Tribute and Transition

In the first editorial that I wrote for Spectrum in 1998, I spoke of Spectrum as a place: “A place that is as important to the growth and development of Adventism as Battle Creek, Takoma Park or Loma Linda. A place where we find community in our conversations, our dreams and ideas, our stories of God with us in past, present and future tenses. A place we are continually remodeling as we renew and reshape our relationships with God and each other.”

At that time there was no website, just a quarterly journal. In the years since, two of the people who have played significant roles in turning Spectrum into a place for real conversation have been Alita Byrd and Alexander Carpenter. As the blog transitions from Alex’s leadership to Alita’s, I would like to pay tribute to both of them and extend my great appreciation for what they have done for Spectrum.

To Alita first, because it was she as an officer of the Association of Adventist Forums, who lobbied early and significantly for the creation of a website. Her journalistic abilities have been demonstrated in stories such as the trial of the Rwandan pastor convicted of genocide, the change in leadership at ADRA, a profile of Virginia Gene Rittenhouse and the numerous interviews on the website. We are grateful that she is willing to take on the blog on an interim basis.

To Alex, who came to work at the Spectrum office not long after his graduation from Andrews University, and talked about the growing journalistic significance of blogging. My thanks for his passion and exuberance, multitasking ability, interest in all things Adventist, and daily dedication to the blog; he has made our website a fascinating place for conversation.

The transition that took place yesterday is part of that continual remodeling that I wrote of in 1998. It was Alex, who earlier yesterday in his farewell post, said that the “best is yet to come.” May it be so. 

Alexander Carpenter, former Spectrum blog editor

Alita Byrd, interim Spectrum blog editor