On June 23, 2019, the Woodland (Wash.) Church family joined together to celebrate the graduation of their seven graduates.
Sabbath morning started out by having all the graduates up front for a special prayer/dedication by Ben Moor, Woodland Church pastor.
Six of the seven graudates were born, dedicated and raised in the church. Some were even baptized in the church. It has been a real joy to watch these young people grow into the sweet loving Christian young adults they are today. They are loved so much, and the Woodland Church family hopes they will always remember where home is.
All these students graduated on the same weekend and in five different locations. Since it was impossible to make it to all the graduations, the Woodland Church decided to have one big party for them all. The center was packed with church family wishing them the best for their future. Everyone enjoyed good food and fellowship with the young people. The graduates decorated a table with all their memorabilia from high school and pictures of their graduations.
Marty and Connie Jackson, Cedar Creek (Woodland, Wash.) Church pastoral couple, were also there from the beginning and dedicated these graduates as babies and baptized some of them. The Jacksons were able to join the celebration and offer words of encouragement and prayer for the graduates. It has meant a lot to the kids for them to remain so close and to stay in contact with this community the past few years.
Colby Tucker graduated from Kalama High School and two weeks later from Lower Columbia College with his associate's degree. Colby will be attending Washington State University and pursuing a master's degree in engineering.
Abby Ross graduated Upper Columbia Academy (Spangle, Wash.) and will be attending Union College in Lincoln, Neb., to get her nursing degree.
Riley White graduated Columbia Adventist Academy (Battle Ground, Wash.) and is still deciding what he wants to do.
Grace Ahola and Addison Bennett graduated from Upper Columbia Academy also. Ahola will be attending Eastern Washington University and majoring in music. Bennett heads to Clark College to get a business degree.
Brayden White graduated from LaCenter High School and will be attending Walla Walla University to study industrial design.
Jasmine Wright graduated from HeLa High School in Vancouver, Wash., and is going to Walla Walla University to become a nurse.
We wish them all a very happy, successful life.