Did you know that at least 81 U.S. colleges and universities use the “Owl” as their mascot? Neither did I, but after this weekend, I do thanks to the creative genius of our Executive Director, Carl Greene. Why should we care, you might ask? We probably shouldn’t, but it is a clever way to keep us locked in on the importance of “WHO” as we refine our ministry focus for the coming season. The “WHO” always matters, because all the churches of the conference are led by key ministry leaders who are working hard to make sure our churches are actively advancing God’s Kingdom 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year.
After meeting virtually several times in 2025, your General Council was thrilled to meet in person in Janesville, WI over Memorial Day Weekend. We were excited to see first-hand the results of the recent renovations and technology updates at the SDB Center (and thanks to everyone who contributed to make those happen). Our May gathering is always a special blessing because in addition to having extended time together to hammer out some more intensive projects, we take the opportunity to meet with the Core Directors (Carl Greene, Nick Kersten, Jeremiah Owen, and John Pethtel) to share, dream and plan together.
One highlight of our time with the Directors included hearing some initial results of their work with J.R. Briggs of Kairos Partnerships to help refine and clarify the mission of the Conference and the roles of the Directors. We are thankful for generous grants from Duke University (Reflective Leadership Grant) and the SDB Memorial Fund, as well as the hard work and creative thought invested by our Directors, which made this study possible. We believe the end result will assist us to better align the mission, resources and communication of Seventh Day Baptists.
We were also blessed to be introduced to a new friend, Dr. David Hataj. David is the President of a local small business, Edgerton Gear. He shared his story of running away from the family business to pursue “ministry” until he eventually embraced the business as a vital part of his ministry. This led him to develop a healthy theology of work and rest, which obviously is a great challenge to us as SDBs. David is now working to share that philosophy with young people through his Craftsman with Character initiative, which connects students “with skilled trades and character-building experiences.”[i]
On top of all that, we took care of A LOT of business and details of our work on behalf of SDBs, but that’s not nearly as exciting to read about—though we will tell you all about it in our upcoming report to General Conference. So be on the lookout for that. As always, it is our pleasure and privilege to represent you all between our Conference Sessions. If there is any way we can serve you better, please let us know.
SDB General Council
Andrew Camenga (Chair), Erin Inabnit, Maura Mazza, Steve Osborn, Helmer Umaña, Carl Greene (Ex-Officio) and Ron Ochs (Ex-Officio).
[i] https://www.cwcharacter.org/
