and be-yond. Faith. The ultimate cure for ‘the holiday blues’.

FAIT

H...

4

F rugality. What a great holiday word! It’s stark. It’s bold. It’s so right-on as an

exceptional reminder for stewards to remember to use the means entrusted to them— to wisely appropriate all moneys during the holiday season. Because it’s the holidays, all should be careful to remember our Christian duty to be honest with God in our returning our honest tithe and giving a liberal offering from our hearts. In this tough economy, we must be ever vigi-lant to live and spend within our means.

This holiday season, shall we ponder limiting food choices, decorations, holiday outfits, hair-do’s, nails, gifts, and more— and to be mindful of our ex-penditures. With the savings perhaps we can in-clude others less fortunate then ourselves and lavish them with love and kindness.

BLUES

FRUGALITY...

Perhaps a great savings can be realized in limiting high-end gift purchases, choosing to wear apparel from 2 previous years. Seeking to enjoy a stress-free holiday season can be ours just by wearing the robe of ‘frugality’. No ‘holiday blues’ here!

W hat is a holiday without sprinkles of ‘fun’? When

Thanksgiving comes, or Christmas rolls around, all the preparation; the family’s plans to cook, shop, create, make crafts, contact friends and distant relatives, food-basket give-a-ways and attending the holiday —pageants becomes a humongous source of ‘fun’! Children who have been taught to think of and do for someone less fortunate becomes so exciting. Family Christmas carols for the neigh-bors or nursing homes/hospices. Grandma and mom pull out their best recipes for cookies to send to the neighbor’s son in the military, their best cake for the college students; auntie knits those favorite colored scarves for the homeless; the Pathfinders collect used clean coats for chil-dren in need...holidays don’t get better than that. What ‘fun’...and have we done what Christ has asked...yes! That’s not just ‘fun’ that’s wondrous joy! Away with the ‘holiday blues’! May these holidays find us all in the cen-

FUN...

ter of the will of Christ as we exercise our

FAITH, FRUGALITY—not forgetting the FUN!

Happy Thanksgiving Merry Christmas

Beautiful...but some psychoanalysts ask, “But is it the ideal, or even practical — or just a ‘feel-good’ fix for social ills?”

5

Friday afternoon as I was driving slowly through our small community. I looked to my right and saw a large “Early Voting Here” sign.

I read the sign quickly and realized that they were open and ready for business at the pre-sent hour. I quickly scanned traffic looking for an opportunity to turn around. I moved to my left lane to execute my turn around and did not hesitate to run what I thought to be a “Yellow Light”.

No sooner than I had crossed the lane of traffic, blue lights began to flash and I was quickly pulled over and ticketed. Was I guilty —yes I was. “Yellow Means Stop”—that is a family joke. Was early voting worth it? Yes it was!

Yellow Means Stop

To page 6

Allegheny East Has A New

N ew to the presidency but not to the ‘realm’ of leadership, Elder Henry Fordham , III was

elected to become president of Allegheny East Con-ference at the Fourth Quadrennial Constituency Ses-sion October 7, 2012. In his own words, Fordham states he may not be a perfect president...but a pray-ing president. His territory which stretches from Pennsylvania (east of Potter); Virginia (east of Clarke);2 counties in West Virginia; Maryland (except Garret and Allegheny counties; New Jersey; Delaware and the District of Columbia. He hails from a long line of spiritual leaders , 27 minis-ters to be exact. He humbly accepted his position as he shared his family history of servant leaders. “..two union presidents, six conference presidents and sev-eral teachers.” Although Elder Fordham attended Pine Forge Acade-my, he is a graduate of Oakwood Academy in 1961. He attended Benjamin Franklin School of Science and Arts becoming a certified X-Ray Technician. He married Sharon Elaine Wright. Blessed to this un-ion were three sons and one daughter (deceased). Henry felt the tug of the Holy Spirit in 1970 to enter the gospel ministry—attending Oakwood College in Huntsville, Alabama. Graduating in 1973 with a dou-ble major in History and Theology. The Fall found Elder Fordham matriculating at Ohio State University seeking a Master’s degree in Jewish history. From 1974—1976 he taught at Pine Forge

