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ILln another posst in anoher section, I predict who will lbe elected in the Paclifilc Union Conference election, beforel it happens. GM

August 15 & 17 will be the date for the Pacific Uniioin Conference to electl officers, and conduct some other business. I predict the following elections: A major focus of the session will be the election of officers for the coming quinquennium. The nominating committee has recommended the following slate of nominees for the nine elected leadership positions of the Pacific Union Conference: President: Marc Woodson Executive Secretary: Sandra E. Roberts Treasurer: Stephen Mayer Executive Vice President: Alberto Ingleton Vice President for Asian Pacific Ministries: Manuel (Manny) Vitug Vice President for Black Ministries: Leon B. Brown, Sr. Vice President for Hispanic Ministries: Yohalmo Saravia Vice President for Education: James P. Willis, II Remember, lyou heard ilt first, before it had happened, in Club Adventist. Gregory Matthews

I am interjecting a comment just in case there is a lack of understanding what has been a common SDA position. SDAs have often thought that the term Michael the archangel referred to Christ as God in heaven as being in charge of the created angels. It was not a statement that Christ was a created angel.

Global Context: How the US Compares America's 30% weekly attendance rate, while declining domestically, remains significantly higher than most of the developed world. For perspective: Country Weekly Church/Worship Attendance Nigeria 89% Philippines 68% Brazil 45% United States 30% Canada 15% Australia 13% United Kingdom 9% France 7% Sweden 4% Source: Pew Research Global Attitudes Survey 2024 The US remains an outlier among wealthy nations, with attendance rates far above Western Europe, Canada, and Australia. However, the American trajectory appears to be following, with a lag, the secularization patterns that transformed European Christianity in the late 20th century. Whether the US will reach European levels of disaffiliation or stabilize at a higher baseline remains one of the most debated questions in sociology of religion. -------------------------------- Wow, Canada and AU have fallen off a cliff! https://faithscout.com/blog/church-attendance-statistics

Church Attendance Statistics 2026: Trends, Data, and What's Changing By FaithScout TeamApril 7, 202611 min read Last updated: April 8, 2026 Only 30% of Americans attend a religious service weekly in 2026, down from 42% in 2000. But that single statistic masks a far more complex reality: some denominations are growing explosively while others face existential decline, the post-COVID attendance landscape has permanently reshuffled how people engage with church, and the gap between the most-attended and least-attended churches in America has never been wider. This is the most comprehensive collection of church attendance statistics for 2026, drawing from Pew Research Center, Gallup, Barna Group, the Hartford Institute for Religion Research, Lifeway Research, and denominational self-reporting. Whether you're a researcher, church leader, or someone trying to understand the state of American religion, the data tells a story that defies simple narratives. Overall US Church Attendance Rates Church attendance in the United States has followed a steady but uneven decline over the past two decades. However, the rate of decline has slowed since 2023, and some metrics suggest a plateauing effect rather than continued freefall. Attendance Frequency 2000 2010 2019 2022 2026 Weekly (at least once per week) 42% 38% 34% 27% 30% Monthly (at least once per month) 54% 49% 44% 36% 39% Yearly (at least once per year) 71% 67% 62% 54% 56% Never 14% 18% 24% 31% 29% Sources: Gallup Values & Beliefs Survey, Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study, Barna Group State of the Church Report 2026 The 2022 column reveals the pandemic's devastating impact on attendance: a 7-percentage-point drop in weekly attendance from 2019 to 2022, the steepest decline in modern tracking history. However, by 2026, weekly attendance has recovered 3 of those 7 points, settling at 30%. The "never attend" category actually decreased slightly from 2022, suggesting that some pandemic-era dropouts have returned to some level of engagement. Trends Over the Past Decade Looking at the ten-year window from 2016 to 2026 reveals several important patterns: Key trends (2016-2026): Church membership fell below 50% for the first time in Gallup's history in 2020 and has stabilized at approximately 45% in 2026. In 1999, it was 70%. The "nones" grew from 23% to 29% of the population, but growth has decelerated. The annual increase has slowed from roughly 1 point per year in the 2010s to about 0.3 points per year in the 2020s. Post-COVID recovery has been uneven. Evangelical and non-denominational churches recovered faster (to approximately 92% of 2019 levels by 2026) while mainline Protestant churches recovered more slowly (approximately 78% of 2019 levels). Hybrid attendance is now permanent. An estimated 15-20% of regular churchgoers attend at least some services online rather than in person, creating a new "attendance" category that didn't exist before 2020. Church closures accelerated, with an estimated 4,500 Protestant churches closing annually compared to approximately 3,000 new churches opening, resulting in a net loss of roughly 1,500 congregations per year (Lifeway Research 2025). Attendance by Denomination: Who's Growing, Who's Shrinking The denominational landscape in 2026 is defined by a dramatic divergence between growing and declining traditions. The data below reflects the most recent available from denominational annual reports, the Hartford Institute, and Lifeway Research. Growing Denominations Denomination Est. US Adherents (2026) 5-Year Change Growth Driver Non-denominational evangelical 19.4 million +14% Church planting, multisite expansion Assemblies of God 3.3 million +9% Hispanic growth, experiential worship Church of God in Christ 6.5 million +6% Strong community ties, African American growth Anglican (ACNA) 185,000 +22% Liturgical renewal, young adult converts Orthodox (all jurisdictions) 850,000 +12% Convert growth, online visibility Declining Denominations Denomination Est. US Adherents (2026) 5-Year Change Decline Driver Southern Baptist Convention 12.8 million -9% Internal controversies, aging base United Methodist Church 5.2 million -28% Denominational split, church disaffiliations Evangelical Lutheran (ELCA) 2.9 million -16% Aging congregations, fewer young families Presbyterian Church USA 1.1 million -22% Congregation departures, aging membership Episcopal Church 1.5 million -18% Aging membership, parish closures United Church of Christ 680,000 -21% Aging membership, identity challenges Sources: Denominational annual reports 2024-2025, Hartford Institute, Lifeway Research, National Council of Churches Yearbook The United Methodist Church's dramatic 28% decline reflects the historic split over theological disagreements that saw approximately 7,600 congregations disaffiliate between 2022 and 2025. Many of those congregations joined the newly formed Global Methodist Church, which reports approximately 4.2 million adherents worldwide.

