Winds of change usher in 2012

O n January 8,

2012

Pastor William

Cox, pastor of

the Dayton, Ohio, Ethan

Temple SDA church was

elected president of the Alle-

gheny West Conference in

Columbus, Ohio. On Sab-

bath January 14, Pastor Carl-

ton Byrd was installed as

Senior Pastor of the

Oakwood University SDA

Church in Huntsville, Ala-

bama. The pastor succeed-

ing him at the Berean SDA

Church in Atlanta, Georgia is

Pastor Fredrick Russell, for-

mer President of the Alleghe-

ny West Conference.

Pastor Cox is a native of New

Orleans, Louisiana. He

comes from an Adventist

family led by parents who

have a love for the work of

the Lord. As laymen they

Winds of Change Usher in 2012 P 1

2012 Camp Meeting Schedule P 3

Relationship Sparkle for Retirees P 6

CATARACTS—Your Eye Health for 2012 P 7

I S - PASSPORT FIRST QUARTER 2012

01 THE NEWS LETTER FOR

REGIONAL CONFERENCE RETIREES OF

THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

have been vigorous in supporting

and spreading the Message and

Mission that God has given the

Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Cox is a graduate of Oakwood

University (Huntsville, Alabama),

with a BA in Religion and Theolo-

gy, New Orleans Baptist Theolog-

ical Seminary (New Orleans, La.),

where he received a Master of

Divinity and Master of Arts in

Christian Education and, United

Theological Seminary (Dayton,

Ohio), where he received a Doc-

tor of Ministry degree. His 32

years of pastoral ministry have

been dedicated to populating the

Kingdom of God.

He began ministry in the South-

west Region Conference, head-

quartered in Dallas, Texas, where

he spent 17 years in multiple pas-

toral assignments. He then took

his considerable talents and skills

west to the Southern California

Conference where he pas-

tored the Berean Church in

Los Angeles. He has spent

the past 13 years of his minis-

try in Allegheny West Confer-

ence and leaves the Ethan

Temple congregation in Day-

ton, Ohio to assume his new

responsibilities.

Over 4,000 people turned out

to witness the installation of

Pastor Carlton P. Byrd. They

listened intently as his list of

Spirit blessed accomplish-

ments over the past 16 years

were recounted. Academical-

ly, he is prepared with Bache-

lors degrees in Theology and

Business Administration from

Oakwood; M.Div. from the

Seventh-day Adventist Theo-

logical Seminary at Andrews

University (Berrien Springs,

Michigan); an MBA from Ten-

nessee State University

2012

Happy New Year! this issue

(Nashville, Tennessee), and a Doc-

tor of Ministry from Andrews Uni-

versity.

His pastoral ministry is marked by

signal evangelistic blessings.

Everywhere he has served, the

work of God has grown significant-

ly. After having held a farewell ser-

vice for him in Atlanta, notably

highlighted by the entrance on

queue of 1,700 of the people bap-

tized under his leadership there in

the last five years, hundreds from

his former congregation traveled to

the services at the Oakwood Uni-

versity Church.

They came on three chartered

coaches, a couple of smaller buses

and countless cars to reluctantly

say a final farewell to him. They

watched as he assumed his new

pastoral responsibilities and, as

Speaker Director launched the

Breath of Life Television Ministry,

in its new home in the Oakwood

University Church.

In a service that celebrated those

from his former congregation, Byrd

and his family were welcomed with

warmth, enthusiasm and expectan-

cy from his new church family.

Among those attending were his

parents, Pastor William C. and

Mrs. Carol A Byrd from the South-

eastern Conference (Mt. Dora,

Florida); where his father

leadership role and become the

first person from the Black Com-

munity elected President. The in-

teresting events of 2011 evi-

denced itself in a couple of local

conferences where the delegates

rejected the initial recommenda-

tions of the Nominating Commit-

tees and elected someone else.

These occurrences called to mind

the fact that in the last ten years

there has been almost a 100%

change of presidential leadership

in the Regional Conferences.

Some have even experienced

leadership changes more than

once in that span.

Now we look forward to the rest of

2012 where several conferences

have constituency meetings

scheduled. In one of those con-

ferences there will be a change

because of term limits. Let us

pray that as the winds of change

continue to blow that they will be

blessed with the refreshing

breath, power and wisdom of the

Holy Ghost.

