Exploring Race, Gender, and Unity in the Adventist Church
Adventist Education is widely spread across the globe. In the Northern American Division, there are over 1,000 schools providing Adventist education for grades pre-school up to college.
In California alone, there are 119 schools that form part of the 1,035 schools available in the NAD.
Education is an important part of a child’s development. The NAD has compiled a list of 10 benefits associated with an Adventist education. To read and learn more, visit the link below.
Southern is notorious for its large population of international students. The photos below help paint a picture of just how diverse our campus is, providing information on all of the cultures represented at our school and a list of the top 5 most common ethnicity’s on campus.
By Estefania Sanchez-Mayorquin
With February being Black History Month, I decided it would be appropriate to create a video celebrating a beautiful gift that God has given us — diversity.
We were created to show God’s love to others. We may all look, talk, think and worship differently. However, when we see past our differences and work towards one common goal, miracles can happen.
“Does anyone remember what they were doing on July 7th, 2016?”
This was the opening statement of Dr. Brian H. Williams, the speaker for last week’s convocation at Southern Adventist University.
On July 7th, 2016 in Downtown Dallas, a black U.S. Army veteran attacked white police officers who were providing security during a peaceful rally that was taking place. Williams shared his experience and explained that he was one of the surgeons on call by coincidence that day in the hospital. He told of the unforgettable memory and explained how he felt at that moment. Being the only black surgeon on call that night, he felt the pressure and all the eyes of the media on him, especially because the patients were white police officers.
In his talk, Williams touched on the issues regarding racial prejudice in the lives of minority. He is a trauma surgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital , a speaker and an activist that talks about topics that aren’t comfortable to all audiences. On his official website, he is described as a speaker who tackles the tough topics head-on, “aiming to inspire empathy and action in his audiences…Dr. Williams shares insights on resilience and racial justice.”
Williams continued the thought by sayings that in that moment, he felt like it didn’t matter what the color of his skin was nor what the color of the injured people were. He was there for one purpose, to save their lives. Williams acknowledged that back in 2016, after the shootings, many people began to form Black lives matter movements, along with White lives matter and All lives matter. Williams shared his thoughts on the movements stating, “Do all lives matter? Of course they do, however, we have to recognize that some lives are given more importance than others.”
He talked about other things he experienced in the field such as racial prejudice and being left out of class and work activities because of his skin color. One of the memories he talked about had a happy ending. He spoke of his days in college when he was in med school. He had continuously felt left out of the scene and never felt welcome, until one white woman stood up for him by telling the others in the group that Williams was also part of the group. After that day, he was more engaged and felt part of the group because one person had stepped up and made a difference in his life.
Williams closed his talk saying, “It takes all of us coming together to make a difference. If you are not a minority, be conscious of what you say and what you do. If you are a minority, think of what you are going to say and what you are going to do.”
My name is Estefania Sanchez. I am 21 years old and currently majoring in broadcast journalism at Southern Adventist University. I am the daughter of two hard-working parents and the second of four children. I come from a Mexican background and was raised to love, respect and appreciate all people.
From a very young age, I was taught that the world is a place full of many beautiful things; and as a result, I have fallen in love with learning. My interest in discovering new things has ignited in me a passion for traveling. I have had the privilege of indulging in the beauty of many places inside and outside of the country. However, I can confidently say that my favorite location is Chiang Mai, Thailand.
My trip to Thailand confirmed that I had a heightened interest in photography and writing. There was something about being able to capture a single moment in a photo or a piece of writing that was magical. It allowed me to share my story and the story of others with people that weren’t there in the moment. I strongly believe that this is one of the greatest treasures a person can possess. Being able to convey stories to others so that they may feel as if they were there is truly a gift that I would not trade.
Over the course of this semester, and through this project, I hope that I can deliver a voice and visualize to people of the world that diversity is beautiful.
By Estefania Sanchez
As we begin to dive in and explore the topic of our big research project, a few questions pop into my head. What is diversity? Why is it important? And most importantly, how is it directly impacting our church?
What is diversity? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the word diversity means “the condition of having or being composed of differing elements: VARIETY”
A couple of years ago, I was given the opportunity to participate in a mission trip that took place in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I will admit, at first I was very nervous. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to communicate with the villagers and locals around me because we spoke two different languages.
Yes, we had translators, but there is something about two groups of people from two different cultures interacting that almost seems like a form of art– a miracle more precisely. I quickly learned that diversity is something that can be found either on the other side of the world or even right next door to you. To be diverse means to bring something to the table of ideas that nobody else has to offer, and combining those ideas with the ideas of others to form a stronger community.
Why is diversity important? Well, to simply put it, without diversity, our world would be pretty dull. Diversity allows us to discover things about ourselves and others that we may never have been able to see. It is a concept that allows us to explore the cultures, lives, and ideas of other people so that we can be more informed as to how we are different from those around us and the impact those differences make. Diversity helps us see the world around us in full color, and it allows us to understand different views and perspectives those around us may have.
How does diversity directly impact our church? In today’s church, we see a rainbow of cultures that gather in one congregation for the same cause; to worship and praise. Seeing that it is not uncommon to have people of many cultural backgrounds meet in one place with the same goal, one must question, ‘”Is it diverse in numbers or is it diverse in cultural participation?”
Yes, diversity is the key to unlocking the background of people’s cultural habits and beliefs, but is it always accepted in the church?
This is a question that is in the process of being answered; and with this project, I hope to have an update soon.