2009

Christmas vacation found several Pacific Union College staff members headed to Egypt with a group of PUC Preparatory School students. The group's goal was to bring some sparkle and service to the Adventist churches in Egypt - where the conference is small and faces a challenging existence. The group spent time at various churches, leading out in the preaching, music, and Vacation Bible School style programs for the kids. The students were a part of it all - even the preaching - supported by sponsors, including youth pastor Jon Thornton, vice president for advancement Pam Sadler, marketing and enrollment counselor Scott Callender and his wife Jenn, and Prep teacher Heather Denton. Sponsors were impressed with the work the students put in. "They have a spirit of service that all ... can be very proud of," Thornton said. "The students were great," Callender recalled. "I was especially proud of them [when they preached] because had to work with a translator, and they did really well." The churches in Egypt are tiny and few. To go to church on Sabbath, the members basically have to take a work day off; Egypt's "holy day" that everybody has off is Friday. "They really have...

"I'm at an age when many professional musicians are jaded," Asher Raboy reflects. "The talent, enthusiasm, caring, intellect, youth and energy of the [PUC] students have taken me away from the jaded and kept my own approach to music fresh and fun." That's why Raboy, long-time director of the Napa Valley Symphony and part-time director and music teacher at Pacific Union College since 2006, is now working with PUC's music department as a full-time resident artist. In fact, he says, being at PUC has "restored a lot of my faith and taken the cynicism away - it's taken about 10 years off my life." Raboy's impressive music career includes serving as the music director of the Napa Valley Symphony since 1990; traveling as a guest conductor and conducting ballets, symphonies, and youth orchestras; and composing, lecturing, writing, and teaching. Raboy continues to compose and direct; he just had a piece played in Binghamton, New York, with another scheduled for eight February performances by the Toronto Symphony. At PUC, he has created a community of music and learning and students are anxious to be a part of it. "Asher Raboy is the most amazing teacher I have ever had," said senior...

Bringing together the work of three minimalists, Traces & Margins opens a world of encaustics, mixed media, and paint from Emily Clawson, Eleanor Wood, and Rebecca Archey. Their work will show at Rasmussen Art Gallery in Angwin from January 10 through February 15, with the opening reception on Saturday, January 10, 7-9 p.m. Admission is free of charge. Emily Clawson, a member of International Encaustic Artists, uses imagery from the natural world in her encaustics. She is a former Pacific Union College student and a graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco; she is represented by Tercera Gallery in Palo Alto and received first place in non-representational painting at the 2008 ArtSpan Benefit Show in San Francisco. Eleanor Wood works in mixed media and shows her work at Don Soker Contemporary Art in San Francisco and across Europe and the United States. Rebecca Archey, another California artist and a PUC graduate, will be showing some of her vibrantly colorful minimalist paintings. The Rasmussen Art Gallery regular hours are 1-5 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The gallery is located on the campus of Pacific Union College at One Angwin Avenue in Angwin. For more information, call 707-965-6303....