Insurance rate Increase All retirees on the Regional Confer-ence Supplemental Healthcare Assis-tance Retirement Plan (RESHARP), will experience a $30.00 per month rate increase beginning in March 2012. This notice is to remind you that the increase will come as a deduction from you monthly benefit. You are encour-aged to prepare for the change that is coming so as not be caught by sur-prise.

pastors and his mother is Educa-tional Superintendent. A very large number of relatives which in-cluded his twin Brother Carl, his sister Carla, all of his aunts, uncles and a large number of his cousins were in attendance.. After all of the introductions, marked by the spectacular singing of the Aeolians and University Choirs, the pastor took his place in the sacred desk. Quickly the Spirit of the Lord filled the sanctuary and in one voice the two churches, Be-rean and University and all who wit-nessed it via the Internet and televi-sion media, praised God and bore witness to the presence and power of the Holy Ghost. These initial acts of 2012 are the first after an interesting year of leadership changes in several con-ferences and Unions in the North American Division. Swift changes in leadership in the South Western Union election saw the eventual leader serve in several conference positions in different places in a short span of time before being asked to serve as that Union’s new president. He succeeded the previ-ous president who after completing his Quinquennial report surprisingly announced his retirement effective at that Session. In the Southern Union Conference, the fact that the president who an-nounced far in advance of the Ses-sion that he would not stand for re-election, did not preclude an inter-esting turn of events. The Union Secretary there was surprised by his designation to ascend to the

2

Website:

www.regionalretirement.org

Dr. William T. Cox, Sr.

President

Allegheny West Conference

Dr. Carlton P. Byrd

Senior Pastor

Oakwood University Church

The Black American Community is often erroneously look upon as a monolith-

ic group - One group, One mind-set, One trend of thinking, One goal.

That kind of thinking has recently been challenged by Eugene Robinson in his

book “Disintegration”. In it he says there are four Black Americans:

* A Mainstream middle-class majority

* A large Abandoned minority

* A small Transcendent elite

* And two newly Emergent groups—

individuals of mixed race heritage and communities of recent Black

immigrants

A fair question to ask is, are his assumptions and conclusions true within the

Black American Seventh-day Adventist Community? In up-coming issues

of the Passport we will explore this very intriguing question to see where it

leads us. Look for it!

SOMETHING TO THINK

AEC Jun 28 - Jul 8 AWC Jun 8 - 10 Jun 14 -16 CSC Jun 14 -16 LRC Jun 15 - 23 NEC May 24 - 27 Hisp. Jun 29 - 30 Eng. Jul 6 - 7 Aug 15 - 19 Hait.

SAC Jun 7 - 16 SCC Jun 1 - 9 SEC Jun 7- 16 SWC Jun 13 - 17

2012 Camp Meeting

3

Remember African American History Month

Send us the names of each

marked ( ) hero found on the pages of this issue.

Name These Heroes

Receive a FREE book for your correct answers

4

REGIONAL CONFERENCESREGIONAL CONFERENCES

Retirees 4th Quarter 20112011

Years

Rawdon Brown Pastor—SWR 45.3 Brian Carter Pastor—NEC 14.4 Kathern Daniels Secretary– AEC 36 David Glover Pastor—NEC 30 Genoice Hampton Secretary—LRC 18.2 Lavonne Johnson Lit. Evang.—AWC 13.2 Willie S. Lee Pastor—SWR 45.4 Vanard Mendinghall President—SAC 38.6 Nathanael Myrtil Pastor—SEC 27.5 Charles Vento Pastor—SEC 29.1 Keith Wallace Principal–AEC 26

5

Graphics via internetby

1st Quarter1st Quarter Retirement Retirement

Board MeetingsBoard Meetings

January 24-25,

2012 New Orleans, LA

Healthcare Rate Increase March 1, 2012

2nd Quarter 2nd Quarter

Board Meeting April 5, 2012

Huntsville, AL

HAVE

A LOOK...

Website:Website:

www.regionalretirement.orgwww.regionalretirement.org

6

7 Steps to Ignite the‘Sparkle’for Ret rees

1. 1. Make a list of what attracted you to him/her—study it well!

2. 2. Re-embrace what he/she likes (coconut cake, Italian food, etc.).

3. 3. Make an effort to provide his/her favorite thing.

4. 4. Purchase a small surprise gift.

