Search - by Jonathan Watts

Frances Knight, a lecturer in theology and history at the University of Wales, will present a lecture entitled "The Great Divorce: Could the Church of England and the Monarchy Stay Together Under Charles III?" The lecture begins at 7 p.m. Monday, April 21, at Pacific Union College's Dauphinee Chapel. In her talk, Knight will trace the problems of the modern Royal Family to developments which took place in the nineteenth century. In 1996 Knight published a book on the Church of England, entitled The Nineteenth-Century Church and English Society. She is a graduate of King's College, London, and received her doctorate from Cambridge University.Knight's lecture is part of Pacific Union College's Forum Lecture Series. She will answer questions from panelists and from the audience after her lecture....

Melissa Rose, an Angwin resident and an engineering technology student at Pacific Union College, was sponsored by Mitsubishi to participate in the National Design Engineering Show and Conference in Chicago. During her all expenses-paid trip, which lasted from March 9 to 13, Rose enjoyed royal treatment: a room in the Hyatt Regency, a hefty stipend, and job offers from engineering firms around the country.Rose's job at the conference involved demonstrating how Mitsubishi's 3D Pro accelerator program could speed up Microstation, a computer automated design (CAD) program by Bentley Systems. Rose also answered visiting engineers' questions about the different capabilities of Microstation."It was interesting to meet all the different engineers and talk to them, and to see all the job opportunities out there and how well my major is preparing me," said Rose, who plans to go into aerospace engineering. She especially benefitted from talking with the aerospace engineers: "They told me what people are looking for and what they expect their incoming engineers to know," she said.Rose made such a good impression on the visiting engineers that she received twelve job offers, several of which were for management positions in computer-automated design. But she wants to finish her education first....

Christian singers Bryan Duncan, Crystal Lewis, and Anointed will perform in concert at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 28, at Lincoln Theater, Veterans' Home of California in Yountville. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Children under six are free.The concert is sponsored by Pacific Union College and the Pacific Union College Student Association. It is part of the artists' Big Voice Tour, which is taking place from April to May and September to November of this year, and will include performances in 40 U.S. cities.The Big Voice Tour concert will last approximately two and a half hours, featuring distinct, although complementary, styles of music. Bryan Duncan and Crystal Lewis both have a pop soul style with a bit of R & B, and the trio Anointed's style is R & B with a hint of gospel. Duncan will perform songs from his tenth solo album Blue Skies, which was released in late 1996, as well as from his other albums. Lewis will sing from her 1996 album Beauty for Ashes. And the up-and-coming trio Anointed will present songs from their latest album Under The Influence. Bryan Duncan, Crystal Lewis, and Anointed have all been nominated for...

Pacific Union College is conferring an honorary doctor of music degree on Herbert Blomstedt, music director laureate of the San Francisco Symphony, at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 15, in the college's Paulin Hall. Blomstedt will also be inducted into the prestigious Pi Kappa Lambda music honors society during the event. A reception will follow in the Fireside Room."We would like to honor Herbert Blomstedt for his musical contributions and his Christian life," said Malcolm Maxwell, president of Pacific Union College. "He is regarded as one of the finest musicians in the world. We think of him as a very fine Seventh-day Adventist Christian as well, someone who is proud of his Christianity." Blomstedt was music director of the San Francisco Symphony from 1985 to 1995. He is now music director of the NDR Symphony Orchestra in Hamburg, Germany, and is an active recording artist and guest conductor with other leading orchestras around the world. Blomstedt has been invited each year to return as guest conductor of the San Francisco Symphony, which he will conduct on March 20 and 22.Blomstedt has received many awards and honors, including two Grammy Awards (1996, 1993), the Grand Prix du Disque (1992), the Litteris et...

Charlie Brown, land management director at Pacific Union College, is "dad" and "grandpa" to a large number of foster children. He and his wife Pat, who have three grown biological children, have been foster parents to a total of 67 children over the past 27 years.The Browns have lived in Angwin since 1973, and are members of the Pacific Union College church. They got into the foster-care field after hearing about the need for good foster homes. "We decided to give it a try as long as the state would give us children younger than our own," said Brown.The Browns' condition was met, and for 17 years they provided shelter and care to battered and abused children of a variety of ages. For the last ten years, the Browns have worked with medically fragile infants, most of whom were drug-addicted at birth. "We just tough it through with them and give them a lot of care and a lot of holding," said Brown.The babies take anywhere from three months to a year to withdraw from drugs; and while they do, the Browns have to care for them constantly. "I try to go to bed early and sleep until about 3...