Academy. He was called to pastor by president Luther R. Palmer. He was ordained in 1979. He would spend the next 34 years serving in pastoral ministry; Ministerial Secretary, Person-al Ministries Director, Director for Religious Lib-erty in AEC Corporation, interim pastor of sever-al conference churches; he has spent the last 12 years as Allegheny East Conferences’ Vice President for Administration before being elect-ed as president. He has traveled extensively as an evangelist in South Africa, East Africa, West Africa, England, Australia, Puerto Rico, Bogota Columbia in South America; he has also accepted assign-ments to conduct campaigns in India, where he met Mother Theresa in Calcutta. His service on several major committees include AEC Corporation, Columbia Union, General Conference of SDA Communications Commis-sion. His extensive work in the communities in Maryland earned commendations from Mayor Kurt Schmoke of Baltimore City, the U.S. Con-gress House of Representatives; also the Hon- orable Kwasi Mfume, Democrat from Maryland. He proudly accepted the positon as Mayor for the day in Preston, England and declared a Dis-tinguished Citizen of Louisville, Kentucky by its mayor, David L. Armstrong. His academic due diligence earned him a Doc-

torate in Theology on December 10, 2010, af-ter successfully completing The United Theo-logical Research University’s External Studies and Research scheme as prescribed by the University. Elder Fordham proudly and continuously pro-claims , “We can build on the possibilities and make them realities and by the sweat of our brow and the execution of our faith, we will not only become the avant-garde of our time, but also the children of our Most High God!” Sharon Fordham, Allegheny’s new First Lady, shared her sentiments regarding this sacred appointment by saying, “To think that as a child he played on the grounds at the confer-ence headquarters and, all these years later, God chose him to be the president...It’s an honor that the Lord chose him to lead this great conference in these last days.” Our congratulations to Dr. and Mrs. Fordham for accepting the call and challenge to serve in this capacity; purposed to move the Alle-gheny East Conference forward in these end- times. Front Cover: ‘The New Guard’- Guard—(n)(v) 1. To shield from danger or harm, especially by careful watching; To furnish with a protective piece. Senti-nel; patrol; lookout; watch; watchman; custodian.

Information for this article was provided by the AEC archives and

From page 3—New President

5 Ways to Help Prevent A House Fire By SF Learn State Farm™ Employee

House fires are the number-one disaster threat to homeown-

ers. Between 350,000 and 400,000 house fires occur each

year in the United States. Unlike natural disasters such as

tornadoes and floods, house fires are often preventable.

Observe National Fire Prevention Week this year by taking

these fire-prevention steps to help keep your home and your

family safe.

1. 1. Avoid the sun. Flammable products such as paint thinner

and lacquer can be ignited by heat sources around your

home—even by sunlight streaming through a window. Al-

ways keep flammable products in a cool, dark place and in

their original containers.

2. Control candles. Keep lit candles away from materials that

could easily catch fire, such as curtains. Never light candles

when you’re feeling drowsy—accidentally falling asleep

plays a role in 12 percent of all candle fires. Opt for battery-

operated candles if you want a little bedtime glow.

3. Enjoy your fireplace safely. The National Fire Protection

Association recommends making sure your fireplace has a

sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room. Al-

so, allow fireplace and wood/pellet/coal stove ashes to cool

before disposing in a metal container.

4. Keep your stove company. Never leave the kitchen when

you have food cooking on the stove. If you must leave the

kitchen for any reason, remove the pan from the heat and turn

the burner off.

5. Care for your cords. Electrical cords can produce heat, so

make sure they have room to “breathe.” Never trap them

tightly between a piece of furniture and the wall or run them

under a rug.

To page 6

Check the condition of cords regularly. Frayed wires

or those damaged by pets are potential fire starters. Learn more about preventing fires in the home from the

National Fire Prevention Association.

