Southeastern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists

06/01/2026

June 1, 2026

RIVERSIDE, CALIF.— The Southeastern California Conference (SECC) is excited to announce the appointment of Richard Harrison to the role of Legal Counsel & Director of Legal/ Property Services. He will begin his role on June 21, 2026.

In these roles, he will provide legal counsel and services to the Conference and its churches, schools, and affiliated ministries, while also overseeing property transactions, leases, tax matters, regulatory compliance, and other property-related issues. Together, these responsibilities support the faithful stewardship of assets dedicated to the Lord’s work.

Harrison recently served as Director for Planned Giving at the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International in Silver Spring, Maryland. Prior to that, he served as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Western Adventist Foundation in Scottsdale, Arizona. His history with SECC includes previous service as an attorney and trust officer, as well as Assistant Director for Summer Camp at Pine Springs Ranch, where he served for ten summers.

Harrison is licensed to practice law in California and Arizona and is a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving. He holds degrees from the University of California, Irvine, and Trinity Law School. He enjoys creative problem-solving, golf, and traveling the world with his wife Randall and their two children, Lucas and Alara.

05/31/2026

05/20/2026

On May 19, held at the Corona Seventh-day Adventist Church, pastors from around the conference gathered for an annual pastors meeting to hear updates happening within Conference departments and ministries.
The day began with a devotional message shared by Mike Cauley, who serves as executive coach to pastors within Southeastern California Conference (SECC). Throughout the day, numerous department reports were shared. Conference Executive Secretary, Patty Marruffo provided a report regarding conference membership and statistics. Beginning January 1, 2025 SECC’s membership included 68,863. To date, conference membership has increased to 70,327. God is moving in our territory through baptisms and professions of faith through the dedication of our pastors.
Marruffo continued her report to introduce the SECC Crisis Response Team (CRT), which provides support for emotional and spiritual care within the Adventist community during crisis, not limited to churches, schools, and institutions within the conference. The Crisis Response Team works in collaboration with Adventist Community Services, local first responders, and community emergency services.
Further updates were shared including updates to eAdventist, and other reports from conference personnel included Human Resources, the Office of Education, Ministerial, and the Youth department. Conference Treasurer, Verlon Strauss shared an update on conference finances which included a report on property insurance and church and school subsidies. SECC is grateful for the hard work its pastors do to help keep the conference financially responsible.
New pastors were welcomed into the conference pastoral community, six pastors were celebrated for the academic achievements, and five were recognized as recently retired with a combined number of 170 years of service within our conference.
This gathering of pastors reminds the conference of its larger network in partnership across our conference to fulfill its mission. In tangible ways, it is seen through the work of our pastors.

05/19/2026

05/19/2026

Graduation season is upon us and we're in the mood to celebrate! Share your graduate's information with us for grads within the 2025-2026 school year.

Visit the link to share your grad's info: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdoN2h-LPdGcf7tPzkFDWch7gHRHZzhR0KimqEJv0PZA2iNHg/viewform?usp=dialog

05/06/2026

The San Antonio Christian School invites the public to attend the grand opening of their STEM Design Lab on Wednesday, May 13th!

Bring your friends and family as we celebrate this exciting new space for creativity, innovation, and hands-on learning.

04/29/2026

Special Olympics Southern California, in partnership with La Sierra University, is hosting a FREE Young Athletes event this Sunday, May 3rd in our territory.

Young Athletes is an innovative sport and play program designed for children ages 2–7. The event will include fun, engaging activities such as sport games, activities and movement-based play that support the development of motor, social, and cognitive skills.

Most importantly, it creates a welcoming space where children of all ability levels can come together, build friendships, and grow through inclusive play.

Event Details:
📍 Location: Alumni Pavilion (Gym) at La Sierra University
4500 Riverwalk Pkwy, Riverside, CA 92505
🗓 Date: Sunday, May 3rd
⏰ Time: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

There is no cost to participate, and it’s a meaningful experience not only for the children in our community, but also for the students at La Sierra University who are helping bring this event to life.

01/13/2026

Our SECC Communications & Media department is exploring a refreshed name for our E-Newsletter. And we value your input! Take 5 minutes of your day to fill out this quick survey and have a chance to be entered in a drawing for 1 of 2 iPad mini's.

Get started by clicking the link down below:
https://forms.gle/HXyKQqPmQUsj9ttT8