An article on the front page of the University of Idaho’s “Argonaut” about the University’s recent Health and Wellness Fair focused several paragraphs on the health ministry of local Adventists.
The one-day annual Fair, held in Moscow, Idaho, began 14 years ago with strong support of Adventists then on the University’s faculty. The Fair continues to grow, and this year was moved to a new location, according to the bylined story.
Staff writer Diana Crabtree reported that about 50 exhibitors provided fairgoers with written information and food samples.
“One booth promoted alcohol-free food and drink alternatives,” she noted. “Ernesto Douglas Venn, a Seventh-day Adventist Church pastor, was in charge of the booth.
“‘One of our focuses as a church is to link a healthy and balanced lifestyle with religion,’ he said. The booth included non-alcoholic recipes and free smoothies. The smoothies proved to be a hot item at the fair. One year the church gave away 1,500 smoothies, and this year they estimated they would give away at least 1,000, Venn said.”
In follow-up comments, Venn noted that “we served non-alcoholic mocktails to over 1,100 students, faculty, and staff members…This is another example of how we are sharing Christ with the students at the University of Idaho.”
Venn, an Adventist church planter, directs the Adventist Christian Fellowship on campus.
