Editorial by Celeste Ryan Blyden
News
Story by Jerry Woods
This year in Washington D.C. there were 13,000 kids who probably wouldn’t have gotten anything for Chrismas. Their parents signed up with the Salvation Army to get some assistance. The Salvation Army’s goal was to provide toys and gifts for those children, and they enlisted WGTS 91.9 to help.
WGTS 91.9 held a live remote with Johnny and Stacey from the afternoon show to invite people to Potomac Mills Mall to buy and bring toys for the Salvation Army Angel Tree kids. Listeners brought hundreds of toys and many also selected gift tags off of the Angel Tree to shop for a specific child’s wish list.
News outlets in 2019 were filled with stories of political instability, tragedy, royal births and black hole discoveries.
Throughout the year, the Visitor staff covered the top Seventh-day Adventist stories in our print magazine and online. Here are the most-read news stories on columbiaunionvisitor.com:
Story by Tiffany Doss
Although Potomac Conference's Camp Blue Ridge in Montebello, Va., temporarily closed its doors for regular business hours last season, God didn’t stop using it as a ministry. “Through the renovations and updates at camp, we built great relationships with our contractors,” explains Ray Queen, director. “One [of them] continues to ask questions about Jesus and the Sabbath.”
Editorial por Leonel Pottinger
Para muchos cristianos, mayordomía o la mayordomía es pensada en relación con cosas materiales, dinero o diezmos y ofrendas. Algunos van tan lejos como para pensar que, si devuelven fielmente el diezmo y dan ofrendas voluntarias a Dios a través de su iglesia, han cumplido con su responsabilidad cristiana.
Editorial by Leonel Pottinger
For many Christians, stewardship is primarily thought of in relation to material things, money or tithes and offerings. Some go as far as to think that if they return a faithful tithe and give freewill offerings to God through His church, they have fulfilled their Christian responsibility.
Feature by V. Michelle Bernard
Turkey bacon, eggs, cold cereal, cheese, lots of bread and pizza were common ingredients in Jennifer Engelkemier’s daily menu. But since attending Mountain View Conference’s (MVC) Wellness Camp last summer, she’s traded in some of her old breakfast favorites, including turkey bacon, for beans.
Before the camp, Engelkemier (pictured in middle, walking with wellness campers Herb Perrine and Susie Shaver) was overweight, had diabetes and high blood pressure, and also suffered from fatty liver disease. “I just want to get healthy overall,” she said during the first week of camp, where she lost 10 pounds and started walking more regularly.
Attention Columbia Union Conference photographers! We want to see the Columbia Union through your lens. Would you like for your photo to be considered for publication in the 2021 Columbia Union Calendar?
We’re looking for photos that showcase local landmarks, native fauna and scenes from all around the union—from cityscapes to dirt country roads. We want to feature all the seasons, so grab those winter scenes and capture the warmth of summer—and all that’s between.
Story by Celeste Ryan Blyden
This year marks the 125th anniversary of our beloved Columbia Union Conference Visitor magazine. Starting in 1895 in the Ohio Conference as The Welcome Visitor, it has evolved under the helm of 30 known editors.
No editor was listed during the first few years of publication. Copies of the four-page, black and white journal seem to indicate a joint publishing effort by conference leaders. They charged 35 cents for an annual subscription, that was to be paid up front.
If you do a scholarly search for "sola scriptura," most of the references come since 1970, said David Trim at the Columbia Union Union Conference 2019 Leadership Summit. "This is telling us something. How we understand the primacy of the Scripture is big deal in the last years."