Jerry Dodrill, a senior fine art major at Pacific Union College, tied for second place in "The California Dream" student photography competition, sponsored by Mumm Cuvee Napa, the Academy of Art College, and by Canon. In addition to receiving a $1,000 prize and a Canon camera, Dodrill is displaying eight of his photographs in "The California Dream" art exhibition together with the contest judges, Ruth Bernhard, Robert Cameron, Galen Rowell, Robert Buelteman, and James Wood. Ngan-Ha Ho, who won first prize, and Shen-Fa Lin, who tied with Dodrill for second, are displaying works as well."I could hardly believe it when I heard that Jerry will be in an exhibition with Ruth Bernhard, Galen Rowell, and the other judges," said Tom Turner, assistant professor of art at Pacific Union College. "It's a real honor, almost like sharing an exhibit with Ansel Adams."Most of Dodrill's photographs, which are gelatin silver prints, are taken outdoors."I really deal with texture, like the texture of corrugated metal," said Dodrill. "Usually my stuff is close up. I take a lot of pictures of old things, like old buildings or an old furnace door. Rock climbing is one of my main interests. I did a climbing shot...

History professor Keith Francis is a key facilitator of PUC's celebration of Black History Month. Francis has been a co-sponsor of Beta Sigma Phi (a student club, also called the Black Student Forum, which organizes Pacific Union College's celebration of Black History Month) since coming to Pacific Union College from England in 1990.Francis, whose parents emigrated to Britain from Grenada in the West Indies, was born and raised in London. He earned a master's degree at King's College, London, and taught communication and history at Newbold College prior to coming Pacific Union College. Francis recently became chair of Pacific Union College's history department, where he teaches Christian history and European history. He completed his doctoral degree in church history from King's College in 1996. His thesis examined the influence of the Anglican church on Parliament in the early 20th century.Francis sees his role as a sponsor of Beta Sigma Phi as an opportunity to promote Christian education among Pacific Union College's constituency. "I've always been interested in minority recruitment, particularly black recruitment," he said. "This is a way I can recruit while still pursing my career as a historian."Francis, usually accompanied by members of Beta Sigma Phi, regularly visits the...

Feeling the need for prayer support as they face the challenges of college life, a number of Pacific Union College students and faculty have formed an online prayer network."We needed an online prayer chain to bring people together so that they could pray for problems and individual situations on campus," said Hans Smith, a sophomore media technology major. Smith started the prayer network early autumn quarter along with some friends.The prayer network includes about 20 men and women, including three faculty and staff. While all members of the prayer network are able to e-mail prayer requests to each other, they generally pass their requests on to Smith, who forwards them to everybody on the list, deleting names on sensitive requests to ensure privacy.The network members have already seen some remarkable answers to their prayers. Early autumn quarter, Smith asked the network to pray for his financial situation, which he feared would force him to leave Pacific Union College. He soon found out about two loan options that enabled him to stay in school. Just before Thanksgiving vacation, the network prayed for a person who was suffering from recurring bouts of depression. "We prayed intensely for this person," said Smith. "Even...

If you are looking for a lively and interactive church service, visit the Youth Chapel on the second Sabbath of every month. What's inside may surprise you. At first glance, if you stick your head in at the right time, you may see what looks like a crowd of elementary-school children, acting surprisingly grown up, watching several unshod grown-ups act shockingly childish. This is Children's Church, led by Rita Hoshino, student services assistant director. She and some friends, including Mike and Michelle Mesnard, Cliff Rusch, Milbert Mariano, and Betsey Ross are working to help children in grades one to six learn about church through participation."Our goal is to bring the church service down to a child's level," said Rita. "The first thing we do is take off our shoes. There's nothing that makes a woman look grown-up like her shoes."Children's Church starts out with what Hoshino calls "mover music," spiritual, spirited songs that require action. "This is to get the wiggles out of them," said Rita. "We gradually go to quieter and more worshipful songs, so that everyone is quieted down for prayer."The kids are encouraged to share prayer requests at prayer time. This can make things rather interesting, because...

You are invited to hear noted Christian writer and editor Philip Yancey speak in the Pacific Union College Church at 8 p.m. Friday, January 17; and at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, January 18. Admission to both services is free. Yancey, who serves as editor-at-large for Christianity Today magazine, has written 12 books, including The Jesus I Never Knew, Where Is God When It Hurts, and Disappointment With God....