Since he was appointed managing editor of MINISTRY in August, 1967, Orley M. Berg's name has appeared in the editorial lineup of every issue. With his retirement this spring, that name will be missing for the first time in more than thirteen years.
It's difficult for us here in the MINISTRY offices to imagine the magazine without Orley. His common-sense approach to problems; his wide-ranging interests (preaching, church history, archeology, prophecy, travel, evangelism, photography, and many more); his devotion to the Adventist Church and its ministry; his pastoral concern these are things that come to mind as we review his work and our association with him. For the past several years, Orley has given direction to the archeology and science sections of MINISTRY, as well as caring for the Shop Talk and Recommended Reading pages.
Yet MINISTRY has not occupied all his time or energies. In addition to his work on the magazine, he has been in charge of the Aspire Tape of the Month Club, providing some 575 pastors and others with two 90-minute cassette tapes each month. In order to select the most informative and inspiring material for each hour and one-half of listening, Orley spends hours every month sampling piles of tapes, gleaning the very best.
When he isn't working either with the magazine or the tape club, Orley is usually involved in another of his special interests evangelism. His years as a pastor-evangelist are evident in his love for people and soul winning, and in spite of his duties at the office, he has found time to conduct a major evangelistic campaign each year. This past year he held two series of meetings one in California and another in Washington State. In his evangelism, Orley manages to combine his interest in archeology and photography to enhance his presentations with his own slide lectures of Palestine and other Middle Eastern sites connected with Biblical events. The slides are his own, taken during trips to these areas.
A keen amateur archeologist, Orley participated in the 1965 excavations at Gezer with the Hebrew Union College Biblical and Archeological School of Jerusalem, under the direction of Dr. Nelson Glueck and Dr. G. Ernest Wright. He has also written several books dealing with archeological testimony to the Scriptures, and has conducted groups on tours of Bible lands. Civic groups and clubs often request his services as a lecturer on Biblical archeology.
Before becoming an assistant secretary of the General Conference Ministerial Association in 1967, Orley served as Ministerial secretary of the Potomac Conference. He began his ministry in the Southern California Conference after graduating from Pacific Union College in 1945. In subsequent years, he pastored churches in the Florida, Kentucky-Tennessee, and Potomac conferences. Orley and his wife, Olive, are both native Californians and plan to make their retirement home in the Golden State.
We will miss Orley and Olive. Staff meetings, Christmas parties, and other office get-togethers will seem strangely different without them. But we know that, although they are retiring from duties here in Washing ton, they are not planning to retire from service for the Lord. They have taken a very active role in the program of their local church here in the Washington area, and they have definite plans for continued projects even in retirement. Knowing them as we do, we are certain they will accomplish much.
We, and the many around the world whose lives they have touched, join in wishing Orley and Olive many active, satisfying, productive years as they retire. —Editors.