5. 5. Treat him/her to a body massage or spa date.

6. 6. Plan a romantic dinner date by candle light and soft music—

present surprise gift.

7. 7. Retire for the evening with a reminiscing session, thanks

giving, a smile and plans to keep the Sparkle going!

8. Have A Happy Valentine’s Day Year!

PP erhaps the

best way to

prevent cataracts would be for

us humans never to grow old.

However, we all know that that

is not an option. We must

grow and age according to the

time God has allotted to each

one of us.

Grandmothers were adamant

about eating the best quality

and variety of foods to keep

our bodies healthy. Many of

their remedies worked won-

ders.

Today, food science has iden-

tified foods that are rich in an-

tioxidants which fight the oxi-

dative stress caused by free

radicals (robbers that attack

and steal energy from cells).

According to the Nurses’

Health Study*, females who

consistently eat a healthy va-

ABOUT YOUR EYE HEALTH IN 2012

Be the first to decipher the eye chart message. Address envelope and answer to: Regional Retirement Office 7000 Adventist Blvd. Huntsville, AL 35816 FOLLOW THESE MAILING INSTRUCTIONS: PRINT name, address and

telephone number on a 3x5 card.

PRINT on backside of card the FULL MESSAGE. NO CALLS PLEASE!

riety of foods, obtain various

kinds of antioxidants from

whole grains, fruits, and vegeta-

bles.

They were also half as likely to

develop cataracts as the females

who did not eat a healthy diet.

The B vitamins combined with

other antioxidants, expressly vit-

amins C and E may prove to be

our best defense against free

radicals. Since all vegetables

and fruits contain antioxidants,

consuming a well balanced diet

of fresh, good quality foods is a

healthy plus.

Nutritionists promote eating

Continued on page 6

Keep Your EYES on the

PRIZE-WIN TODAY!

‘fresh’ nutrients over antioxidants

in pill form. It has been reported

that healthier lifestyle habits are

usually associated with eating

variety of fresh produce. This

may be the genuine reason this

group is at a much lower risk for

cataracts.

Try these sources of food antiox-idants listed in capacity rank: Small red dried bean 1/2 c Wild blueberry c Red dried kidney bean 1/2 c

Pinto bean 1/2 c

Blueberry (cultivated) 1 c

Cranberry 1 c

Artichoke (cooked) c

Blackberry 1 c

Raspberry 1 c

Strawberry 1 c

7

Catara

cts......

Laugh Out Loud…

Tech Times Issue 00 Month Year

Regional Conference Retirement Plan

7000 Adventist Blvd Huntsville, AL 35816

256.830.5002 ph 256.830.5078 fax

Mature l VE

A Healthy Start…

Little boy:”Did you hear about the 88-year old

man and the 79-year old lady that got married

last week?”

Little girl:“Did they throw rice at them?”

Little boy: “No, they threw lots of vitamins!

A Case for Sweet Justice...?

An old woman was arrested for shoplifting at a

grocery store. When she appeared before the

judge, the judge asked what she had taken.

The lady replied, “A can of peaches.” The judge then

asked why she had done it. She replied, “I was hungry

and forgot to bring any cash to the store.” The judge

asked how many peaches were in the can. She replied,

“Nine.” The judge said, “Well then, I’m going to give

you nine days in jail — one day for each peach.” As the

judge was about to drop his gavel, the lady’s husband

raised his hand and asked if he might speak. The

judge said, “Yes, what do you have to add?” The hus-

band said, “Your Honor, she also stole a can of peas.”

Red Delicious Apple 1

Pecan 1 oz.

Sweet cherry 1 c

Russet potato 1

Black bean 1/2 c

The best antioxidants for eye-health,

according to researchers are Lutein

and zeaxanthin. They belong to a

family of nutrients called carotenoids

(sister to beta-carotene). They are

noted for their presence within the

lens of the eye and may keep the

lens clear of protein buildup. They

also have the power to defuse dam-

aging free radicals. Lesson to be

learned: eat a variety of fresh pro-

duce daily.

Information for this article was taken from ’How Food

Affects Cataracts’- www.joybauer.com

*Nurses’ Health Study - was established by Dr. Frank

Speizer in 1976 to investigate potential long term con-

sequences of oral contraceptives and potent drugs in

women.

From page 7—Cataracts

Catara

cts......