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/religious-attendance-and-congregational-involvement/ Far more Americans (67%) say they attend religious services in person a few times a year or less often. This includes about half of U.S. adults who seldom or never attend services. Because of these changes, the results of the two surveys on religious service attendance are not directly comparable. What might appear to be a sharp drop from 50% of U.S. adults describing themselves as regular (at least monthly) attenders in 2014 to 33% describing themselves that way in 2023-24 does not necessarily reflect a real change in behavior. The difference between the two surveys is caused, at least in part, by changes in the ways the surveys were conducted. That said, the Center’s telephone surveys were picking up a decline in religious attendance in the years before we switched over to online/paper surveys. The share of Americans who reported attending religious services at least monthly dropped from 54% in 2007 to 50% in the 2014 RLS and had fallen to 45% by the time the Center transitioned away from phone surveys in 2018-19.

Four drones hit the two main buildings of the Desna Boarding House in Radychiv, Ukraine. The attack occurred at 5:50 am on July 24, 2026. At the time of the attack, there were 15 personnel on the property. The building caught fire as a result of a drone attack, according to Oleksandr Seliverstiv, head of the Novhorod-Siversk Regional Military Administration, via Facebook. Photos: Denys Borodyuk, Suspilne Chernihiv, State Emergency Service, Oleksandr SeliverstovAccording to Denys Borodyuk, director of Desna, there were no casualties, and utilities are working at this time. The boarding house has not been functioning since the beginning of 2022. Desna Boarding House operated as a health and wellness retreat and is a partner institution of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Ukraine is being destroyed, day by day. ------------------------------------------------------------- Poland has retirement buildings for Adventists, similar to the Methodist in USA.

Rory Block | 7 Time Blues Music Award Winner Scroll down to the Church Live video, BRI TV

Since this thread was started, things in Israel have surly changed. What I never see talked about in recent news stories is the extraordinary destruction in Israel. They have been very successful in suppressing the damages there. However, it seems closer to the whole country being destroyed. It is not a far stretch that someone may occupy that place soon. Thank you for posting this. https://www.timesofisrael.com/billions-in-damages-israel-rebuilds-after-iran-war-destruction-in-south-and-north/

Esther(*) Likely a typo that produced the happy face. Thank you for posting this.

