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Nov 01

Southern Deaf Fellowship Camp Meeting Highlights

jeff jordan

Southern Deaf Fellowship Camp Meeting attendees met August 7-11, 2019, at the Cohutta Springs Conference Center in Crandall, Georgia.

Graham McGrath (left) from Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Hayden Grundy from Ooltewah, Tennessee, were baptized during the Southern Deaf Fellowship Camp Meeting. Jeffrey Jordan (center) is the pastor of the Southern Deaf Fellowship Church in McDonald, Tennessee.

Ron Porterfield (second from left) and his wife, Magna Porterfield, Ph.D., of Tennessee; Ralph Peterson, M.D., DrPH., and his wife, Joy Peterson, DrPH., of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama; and Schubert Palmer, M.D., and his wife, Yolanda Palmer, lifestyle educator, were presenters during the SDF Camp Meeting.

The Southern Deaf Fellowship (SDF) Camp Meeting took a different approach this year and went with the theme “Is There a Doctor in the House?” The featured presenter, Schubert Palmer, M.D., an interventional cardiologist, is affiliated with Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles, California.

A total of 91 individuals attended the SDF Camp Meeting to hear the health messages on August 7-11, 2019, at Cohutta Springs Conference Center in Crandall, Georgia. Included in that number were Palmer’s sisters, Jaycee Robinson from Lawrenceville, Georgia, and Glenda Palmer-Reese, from Orlando, Florida, who is deaf.

A team of six health experts presented important health topics along with Palmer, and his wife, Yolanda, lifestyle educator; Ralph Peterson, M.D., Dr.P.H., and his wife, Joy Peterson, Dr.P.H., of Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama; and Ron Porterfield, and his wife, Magna Porterfield, Ph.D., of Tennessee.

Sabbath afternoon found the Camp Meeting attendees on the shore of the lake to witness a baptismal ceremony. Graham McGrath and Hayden Grundy gave their lives to Jesus. McGrath of Chattanooga, Tennessee, attended the SDF “What If?” evangelistic series. He was convicted of the new truth, and took individual Bible studies with Jeff Jordan, pastor of the Southern Deaf Fellowship Church in McDonald, Tennessee. Grundy, from Ooltewah, Tennessee, son of Marc and Meagan Grundy, grew up in the Church, attended the “What If?” series, took a baptismal study lesson, and made a decision for Jesus.

In addition to the adult meetings, there were about 20 children and teens who attended. Led by SDF church members Anissa Michalek and Jaycee Robinson, the children’s programs had decorations that fit with the theme.

The SDF Camp Meeting would not happen without the American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting team with Melissa Jordan of the Southern Deaf Fellowship Church in McDonald; Mario Lett from the Augusta, Georgia, First Church; and Harold Molina from Marietta, Georgia. If you would like to watch SDF Camp Meeting videos, they are online at https://www.deafchurchonline.org/index.php/component/allvideoshare/category/latest/deaf-camp-2019.

The annual Camp Meeting is very important because it is the only time the deaf from near and far can get together for spiritual food, fellowship, and fun activities. The dates for next year’s SDF Camp Meeting are August 5-9, 2020.


Jeff Jordan is the pastor of the Southern Deaf Fellowship Church in McDonald, Tennessee.

Georgia-Cumberland | November 2019

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