News | Seventh-day Adventist Church

Twas Three Days Before Christmas

Poem by Megan L. Garcia

Twas three days before Christmas and all through the church
We gathered to celebrate our dear Savior’s birth
Though not on December 25th He did come,
Yet still our hearts honor this sweet blessed One

We put on our dresses, we put on our ties
The gals did their hair, and waited the guys
For soon they would finally get to retreat
Oh, the sound of the car leaving sounded so sweet

When out of the bathroom, there arose such a clatter
The husband jumped up to see what was the matter
“Just grabbing my perfume” the wife did reply
“I’ll be in the car,” said the man with a sigh

LES ENFANTS ILLUSTRENT LE CALENDRIER 2019

Artwork by Jolene Slifka for the Columbia Union Visitor.

Le calendrier de l’Union de Fédérations de Columbia 2019 contient des histoires bibliques illustrées par des œuvres artis- tiques d’enfants de l’Union. Pour obtenir des exemplaires gratuits supplémentaires, appelez le (443) 259-9578 ou envoyez un courrier électronique à srowley@ columbiaunion.net.

NIÑOS ILUSTRAN EL CALENDARIO 2019

Emely Gonzalez, a member of the Oxon Hill Spanish church, created Esther for the 2019 Columbia Union Calendar.

Historia de V. Michelle Bernard

El Calendario de la Unión de Columbia 2019 presenta historias bíblicas representadas a través del trabajo artístico de niños en la Unión de Columbia.

Para obtener copias gratuitas adicionales, llame al (443) 259-9578 o envíe un correo electrónico a srowley@columbiaunion.net.

Columbia Union Creates New Communication Resource, Videos

Debra Anderson, communication director for the Potomac Conference, is filmed for one of the communication videos.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Adventist Women Leaders Invited to Connect

Story by Michele Joseph

The North American Division (NAD) Administrative Committee recently voted to adopt and endorse the Adventist Women Leaders initiative.

What started with a lunch for 15 women gathered in a conference room at the NAD Year-end Meeting in October 2017, has grown to more than 180 subscribers to an email newsletter published twice a month.

The goal is to create and foster a nurturing and supportive community for women who serve in leadership capacities of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, says Debra Brill, NAD vice president, who chairs the committee.

How Diverse is the Columbia Union?

How Diverse is the Columbia Union?

Did you know that there are 41,317 multilingual members among the Columbia Union Conference’s 148,068 members? (See how demographic shifts are impacting our churches here.)

Of this number:

31,140 speak Spanish
2,699 speak French
1,870 speak Korean
1,247 are Indian
1,052 are Haitian
1,340 members are Ghanian
928 are Brazilian
461 Are Filipino
247 are Indonesian
135 are Chinese
57 are Ethiopian
24 are Hungarian
22 are Romanian

Read the January/February 2019 Visitor

Read these articles from the January/February 2019 Visitor:

Book Release: Children Are Gifts

Interview by Alexis A. Goring

Edwina Neely, a member of Potomac Conference’s Rockville (Md.) church, recently wrote Children Are Gifts, a book for parents. It includes illustrations about younger children, as well as principles that apply to parents with children of all ages.

During her 30 years of working in education, Edwina was employed as a teacher, childcare center owner and in the Potomac Conference Elementary Education Department—all of which provided the experience she needed for her book. She credits God for helping her finish the book, published by WestBow Press.

In the interview below, read more about this book and its relevant message to parents:

What Were the Top 10 Columbia Union Web Stories in 2018?

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

2018 proved to be an interesting year in Seventh-day Adventist Church news, with a strong interest in the General Conference Administrative Committee’s proposed new system of compliance and uniformity in the world church.

This year, when news happened, the Columbia Union Visitor provided the local angle. See which stories our readers visited the most in 2018.

Is the Pursuit of Happiness a Bad Idea?

Jennifer A. Herdt of the Yale Divinity School expounds on “Why the Pursuit of Happiness is a Bad Idea.”

Story by Doug Walker

“Why the Pursuit of Happiness is a Bad Idea” was the provocative opening talk presented recently at the 40th annual G. Arthur Keough Lectureship sponsored by the Washington Adventist University (WAU) Religion Department, located in Takoma Park, Md. This year’s Lectureship featured keynote speaker Jennifer A. Herdt, the Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Yale University Divinity School.