6 3

www.regionalretirement.org

[email protected]

Having such an impeccable driving rec-ord, I qualify to attend Traffic school. However, my vote has been counted! I plan to be more careful during the next early voting season. Don’t let anything stop you from voting but don’t follow in my footsteps…”Yellow Means Stop!”

Judith McCoy, Assistant Editor

From page 5— “Yellow Means Stop”

Currently Regional Conferences

are faced with declining growth

among its core target group, fal-

tering Church Schools, disap-

pearing ABC’s, a slowed pace of

financial growth and generation

of young adults who just do not

seem to have the unwavering

commitment to the Church of

that characterized their fore-

bears. The times demand col-

laborative visionary deter-

mined rising and running.

In the last two years we have

had leadership changes in 7 of

the 9 Regional Conferences.

Like it or not, activities involving

leadership changes are in the

best sense of the word, political.

In the secular world a politician’s

primary objective is to be re-

elected. The same seems true

in varying degrees in the reli-

gious SDA world. The choice

before these 7 new leaders is

whether to stand on shoulders of

the few in their own silos or rise

out of their silos and run, not

stand, on the shoulders of the

many. The many are the 9 in

the broader sense.

This is the great SDA movement

and while our pace may have

slowed in recent times it is still a

movement. It is said that things

in motion tend to remain in mo-

tion. We are the messengers of

Revelation 14 flying in the midst

of heaven.

7 HOLIDAY HEALTH tips:

Flying indicates unobstructed movement that soars above all

obstacles. These are the End Times. We have an End Time

message. I pray our 7 new leaders see and understand this;

and along with the original remaining 2, call the signals that

quicken the pace for all 9 that finds us rising, running and yes,

flying above all obstacles.

Joseph W. McCoy

Executive Director

Walter Arties First Director/Producer

November 2-3, 2012

L et the holidays begin…! Well, that is with these all important tips in mind. According to About.com—

Senior Health, it’s important to incorporate a healthy lifestyle while planning and enjoying your holiday season. Health and fitness experts say New Year’s resolutions may not be necessary if you can remember the following: 1. Include EXERCISE in your routine daily. 2. Because you’ll be shopping….be mindful of your steps

(as in ped-o-meter steps); make it count for something. Have fun with friends while counting your steps.

3. Because you’ll be sooooo busy...remember to take meds on time and if going out of town...get your refills ahead of time.

4. Always eat your fresh salads first. This prepares the stomach for digestion. Then eat your veggies, which leaves little room for fattening desserts.

5. Pay attention to food and drug interactions. Know what you’re eating (seasonings such as cloves, sage or thyme); often they may interfere with the body’s ability to make use of your meds.

6. Be careful pulling out those year-old decorations...that dust might trigger your allergies.

7. Take your vitamin C and eat plenty of fresh veggies to keep your body’s immune system up. Holidays often mean colds and flu.

Charles D. Books Walter J. Pearson Carlton P. Byrd

Reunion

S ometimes church folk wonder if it’s their Christian duty to vote. The thoughts for not voting vary from the candidates not being very honest— to thinking that voting on certain issues just may com-promise their values. Historically speaking, it was at the third annual ses-sion of the General Conference in 1865, May 17 in Battle Creek, where this conundrum (voting) faced this church. The delegates in attendance were Uriah Smith (elected secretary), J. N. Andrews, J. H. Wag-goner, Joseph Bates, James White (who was elect-ed president of the General Conference at this ses-sion), and Ellen White, I. D. Van Horn (elected treas-urer), M. E. Cornell, and J. N. Loughborough. One of the resolutions adopted at this session was

to express condolences and sorrow for the assassi-nation of Abraham Lincoln. A second was the subject of voting. That resolution stated:

“Resolved, That in our judgment, the act of vot-ing when exercised in behalf of justice, human-ity and right, is in itself blameless, and may be at some times highly proper; but that the cast-ing of any vote that shall strengthen the cause of such crimes as intemperance, insurrection, and slavery, we regard as highly criminal in the sight of Heaven. But we would deprecate any participation in the spirit of party strife.” RH., May 23, 1865 For over 100 years, that resolution has been a guide for the church. It was reaffirmed as the posi-tion of our church the following year. It has never been changed to date. We all have a choice... Let’s exercise it, knowing we have a right and duty to do so. P. E. Thompson, Assistant Editor Information for this article was provided from a reprint from Adventist Review, September 18, 25, 1980, by Paul A. Gordon.

