News | Seventh-day Adventist Church

Beans for Breakfast

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.

Start Taking Photos for the 2021 Columbia Union Calendar

Shana Love, a member of the Hamburg church, snapped this photo during a scavenger hunt to capture beauty and peace at Pennsylvania Conference’s Laurel Lake Camp in Rossiter.

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.

Visitor Editors Through the Years

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.

VIDEO: David Trim, "The Fundamental Principle of Protestantism" Sola Scriptura and the Formation of Seventh-day Adventist Theology"

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."

VIDEO: Cindy Tutsch, The Word Up Close and Personal

When Cindy Tutsch discovered her connection with Christ was broken, she started "Word" supplments. Tutsch shared practical tips for connecting with Christ through the Bible at the Columbia Union Conference 2019 Leadership Summit.

See more presentations from the event here.

VIDEO: Barry Black, Finding a Guide in This Sin Sick World

Senate Chaplain Barry Black spoke about incorporating Scripture into our lives at the Columbia Union Conference’s 2019 Leadership Summit, Sola Scriptura. During the summit Black and others spoke to 170 members of local conference, healthcare, education and union executive committees.

Watch more presentations at columbiaunionvisitor.com/2019leadershipsummit.

VIDEO: Alec Ryrie, How Do You Know the Bible is the Word of God

Alec Ryrie, a professor at Durham University, presented "How Do You Know the Bible is the Word of God?" at the Columbia Union Conference 2019 Leadership Summit themed Sola Scriptura.

"The way to know Scripture… Is to encounter it to with our whole selves. ... immerse yourself in it, to be swept along by it," shared Ryrie.

See more presentations from the event here.

VIDEO: Bogdan Scur, "A Case for Biblical Exegesis in the Local Church"

Bogdan Scur, a professor at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md., presented "A Case for Biblical Exegesis in the Local Church" at the Columbia Union Conference 2019 Leadership Summit.

"If we aren’t sure about what we should believe because we’re confused about Biblical passages, we will be confused about the nature of God," said Scur.

Watch more presentations at columbiaunionvisitor.com/solascriptur a.

VIDEO: Pardon Mwansa, "You May Not See My Face"

Pardon Mwansa, vice chancellor or Rasungu University in Zambia, shared the following presenation at the Columbia Union Conference 2019 Leadership Summit.

See more presentations from the event themed Sola Scriptura.

VIDEO: Cindy Tutsch, "Waldenses: Who Were They and How do They Speak to 21st Century Ecclesiology?"

Cindy Tutsch, shared "Waldenses: Who Were They and How do They Speak to 21st Century Ecclesiology?" at the 2019 Columbia Union Conference Leadership Summit.

See more presentations from the event at columbiaunionvisitor.com/leadershipsummit.