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David Bell has been a bass member of the Heritage Singers for over three decades. He’s performed countless times with the gospel group. But there’s one most memorable trip.A few years ago, Bell and the Heritage Singers toured the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and - what he said is his “favorite city in the world” - Prague. Local residents hosted the group and their families. “They were just the sweetest people,” Bell recalled, “my wife is still good friends with several of them!”Bell said local residents recounted stories about living under Communism when religious music was illegal. They played the Heritage Singers albums in their basements. Some choir directors would listen to the music and try to transcribe the harmonies and create sheet music. They wanted to sing the songs, but any religious activity was dangerous. “You can tell they really treasure the freedom they have,” Bell said. “Now, a lot of times in the U.S., we can take our freedom for granted, and we complain about all kinds of things that are trivial when we’ve never had to live under that kind of rule.”For Bell, chair of Pacific Union College’s Business Department, that trip showed the power of music as...

Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea, is collaborating with Pacific Union College to enhance the program of both colleges by providing transfer opportunities for undergraduate students. This collaboration will establish a program of academic and research cooperation to contribute their resources to strengthen international education. Sahmyook University President Il Mok Kim and PUC President Ralph Trecartin met on November 7, 2022, to officially approve this agreement.During their meeting, both presidents spent a few hours discussing multiple levels of involvement between their institutions. “There was a very innovative positive spirit between the two groups of leaders looking for new and better ways for two well-established Adventist colleges to work together,” said ​​Gene Edelbach, PUC Vice President for Enrollment, Marketing & Communication.A few years ago, President Trecartin stopped by Sahmyook University for church and to see the campus. As a visitor, he was amazed by the Bible studies going on everywhere and “loved the intentional way they interacted with each person that came through the door.” ”I was treated as family and invited for Bible Study, sermon, and lunch even though I had no connection with the University at that time,'' shares President Trecartin. “Sahmyook University is at the forefront in combining...

Three theology students from Pacific Union College participated in an evangelism class last fall that allowed them to share their faith and the truth of the gospel with three church congregations and the surrounding community in San Francisco. The hands-on class ultimately resulted in nine baptisms.“The theology program at PUC is especially formulated to help students navigate our rapidly changing West Coast culture in biblically guided ways,” said Chair of the Theology Department Jim Wibberding.Wibberding contacted Pastor Dan Serns, president of Central California Conference, hoping to collaborate with him on an evangelism class to take students “from theory to practice.”Serns had an even bigger vision for the class.Along with area pastors and staff from CCC, Serns “pulled the plans together” and gave the students a truly “dynamic experience,” Wibberding said.For 12 hours a day on eight consecutive Sabbaths in October and November, PUC students and participating church members led out in Sabbath School and worship services at three San Francisco Seventh-day Adventist churches—Philadelphian, Central, and Tabernacle. After lunch each Sabbath, students and local members engaged in community outreach—from literature evangelism to Bible studies. Theology student Luiggi Loconi Cruz said his goal going into the class was to focus on youth...

In February, Paulin Hall will host the U.S. premiere of “Jericho Road,” a musical written and produced by Lindsay Morton, associate academic dean for PUC. The show was first produced at Avondale University in Australia, and then in Sydney and Perth. As all three were highly successful, Morton suggested it be done at PUC. The rest, as they say, is history. Written in response to “The Last Five Years,” a musical by Jason Robert Brown, “Jericho Road” is a boy-meets-girl, then boy-leaves-girl story. It centers on Leila, a part coincidentally played by PUC student Leila Beltran, and her husband, Jake, played by PUC student (and music major) Tyler Wilensky.“I fell in love with ‘The Last Five Years,’ and found myself wondering how the story would have been different if the couple had been Christian,” Morton explains. So she began pulling together pieces she’d composed over the years that fit the story she felt developing, and composed a few more around them. The driving questions of “Jericho Road” are: What does it mean to be faithful to a spouse who is unfaithful to you? And how can we be faithful to a God who seems absent?“It’s a difficult topic, but one...

The play, produced by Pacific Union College and PUC Prep, highlights a Reformation movement significant to Seventh-day Adventist heritage.“The Radicals” is a stage production about The Reformation—but not the one you’re probably thinking of. Written by Pacific Union College professor Laura Wibberding and produced in collaboration with the college’s History Department and Pacific Union College Preparatory School, the play tells the story of early Anabaptist leaders. Their role in the reformation was arguably more impactful to the heritage of the Seventh-day Adventist Church than even Martin Luther himself.In the early 1500s, two Protestant Christian movements were sweeping across Europe. The Magisterial Reformation, with leaders like Luther in Germany and Ulrich Zwingli in Switzerland, was supported by rulers—civil magistrates—who enforced conformity to the faith.At the same time, the Radical Reformation also opposed the Catholic Church but firmly eschewed state support. The most well-known group was the Anabaptists, who held that Christianity was a personal decision. That conviction was signified by the “believer’s baptism,” contrary to the christening ceremony of infants.The play features a conversation between Menno Simons, a former Catholic priest who became a prominent Anabaptist leader, and a young female character named Rachel. Their conversation frames each of the play’s...