Before coming to the United States in 1960, Westney planted churches and pastored in his homeland of Jamaica, as well as in Barbados and Guyana. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Columbia Union College (now Washington Adventist University) in Takoma Park, Md., a Master of Arts in Religion from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University (Mich.), and a Doctor of Divinity from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He subsequently pastored in Virginia and directed Youth Ministries for Allegheny West Conference. In 1969 he accepted a call to serve as principal of Pine Forge Academy in Pine Forge, Pa., where he hosted the first alumni homecoming weekend. From 1976-89 he served as associate director of education for the Columbia Union Conference, and then went on to direct Public Affairs and Religious Liberty until his retirement in 1995.
But Dr. Westney did not stop in 1995. He continued to work tirelessly in the field of religious liberty by helping people with workplace religious liberty problems and hosting a radio program, “”Talking About Freedom” which aired weekly on WGTS radio in Washington, DC.
Despite his busy schedule, Dr. Westney found time to serve on the advisory panel of ReligiousLiberty.TV. His wise counsel and encouragement helped make this independent website a reality in the summer of 2008. His insistence on having a “clear purpose” helped keep this project on track. He did not make impulsive recommendations, but instead insisted on making sure that the tracks were laid out carefully and clearly so that the message was not lost in the prevailing political chaos.
I will miss him very much.
– Michael Peabody, Editor