DECODE… Enjoy Happy Holidays!

Passport Staff

“We are the messengers of Revelation 14 flying in the midst of heaven. Flying indicates unobstructed movement that soars above all obstacles.”

Should I Vote?

7 2

Laugh Out Loud…

L eaders come to power

and take their places

in the stream of their predecessors.

Often they give honor to them by

saying that they are standing on the

shoulders of those who have served

before them. Standing signals lack

of motion.

A leader, who operates within his

own sphere, rarely looking outside

of his assigned territory for anything

else that may be of value, is said to

be the victim of a Silo Mentality. In

religious terms, latent in that kind of

thinking may just be a hint of self-

righteousness.

Regional Conferences in the North

American Division of the SDA

SILOS and SHOULDERS

Allegheny’s New President

Beat the Holiday Blues…

Holiday Health Tips

Should I Vote?

I S S U E

Tech Times Issue 00 Month Year

FOURTH QUARTER 2012

04

Church are blessed with a carefully

applied operational autonomy.

Clearly they operate within the gener-

ally accepted policies expected of all

SDA organizations but because of so-

cial and cultural differences, however

slight, they are expressed and imple-

mented differently and sometimes con-

tested vigorously.

It should be emphatically noted here

that historically they have never de-

parted from strict denominational Bibli-

cal beliefs and practices. However,

they have been an ever present

“gentle-needle-of-prodding” in social

matters involving the dignity of man

that has benefitted the World Church

immeasurably.

PASSPORT

Continued on page 2

this issue

THE NEWS LETTER FOR

REGIONAL CONFERENCE RETIREES OF

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

CREDITS EDITOR:

Joseph W. McCoy

ASSISTANT

EDITORS:

Paula E. Thompson

Judith B. McCoy

LAYOUT/DESIGN:

Paula E. Thompson

SDA Regional Conference Retirement Plan 7000 Adventist Blvd. Huntsville, AL 35896 256.830.5002 ph. 256.830.5078 fax www.regionalretirement.org [email protected]

P1

P3

P4

P7

P7

SILOS and SHOULDERS

Henry J. Fordham, III

Allegheny East Conference

‘The New Guard’

Allegheny East Administration Building

Page 3

At Grandma’s...Two young boys were spending the night at their grandparents. At bedtime, the two boys knelt be-side their beds to say their prayers when the youngest one began praying at the top of his lungs. “I

PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE...I PRAY FOR A NEW NINTENDO...I PRAY FOR A NEW VCR… His older brother leaned over and nudged the younger brother and said, “Why are you shouting your prayers? God isn’t deaf.” To which the little brother replied, “No, but Gramma is!”

A Christmas Gift… A guy bought his wife a beautiful diamond ring for Christmas. After hearing about this extrava-gant gift, a friend of his said, “I thought she wanted one of those sporty four-wheel-drive vehicles.”

“She did,” the husband replied. “But where was I going to find a fake Jeep?”

Christmas Fireman… In a small Southern town there was a “Nativity Scene” that showed great skill and talent had gone into creating it. One small feature bothered me. The three wise men were wearing fire-

men’s helmets. Totally unable to come up with a reason or explanation, I left. At a “Quick Stop” on the edge of town, I asked the lady behind the counter about the helmets. She exploded into a rage, yelling at me, “You damn Yankees never do read the Bible!” I assured her that I did, but simply could-n’t recall anything about the firemen in the Bible. She jerked her Bible from behind the counter and ruffled through some pages, and finally jabbed her finger at a passage. Sticking it in my face she said “See, it says right here, ‘The three wise men came from afar (many Southerners say “far” for fire).”’

Happy Holidays

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