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■■NORTH AMERICA
Morris Venden, Noted Adventist
Preacher, Author, Dies at 80
Ministered to generations, had wide influence
By JAY WINTERMEYER, Upper Columbia Conference, reporting from College Place, Wash.
Morris L. Venden, well-known husband, father, Seventhday
Adventist preacher, teacher, and author, passed to his
rest Sunday evening, February 10, 2013. Venden was 80 years
old and died following a 10-year battle with frontotemporal
dementia, or FTD, a comparatively
rare form of dementia.
His wife, Marilyn; one son, Lee,
and his wife, Marji; two
daughters, Lynn and LuAnn
Venden; three grandchildren,
Kris, Lindsey, and Mark; one
brother, Louis, and Louis’ wife,
Margie, survive.
During his ministry Venden
pastored several large
Seventh-day Adventist congregations,
including the La
Sierra University Church and
Pacific Union College Church
in California and the Union
College Church in Nebraska.
Later he led the Azure Hills
Seventh-day Adventist
Church near Loma Linda, California,
from which he retired
in August 1998.
At Azure Hills Venden held
three services each Sabbath
that were filled to capacity.
His son, Lee, recalled his
father’s advice, as he became
a pastor: “The world and the
Seventh-day Adventist
Church are starving for more
of Jesus. . . . Any pastor who
will make Jesus the one string on his violin will be in
demand.”
In retirement Venden briefly joined the Voice of Prophecy
(VOP) radio ministry team as an associate speaker.
“Morrie agreed to preach on our 30-minute Sunday
broadcast and also appeared at dozens of appointments
and camp meetings for the VOP,” recalled Lonnie Melashenko,
who at the time was VOP speaker/director. “Always
UCC photo
PREACHING LEGEND: Morris L. Venden, longtime Seventhday
Adventist preacher, teacher, and author, passed to his
rest on February 10, 2013.
the consummate statesman, Morrie was deeply respected
and admired everywhere he served,” he added.
Along with writing more than 30 books about Jesus, Venden
was a widely sought-after speaker and has been
described as a master of the art
of preaching, and most of all,
someone who loved Jesus.
“His books were like an
oasis of fresh spirituality. They
uplifted Christ, not just keeping
the Sabbath and keeping
the law,” said Ovidiu Radulescu,
a pastor now living in
Arkansas, who in Communist
Romania secretly typed and
distributed translated copies
of Venden’s 1980 book “Faith
That Works.”
The tagline from that book,
as listed on Amazon.com, is
“You don’t get righteousness
by seeking righteousness.
Righteousness comes by seeking
Jesus.”
“I know several people who
chose to stay in the church
because of reading Morris Venden’s
books,” Radulescu said.
Venden’s son, Lee, said, “Dad
will be remembered for the
one string on his violin that he
consistently talked about;
Jesus, and the privilege available
to everyone to have a
meaningful friendship with
Him. At this point it seems clear Dad will be able to sleep
this disease off; the long sleep from our perspective, the
short sleep from his.”
Venden’s memorial service was scheduled to be held in
the Loma Linda University Church, on Sunday, March 3,
2013. n
—with additional reporting by Mark A. Kellner and Adventist
News Network
www.AdventistReview.org | March 14, 2013 | (203) 11