Pastor, 86, who has married FIVE times now suspect in double homicide of two ex-wives in coast-to-coast investigation By ALYSSA GUZMAN, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 13:48 EDT, 8 August 2026 | Updated: 14:17 EDT, 8 August 2026 A Missouri pastor, who has married five times, is now under investigation by two different police departments into the deaths of two of his ex-wives decades later. More than 30 years ago, Astrid Bridges was found unresponsive outside her Oregon home by her husband, John Bridges, now 86. Her death was ruled an accident after neighbors said they believed she fell while cleaning the gutters. On July 29, John became the suspect in a reopened investigation of the homicide of Bridges, his second wife. But it's not the only investigation the elderly pastor faces, as across the country, the Louisville Metro Police Department in Kentucky has reclassified his first wife Joyce 'Mable' Bridges' death as a homicide and are asking for the public's help. Joyce was also found unresponsive at her home by John in Kentucky in 1972. He brought her to the hospital, where she was declared deceased. Her death had been ruled an accident, as there was no police or EMS involvement. However, her body was exhumed in 2015, and a new autopsy determined she had died by homicide, police said. John has been officially named a suspect by the Gresham Police Department, however, Louisville has not yet done the same. Pastor John Bridges is now being investigated in the homicides of two of his ex-wives decades after they were found dead 'We consider her husband at the time, John Bridges, to be a suspect in her murder,' Detective Adam Wright, of the Gresham Police, told WDRB. John, who is currently married to Janice Sue Grote, had two other wives, who also mysteriously died. His third wife, Tama Jo Bridges, died in 2011 from hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the coroner's report, viewed by NBC News, said. His fourth wife, Gail Hope Mizell, died in 2024 in Texas. Grote told NBC News that Mizell died after being diagnosed with cancer. Criminal investigations into the deaths of Tama Jo and Mizell have not been opened. Grote, however, kicked her elderly husband out the door after the Gresham Police Department served a warrant to search their Missouri residence. 'I am not afraid of him, and I don’t think he would come back to hurt me,' the 65-year-old wife, who married John five years ago, told NBC News. 'But I don’t want to sleep with a man who is under suspicion of murder. I don’t want to be stupid,' she continued. 'It wasn’t until the police came here from Oregon that I found out they might have been killed.' Astrid Bridges was found unresponsive outside her home in Oregon in 1993. Her death was ruled an accident after neighbors thought she fell while cleaning the gutters Joyce 'Mable' Bridges' was found dead by John inside their Kentucky home in 1972. John has married five times, and four of the wives have died. The other two deaths are not being reinvestigated It is unclear what caused the two police departments to reopen the cases. The Daily Mail has reached out to Bridges and police for comment. In hindsight, Grote is now wondering about the man she married and said his past marriages 'should have been red flags.' 'That’s where I goofed,' she told NBC News. 'I should have listened to the Holy Spirit. I would not be in this position if I had listened to the Holy Spirit.' The pair, who have a 21-year age gap, connected through their faith. She had been on the cover of a magazine published by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the pastor had reached out. Their first conversation was about the faith, the massage therapist said. Despite the age gap, she said it never concerned her, as his previous wives were all around his age. 'It wasn’t a pattern with him. It didn’t worry me,' she told the outlet. Another thing that drew her to John was his storytelling abilities, which she now is questioning. 'I’ve come to realize that the truth doesn’t come easy for John,' she said. 'He didn’t tell me the whole truth about his marriages.' https://www.dailymail.com/crime-desk/article-16038271/pastor-john-bridges-homicide-investigation-ex-wives.html

Tropical Storm Cristobal forms in the Atlantic and a Pacific system could threaten Hawaii Tropical Storm Cristobal formed Wednesday in the Atlantic Ocean well west of the Azores, and a Pacific storm system could threaten Hawaii this weekend, forecasters said. Read More.

Officials say US forces on track to complete Iraq pullout by Sept. 30 The U.S. military is on track to pull all of its forces out of Iraq by the end of September, officials said Wednesday, marking the end of a presence that started with the 2003 invasion against Saddam Hussein. Read More.

Hungary's government plans interventions on Danube River to keep nuclear plant running Authorities in Hungary will begin taking steps to raise the level of the Danube River this week in order to ensure the country's only nuclear power plant can continue operating, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Wednesday. Read More.

