Good News is Contagious
Recently we got some good news. We’ve been working and waiting for it for some time now. It finally arrived on November 3, 2005, when regular full accreditation was restored to Atlantic Union College by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), a regional accreditation body that accredits all schools of higher learning in New England.
Now we want to say thanks to all our brothers and sisters in the Atlantic Union and elsewhere for their prayers and support. We say thanks, especially to all who joined in carrying out a prayer vigil throughout the Union territory on November 3 for this time-honored institution of higher learning—Atlantic Union College. Only the Lord knows how precariously close we came to the brink—from “termination status” to “probation” and now back to full accreditation. To God be the glory!
Kudos and hats off to Dr. George P. Babcock, the college’s president, and all those—past and present—who have made it possible for our college to survive. Also, special thanks to an alumna and board member, Lois Peters, and her husband, Leroy, who pledged a gift of one million dollars to help inspire recovery.
Someone has said that “bad news travels around the world several times while good news is just bending down to tie its shoelaces.” Well, I also happen to believe that good news is contagious. And if you will join me, let the word go forth that Atlantic Union College is here to stay, to cooperate with God in providing the best in Adventist Christian education today.
The battle is not just for the swift but for those who unflinchingly and persistently endure, against all odds, to fight for the values and principles in which we believe. And believe me, AUC is worth it—because our students are worth it. They will live to rise up and call the supporters of the college blessed. They will make you proud. They will make God proud.
Please join us in thanking and exalting the God of heaven for this miraculous outcome of the hard work and efforts of those who care about this institution. And while you’re in a mood for praise and thanksgiving, let’s pray that God will shine upon His people in 2006, that His love, even in the smallest of ways, will be demonstrated in this holiday season. We know not what the New Year will bring, but we know Who holds the New Year—and we know Who holds our hands.
Donald
G. King is president of the Atlantic Union
Conference and chairman of the Atlantic
Union College Board of Trustees.
Atlantic Union GLEANER
January 2006
