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A FAREWELL MESSAGE FROM ED BARNETT: “YOU ARE IN GOOD HANDS”
Dear Rocky Mountain Conference Family,
As I look back over my 42 years of ministry, the fourteen years Shirley and I have spent in the Rocky Mountain Conference were some of our best years. Six and half of those years we pastored at Denver South Church. We loved our time there. The last seven and half years were spent as president of the Conference. We have served more time in this Conference than any other during our ministry.
As president, I have realized more than ever what a large territory we serve. Wyoming and Colorado are big by themselves, but when we add a portion of New Mexico it becomes a very large territory. Not only is it large, but it is also very diverse when it comes to philosophies of doing church and the approach to life itself. Colorado’s Eastern Slope is affluent and liberal. Wyoming and the Western side of Colorado are quite conservative. New Mexico is unique in its lifestyle and attitudes. This diversity of thinking and being makes running the church organization and accomplishing its mission interesting, to say the least.
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SANDY’S FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL JOURNAL
By Sandy Hodgson – Erie, Colorado … We survived our first day of school. If truth be told, I survived the first day of school. I think my students did too. Since I’m teaching fifth and sixth grade this year, some of my students were in my room last year, so they knew what to expect. Others were new to my classroom but not to the school. Others were new altogether.
It always feels “new” to me, even though I have been doing this for 17 plus years. I work and plan during the summer and think I am ahead of the game, and then August 1 comes around and panic strikes.
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“HERE I AM, USE ME” IS AT THE HEART OF MINISTRY FOR JANI PUNGUS
By Jon Roberts – Arvada, Colorado … “It’s simply amazing,” Gordon Anic, lead pastor of Arvada English church, expressed enthusiastically of the public acknowledgment and ministry of his co-worker and friend Jani Pungus, pastor of the Arvada Indonesian Adventist church, who was being ordained to the Gospel Ministry.
Attendees at the special service for the Indonesian congregation included 150 in-person, with many watching online. The gathering featured recognition from two conferences and two unions.
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FEELING OF RENEWAL GREETS THE FIRST DAY AT MHA
By MHANews – Highlands Ranch, Colorado … “It felt good to see everyone’s smiles as we started the new school year,” reflected Mindy Philpott, parent, and treasurer of Mile High Academy, on the first-day events at MHA.
With the pandemic affecting the fellowship and community aspect during the last academic year at MHA, the administration and staff made it part of its mission to get the school community together several times during the summer months. Foregoing the traditional in-person registration gave way to an evening community event. Families met the new staff, enjoyed a sweet treat, and divided into elementary, middle, and high school groups for events with the teachers.
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RMC OFFICE STAFF BIDS FAREWELL TO ED AND SHIRLEY BARNETT
By RMCNews – Denver, Colorado … “The evening which was meant to be a sad event saying farewell to Ed turned into an evening of laughter and joy, one I will never forget,” reflected one RMC conference office employee on the retirement gathering recently held for Ed Barnett, president.
Colleagues and friends assembled to fellowship one last time before the Barnetts leave the mountains of RMC for the beaches of Florida. The informal gathering began with a meal featuring a classic homemade FriChik lasagna prepared by Pat Chapman, RMC educational assistant and appointed chef.
“Even though the temperature was in the high 90s that day, the evening, in true Colorado form, turned out to be beautiful. The evening was reflective of the beautiful life of service that Ed has given to the church and Shirley’s commitment to her life’s work in healthcare,” Lori Goebel, RMC human resources assistant director, expressed.
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CAMPION SENIORS DOMINATE OLYMPIC STYLE SCRAMBLE
By Gwyn Reeves – Loveland, Colorado … The Olympic-style class scramble that arrived at Campion Academy was met with fanfare, athletes (also known as students) decked out in painted faces ready for competition, and lots of glitter.
Campion’s annual class scramble included the traditional competition of racing to see what Don Reeder, principal, had for odd items to retrieve. Other events included the classic drills of dead cow, air raid, and man-overboard in pursuit of class bragging rights. Making a class-scramble game debut was mattress surfing and Hot Wheels shuffleboard that tested the ability and determination of each class to win.
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OSCAR’S AND EMMY’S STYLE WELCOME FOR FORT COLLINS STUDENTS
By Denise and Richard Pfannenstiel – Fort Collins, Colorado … It was a red-carpet event at the Fort Collins Christian school on the first day of the academic year.
Fort Collins Adventist church members lined both sides of the roped-off red carpet, where students strolled toward the school entrance to applause, cheers, hugs, high-fives, and pats on the back on their way to the new adventures awaiting them during the new school year.
School board chair Devon Osbourne, Jr. was grateful for the extra effort by church members who showed their support. “The members of our church have always been supportive of our school,” Osbourne shared. “It was, nevertheless, surprising to see so many show up so early in the morning to cheer on our students.”
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CHURCH USES RADIO TO REACH NAVAJOS IN PANDEMIC
By Allen Steele – Farmington, New Mexico … Like most of the United States, the Navajo Nation in the southwest has suffered greatly, perhaps disproportionately, from the COVID pandemic. The Navajo reservation, the largest in North America, occupies portions of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah in the Four Corners region. It is approximately the size of West Virginia. In May 2020, the Navajo Nation’s infection rates surpassed New York’s, which had been, until then, the highest in the country. |
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