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Called By God
In work with Catholics, Miss Walsh recommended strengthening the listener’s faith
in the Bible and showing how the first advent of Christ had been chronicled beforehand
by the prophets. One cannot help noticing that these are the very methods that
Professor Everson employed to good effect when preaching to Mary Walsh. She pointed
out that stressing the importance of Christ’s miraculous birth, of living a pure and holy
life, and of Christ’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection will have a strong appeal to a
Catholic’s mind.
Besides writing for the journals, Mary Walsh prepared two sets of study guides,
(From Mary Ellen Walsh, “Bible Lessons for Catholics” (Nashville: Southern Publishing
Association, 1967), loose leaf, and “Doctrinal Bible Studies for the Layman.”) The Apocrypha,
(Mary E. Walsh, The Apocrypha Nashville: Southern Publishing Association, 1968). and
The Wine of Roman Babylon.(Mary E. Walsh, The Wine of Roman Babylon Nashville:
Southern Publishing Association, 1945). A descendant of many generations of faithful
adherents to Catholicism, herself baptized into the Roman faith when she was only a
day old, Mary Walsh was motivated to present what she considered to be a practical and
candid treatment of the papacy and Catholic teachings. Her prayer in the final paragraph
of The Apocrypha is, “May our Lord do for all of us, Protestant and Catholic alike, what
He did for the disciples of old: `Then opened he their understanding, that they might
understand the scriptures.’ ” (Ibid., 104.)
Besides all the public presentations, the question box, the article and book writing,
Mary Walsh engaged in personal work with people in their homes. Many present
church members can trace their roots in Adventism back to a parent’s becoming an
Adventist through Mary Walsh’s ministry. (Example: Dr. Valerie Landis, of Beltsville,
Maryland, whose mother was converted through Mary Walsh’s work in the New York City
effort at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1939.)
Because of her expertise in giving Bible studies, Miss Walsh was asked to prepare
others to pursue that kind of ministry. From 1943 to 1953 she was employed by the
Columbia Union Conference to train lay people and church employees for evangelism.
She inspired members of the local churches to work effectively as lay evangelists.
During her decade with the Columbia Union Conference, her co-workers recall that
she seemed to work without ceasing, and that her whole life centered around the single
focus of bringing people to Christ. (From a telephone conversation, Zella Holbert and the
writer, Takoma Park, Maryland, 1989.) A colleague described Mary Walsh as an interesting speaker, a successful Bible worker, very much dedicated to freeing people from
Catholic domination. (From a telephone conversation, Elder M. E. Loewen and the writer,
Silver Spring, Maryland, 1989.)
Miss Walsh was called to the Pacific Union Conference to work in the home missionary
department in 1953. In the 1960 Yearbook she is listed as the assistant secretary for the
home missionary and civil defense department in the Pacific Union. Her designation was
modified in the 1965 Yearbook to assistant departmental secretary for laymen’s activities,
civil defense, and Home Study Institute. One would find it difficult from her active life to

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