Pacific Union College Student Sets Record at the California Pacific Conference Cross Country Championships — and More News Shorts
In this week’s news round-up, PUC student Justin Roosma sets a cross country course record, a church in Alabama hosts rally against domestic violence, a part-time Adventist youth pastor dances on Dancing with the Stars, and Loma Linda and the Adventist lifestyle are featured on CNN.
Pacific Union College Student Sets Record at the California Pacific Conference Cross Country Championships. Pacific Union College student Justin Roosma recently set a course record in winning the individual title at the California Pacific Conference Cross Country Championships at Woodward Park in Fresno, finishing the 8K-race in a time of 24:56. His victory captured a litany of historical achievements, including being the first freshman to win the CalPac title and being the first PUC athlete to win a CalPac cross country title. On top of all that, he automatically qualified for the 64th NAIA Cross Country Championships, scheduled in Vancouver, Washington; was named to the All-CalPac first team, as one of the top seven finishers; and recorded the fastest time at a CalPac Championship, bettering the previous mark by 16 seconds, according to a report on the conference’s website.
Though contacted by several schools, including the University of Portland, Washington State, and the U.S. Naval Academy when he was running cross country and track for Walla Walla Valley Academy, he chose Pacific Union College. Bob Paulson, Roosma’s uncle, is the chairman of the Exercise Science Department at Pacific Union and is a former Pioneers coach who was honored as the California Pacific Conference Coach of the Year for cross country. “This has definitely been great for me, as I’ve been able to continue to develop my skills,” said Roosma, a freshman, who is majoring in exercise science. From Napa Valley Register, “College Cross Country: Pacific Union College freshman Justin Roosma making history for Pioneers.”
Adventist Alabama Church Hosts Rally to Counter Domestic Violence. Cody Road Seventh-Day Adventist hosted an end-the-violence rally in Mobile. Alabama. The issue of domestic violence is one Pastor Fernando Leite says he can't ignore. "We just want to create awareness, there is help out there…. We should all together churches and community come together to say no to violence," Leite said. The rally featured a panel including counselors and survivors discussing how to get out of an abusive situation or how to help someone else. Pastor Leite says he often counsels couples who face issues daily. "There is a lot of domestic violence in families," he said. "I'm a pastor; I deal with families on a daily basis. There are so many kids in abusive homes and we are seeing that as ministers as leaders. "This is a taboo, people are quiet," he said. "It takes a while for a victim to come out because there is so much things involved." From NBC 15, “Church holding domestic violence rally in Mobile.”
SDA Youth Pastor Dances on “Dancing with the Stars.” Kel Mitchell, a part-time Seventh-day Adventist youth pastor at Spirit Food Christian Center in Winnetka, Los Angeles, brings energy to his preaching onstage at the church where he served, according to his “Dancing with the Stars,” partner Witney Carson. Mitchell and Carson turned in an impeccable paso doble to En Vogue's “Free Your Mind.” That same energy showed up in a tight, fierce performance that rocked judge Bruno Tonioli with its force. Mitchell has worked on other television shows, including Nickelodeon. From Daily Mail, “Dancing With The Stars: Sean Spicer FINALLy gets eliminated as Ally Brooke earns perfect 10s twice.”
Loma Linda Featured by CNN. Spanish for "beautiful hill," Loma Linda, California, is a city known as an epicenter of health and wellness, with more than 900 physicians on the campus of Loma Linda University and Medical Center. This city of 21,000 is one of the five original blue zones, regions in the world where people live longest and are the healthiest. In fact, the people in this community tend to live eight to 10 years longer than the average American. Experts say that is because Loma Linda has one of the highest concentrations of Seventh-day Adventists in the world. The religion mandates a healthy lifestyle and a life of service to the church and community, which contributes to their longevity. "Even our non-vegetarians are relatively low meat consumers," said Dr. Michael Orlich, the principal investigator of the Adventist Health Study-2, dedicated to examining the link between healthy lifestyle factors and disease in 96,000 Seventh-day Adventists in the United States and Canada. From CNN, “What this sunny, religious town in California teaches us about living longer.”
Please note: Spectrum news round-ups are an aggregation of regional, national, and international publications around the world that have reported on stories about Adventists. As such, the accuracy of the information is the responsibility of the original publishers, which are noted and hyperlinked at the end of each excerpt.
Pam Dietrich taught English at Loma Linda Academy for 26 years and served there eight more years as the 7-12 librarian. She lives in Yucaipa, California.
Photo courtesy of Pacific Union College.
We invite you to join our community through conversation by commenting below. We ask that you engage in courteous and respectful discourse. You can view our full commenting policy by clicking here.