☀️☄️ 1 for the road: Twin sky shows People watch today's total solar eclipse in Tarragona, Eastern Spain. Photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images Parts of Europe were treated to a spectacular total solar eclipse today, while one of the year's best meteor showers awaits stargazers tonight, Alex Fitzpatrick writes. Tourists flocked to Iceland, Spain and other areas in the eclipse's path of totality, where the Moon briefly blocked the Sun from view, creating an eerie and awe-inspiring moment of daytime darkness. 🌙 Folks in the Northeastern U.S. and elsewhere were treated to a partial solar eclipse, with the Moon appearing to take a "bite" out of the Sun. The Perseids seen in China in August 2023. Photo: Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images Meanwhile: The annual Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight, as particles from Comet Swift-Tuttle burn up in Earth's atmosphere in often-spectacular fireballs. Tonight's New Moon will make for especially dark skies, promising a good show. Cloud forecast. 🔭 How to watch: Get away from city lights, keep your phone in your pocket to preserve your night vision, and bring a blanket so you can lie down and look up at the whole sky. You can't go wrong with some hot cocoa, either. Go deeper.

🏗️ President Trump's Kennedy Center renovation would polish its Carrara marble facade, remodel its grand halls and theaters, and likely send marquee events offsite over the next few years, according to plans first obtained by Axios' Cuneyt Dil. Go deeper. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving the Trump administration WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, the youngest person to hold the role, will leave the Trump administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her young family. https://apnews.com/article/trump-press-secretary-leavitt-dc3753a957b05ef554bf277221d9cf46? Lawsuit seeks to ban Trump Media from charging for early access to president's posts on US policy President Donald Trump was sued in federal court Wednesday to stop him from making money off a new, paid service at his Truth Social company offering early, exclusive access to his posts on U.S. policy. Read More.

⛽️ Diesel desperation Data: AAA. Chart: Ben Geman/Axios The global diesel market is getting even dicier amid the Iran and Russia-Ukraine wars, Axios' Ben Geman writes. Diesel prices ripple through global economies, affecting shipping costs, construction and much more. 🤑 The average U.S. price is up 44 cents over the last month to $5.32 per gallon as of yesterday, per AAA. That's compared to $3.71 a year ago. The all-time high: $5.82, in June 2022. 📉 A new S&P Global Energy analysis estimates that global refineries processed 7.5 million fewer barrels of crude oil daily last month than during the same period in 2025. A separate International Energy Agency report also shows a steep drop in crude processing. 🛢️ The U.S. has been exporting growing amounts of diesel to the thirsty global market, but S&P says domestic refineries are running at 96% capacity — leaving little room to boost production. Mizuho Securities analyst Robert Yawger said in a note: "The situation is not going away anytime soon, and could very well get more expensive." Go deeper.

New indictment alleges Nick Reiner was lying in wait before killing parents Rob and Michele Reiner LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Los Angeles County grand jury has indicted Nick Reiner on murder charges in the killings of his parents, Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner, and adds the allegation that he was lying in wait before attacking them. https://apnews.com/article/nick-reiner-rob-reiner-murder-indictment-780851649d9851b18bb3335b7bfdb942?

Millions crowd Spanish cities to see country’s first total solar eclipse in over a century MEDINACELI, Spain (AP) — Millions of people crowded cloudless cities and towns in Spain on Wednesday in search of the best views of a total solar eclipse, when the alignment of the sun, moon and Earth briefly plunged parts of the planet into darkness. https://apnews.com/article/solar-eclipse-spain-europe-iceland-sun-4748323b3df8272d546683cc1dbc1d15?

Europe Is Getting an iPhone-Connected Windows 11. Why Aren't We? From iPhone integration to default browser freedom, EU regulation is creating a superior version of Windows 11—and Microsoft has zero plans to bring it home. https://www.pcmag.com/news/europe-is-getting-an-iphone-connected-windows-11-why-arent-we?

Congo’s Ebola outbreak is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history, WHO chief says The ongoing Ebola outbreak in Congo is on track to surpass the deadliest one in history, which erupted over a decade ago and killed over 11,000 people, the head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday. https://apnews.com/article/congo-ebola-outbreak-africa-who-d9bb9bfa9816e278ba36a2382334d65f?