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Community Outreach

Meet the Community Outreach Department


Rhonda Whitney
Director

Rhonda Whitney provides leadership to churches and members throughout the Oregon Conference who want to be more connected with their communities. She is availble as a resource to ministers and congregations as they explore new and unique ways of loving God and loving their neighbors.

Coming from an extensive background of teaching and managing a large Adventist Community Services agency, Rhonda continues to lead in visioning and redesigning avenues of ministry which impact communities and neighborhoods.


Linda Schrader
Administrative Assistant

As the Community Outreach office coordinator, Linda Schrader  provides logistical support for trainings, meetings and events throughout the Oregon Conference. She manages details for the department and generally keeps everything organized.

Linda's favorite area of Community Outreach is Health Ministries. She is delighted to help with any questions in this area and particularly enjoys assisting churches with access to the outreach ministry resource library.


Sam Pellecer
Volunteer Disaster Response Coordinator


Sam Pellecer coordinates and teaches Adventist Disaster Response training programs throughout Oregon Conference. In addition to these duties, he is an instructor for Chain Saw Safety Certification classes for those who want to be certified to help with clean up after floods and storms. He is bi-lingual and is currently translating English disaster training materials to Spanish.

Sam retired from his career as a medical technologist in 1999 and continues to serve as the volunteer facilities manager for Portland Adventist Community Services (PACS).
 


Dan Patchin
Volunteer Disaster Response Instructor

Dan Patchin assists in coordinating and teaching Adventist Disaster Response training classes as well as Chain Saw Safety Certification throughout the Oregon Conference. Recently, he has developed a new program, "Mapping Your Church," which organizes churches into groups that care for each other during disasters.
 
Dan is a retired physician with an intense interest in young people and in connecting with his community. This is reflected in the various church activities and positions in which he has participated.
 


Burnadine Bratton
Volunteer Community Services Coordinator


As Community Services (ACS) Coordinator, Burnadine Bratton provides leadership, support and encouragement for ACS area leaders through networking, sharing ideas, problem solving, and visitation. Also, she is the leader of Medford ACS which often serves more than 250 families a month.
 

Formerly, Burnadine enjoyed a career as a realtor in Southern Oregon and volunteered as a board member of the Jackson County Juvenile Services Commission. She continues serving her church and community by her leadership on various committees and boards such as Youth Education Scholarship (YES!) program.


April McNeil
Volunteer Elder Care Ministry Coordinator

April McNeil, a Certified Senior Advisor, has been working with Rhonda Whitney and a visioning committee to establish practical priorities to effectively meet the needs of the elderly in the local church, and to educate and equip local churches in this ministry.

April has always had a special fondness for the elderly but also enjoys connecting with people of every age in her church and her community. She delights in working with the youth in her local church where she has developed and is facilitating Christian Youth Leadership Training. She also enjoys creating seminars for women’s groups and leads out in her local church Women’s Ministries.