Archives

The Pacific Union College religion department kicked off the school year with its annual spiritual retreat on the weekend of October 1-3. This was a weekend of fun, fellowship, and communion with God in the picturesque location of PUC’s Albion Field Station on the Mendocino coast. “This trip is often the highlight of the year for our theology majors,” says Leo Ranzolin, religion department chair. The weekend’s bonding started on Friday afternoon with a two-and-a-half hour drive from PUC. The road to Albion twists and turns in sinuous curves hugging spectacular cliffs. Upon their arrival at Albion, the students and their guests were treated to a healthy meal at the Albion cafeteria. Freshman religion major Abraham Navarro, noted, “[The food] kept getting better and better.” To kick off the Sabbath, religion and theology students provided a vespers in the recently renovated laboratory building. Theology sophomore Samantha Angeles delivered a moving message on the importance of wisdom. Fellow theology major Jason Whitley, commented, “I loved her sermon. It was a great reminder of what is important for those of us going into ministry.” The Sabbath morning church service was no disappointment, either. With the winding Albion River visible through the windows,...

It was an unusual scene at the Rasmussen Art Gallery on Saturday night, October 2, as groups of people huddled around the main show room, shoving and rolling expensive pieces of art. The creator, Michael McGinnis, stood casually by as people of all ages took turns handling his work. The show, “Superplexus: Sculptural Labyrinths,” is meant to be tactile as it features a series of three-dimensional spherical mazes navigated by a ball bearing. The largest sculpture, the Superplexus Vortex, is nearly 4 feet tall and is priced at $30,000, and the smallest is 8 inches in diameter and available for purchase where toys are sold. Also accompanying the Superplexus are prototypes and drawings, showing the creative journey from idea to completion. McGinnis estimates having spent more than 500 hours on the Vortex. McGinnis, who teaches sculpture and three-dimensional design at Santa Rosa Junior College in California, began designing complex and intricate mazes as a child. He designed and built his first three-dimensional puzzle—a rough ancestor of his acclaimed Superplexus—as a high school junior in Petaluma in 1979. It took over 20 years of numerous revisions to turn that early maze into a marketable form and eventually a stunning work of...

Campus Ministries hosts PUC’s Fall Revival this week, with four special worship services happening at various times in the PUC Church Sanctuary. The featured speaker is Kietrich Germany, the associate pastor of Oakland-Market Street Seventh-day Adventist Church. Germany came to the Lord as a child, inspired by the love of his mother and the faith of his father. He felt that his life was interwoven with God’s presence, and that despite his youthful wanderings, God would not let him go. He became involved in preaching as a teenager, and after one special encounter at prayer conference he felt God’s call to devote his life to pastoral service. He has since studied for ministry at Oakwood and Andrews Universities, and describes his approach to ministry as “a beggar telling other beggars where I found bread.” Fall Revival begins Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Sanctuary, then continues with Thursday events at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday the program concludes with a special morning service at 9:40 a.m. and a final program with Germany at 8 p.m....

Students, faculty, and staff packed the Pacific Union College Church on Thursday, September 23, for the annual Opening Convocation, an annual ceremony to mark the start of a new school year. This year’s ceremony featured Dr. Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. She spoke on the importance of a liberal arts education. Schneider described the shift occurring in higher education towards an emphasis on growing students into responsible members of a global society with intercultural knowledge, a great sense of teamwork, information literacy, creativity and innovation. Naming PUC’s diversity and Adventist heritage as paramount assets to a liberal arts institution, Schneider told the students that the knowledge they gain here will prepare them to become healers of a broken and divided world. “We have our ideals in one hand and a can-do spirit in the other,” she said. “With them, we will have what we need to be part of a just and equitable society.”...

After a quiet summer at PUC, the campus has come back to life as the 2010-2011 school year officially began on Monday, September 20. As students begin classes last week, early registration figures indicate that enrollment will increase this year compared to 2009-2010; it will be the college’s second consecutive year of growth. “It was exciting to see that there were [students’] cars double-parked all throughout the Winning parking lot,” said Scott Callender, PUC’s director of enrollment. “We’re definitely on track to see an increase this year.” The bustle on campus began Wednesday the 15th as PUC welcomed hundreds of new students to campus on Freshman Move-In Day. Freshmen eagerly made their way in to their first college dormitory rooms with the aid of parents and friends. PUC faculty, staff, and student leaders also provided assistance, volunteering in an annual tradition known as “Porter Power.” These campus volunteers helped new students carry in boxes and furniture and offered information and advice about campus life. “We've eagerly anticipated the arrival of our many freshmen, and they finally arrived!” said Lisa Paulson, vice president for student services. “We are going to have a great school year!” Over the weekend the new students...