Columbia Union News

Photo of Walter Carson by Ricardo Bacchus

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

“To be warned is better than to be publicly reprimanded,” said Walter Carson, vice president and general counsel for the Columbia Union Conference, at the November Executive Committee meeting, talking about the Annual Council’s recent actions.

Carson explained to the group that a 2018 Annual Council action in Battle Creek, Mich., adopted a compliance document (link to it) that imposed sanctions or discipline on entities found to be in violation of various church documents or actions taken by a General Conference session.

The four disciplinary steps in the document were outlined:

Story by Visitor Staff / Photo by LaTasha Hewitt

Earlier this month, women pastors and chaplains from across the Columbia Union Conference gathered with union and conference administrators for the second time in two years. Before supper at the Sheraton Hotel in Columbia, Md., the attendees took part in a debriefing about Annual Council 2019 where Columbia Union President Dave Weigley shared what the newly issued “warning status” means, and what it does not mean.

Story by Kimberly Luste Maran /NAD Communication / Image by Pieter Damsteegt

“It’s been my great joy to work with gifted leaders who love God and His church!” said Debra C. Brill, who retired on October 1, 2019, after serving the North American Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (NAD) as a vice president for 21 years.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard / Feature photo by Stephen Lee

Last weekend some 170 students, local, conference, health care, education and union leaders attended the Columbia Union Conference 2019 Leadership Summit, held in Columbia, Md. Attendees discussed and dissected the role of sola scriptura in guiding the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s development and organization; local church life; and their personal lives.