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THERE IS NOTHING SMALL FOR GOD
By Alise Weber — One of my favorite jobs when I was a young twentysomething was working as a camp counselor and pool director at Camp Mohaven in Danville, Ohio. I loved the opportunities to be outside in nature. I was uplifted by the singular focus on Christ. I shared God’s word with many kids that were not from a Christian background. And I had so much fun hanging out with my co-workers who also became close friends.
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AMID INCREASED RACIAL TENSIONS, NAD ISSUES STATEMENT CALLING MEMBERS TO SERVE AS CONDUITS OF PEACE
Columbia, Maryland … Racial tensions in the United States have been raised even further after the recent shooting of 29-year old Jacob Blake, a black man, by police officers in Wisconsin. This event, like countless others, has amplified the voices of Black Americans and others as they cry out seeking justice for the acts of violence perpetrated against their community.
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DON LOPES JR , ORDAINED TO MINISTRY IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO
By Jon Roberts – Sterling, Colorado … Some fifty individuals gathered on August 22, to support Don Lopes, Jr. as he was ordained to the gospel ministry.
The ordination service received a different look, with all the precautions in place due to the pandemic, however, the message and recognition of God’s calling on Lopes ministry was evident.
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INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS OVERCOME OBSTACLES WHILE RETURNING TO CAMPUS
By Bentlee Barry – Loveland, Colorado … Campion Academy’s international enrollees have faced a variety of challenges with returning to campus, mainly due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Students from Brazil were able to return home during the month of March, but are now faced with closed borders and are having difficulties returning to Campion.
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LIGHTHOUSE SCHOOL CREATED NEW LAYOUT FOR CURRENT LEARNING PROGRAM
By Pennie Wredberg – Fort Morgan, Colorado …How do you open a school that has been online for the last five months? That was the question facing the school board in Fort Morgan, Colorado.
Lighthouse Seventh-day Adventist Christian School transitioned to online learning in the month of March, right before spring break. The Fort Morgan church and the school remained empty, creating a time capsule for the next few months. “Dust gathered on desks, the copy machine remained off, and the doorbell never rang to let in happy students,” commented Pennie Wredberg, the head teacher.
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INTRAMURAL SPORTS GIVE STUDENTS AN OUTLET DURING COVID-19
By Jayce Treat – Loveland, Colorado …While varsity sports have been suspended throughout Colorado due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Campion Academy got creative to find a way for students to enjoy sports.
Students formed several intramural teams to allow for friendly competition.
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PREACHING CHRIST IN THE DOCTRINES
By David Klinedinst — It was the last night of the evangelistic meetings. The evening program had just concluded. I was on my way out the door when a church member stopped me in the foyer. She had attended the meetings regularly. Her words startled me.
“I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciated these past few weeks,” she said. “I want to thank you for bringing Christ out in every message. These were the most Christ-centered meetings I have ever attended. If had known they would be like this, I would have invited my friends.”
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ADVENTISM & THE BLACK LIVES MATTER
By Shawn Brace –There are a lot of people who have questioned a Christian’s ability to align with the Black Lives Matter movement because of the organization’s other values and agenda that seem to collide with the Christian worldview.
Leaving aside the question of whether one implicitly pledges allegiance to the organization itself when they affirm that “black lives matter,” and even granting the premise that the Black Lives Matter organization promotes some very troubling values, I think the history of Seventh-day Adventism can help inform the question of whether Christians in general – and Adventists in particular – can pursue a common cause with other organizations, even if there is not total agreement about values.
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COVID-STYLE “CLASS SCRAMBLE” AT CAMPION ACADEMY
By Haley Enochs –Loveland, Colorado … Even with the pandemic changing and canceling events, one event coronavirus couldn’t cancel at Campion Academy was the annual welcome back competition “Class Scramble”.
The Scramble is a chance for classes to compete in various games and have fun getting to know their classmates. Students bring an assortment of random items to the event and when Don Reeder, principal of Campion Academy, calls out an item (such as a cardboard box), students race to be first to drop the item at the designated center for their class. Between rounds, other activities are incorporated into the competition.
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TOWN HALL MEETINGS UNDER COVID-19 CONDITIONS
By Eric Nelson – Denver, Colorado … The pandemic has changed many things in our lives from normal to new normal, or at least an adaptation of normal that accommodates our unusual circumstances.
RMC Bylaws direct Conference administration to conduct Town Hall Meetings once a year in each of the six regions of the conference. These meetings facilitate hearing from our members and allow leadership to share information and reports regarding the status of the conference Due to the restrictions in the three states in our territory, it is not possible or advisable to hold area meetings of this size.
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ADVENTIST COMMUNITY SERVICES AND ARVADA ADVENTIST CHURCHES PREPARE FOR HURRICANE LAURA AFTERMATH ASSISTANCE
RMCNews – Denver, Colorado … What has been forecast and talked about for the last week materialized Thursday, August 27 around 1 a.m. in Louisiana as Hurricane Laura came ashore with 150 mph winds, the strongest to make landfall in the state since 1856.
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ASSISTANCE FROM COLORADO ADVENTIST HOSPITALS AIDS RECOVERY FROM COVID-19 IN PERU’S AMAZON JUNGLE
Denver, Colorado … By Greg Hodgson – Adventist hospitals in Colorado provided aid, including a shipment of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) sent from Denver via Miami, to the Clinica Adventista Ana Stahl in Iquitos, Peru, the largest city in the world with no road access. Also, $72,000 was given in donations to the hospital in the Amazon Jungle.
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“ROOTED IN CHRIST” MILE HIGH ACADEMY GOAL FOR THE YEAR
By Karrie Meyers – Highlands Ranch, Colorado … “Rooted in Christ, We Will Not Be Shaken,” is the spiritual theme for Mile High Academy this academic year.
Chosen by the student association, the theme was inspired by Psalm 16:8, “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.”
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HAPPY FACES WELCOME RE-OPENING OF BRIGHTON ADVENTIST ACADEMY
By Jodie Aakko – Brighton, Colorado … Brighton Adventist Academy (BAA) is back in school, real school, but with a five-page safe reopening COVID-19 protocol.
As plans were laid to reopen in-person education in North-Central Colorado, a common question was asked again and again. Will this list of regulations compromise what a Seventh-day Adventist Christian school has to offer, the real-life experience of the love of Jesus?
No one knew. Only God knew, and only time would reveal the answer.
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BUILDING A HEALTHY AND SANITIZED CHURCH
By Anton Kapusi – Pueblo, Colorado … Pueblo First Adventist Church purchases equipment to ensure visitors are kept safe while attending worship services.
With the pandemic, safety and sanitization of the church is important to building healthy churches.
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COMMENTARY: UNITY FOR OUR TIMES?
By Ron Price – Farmington, New Mexico … One of our nation’s founding fathers Thomas Paine stated, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” He wrote that about the American Revolution, but I’m confident he could have been speaking to our present-day reality as well.
We are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with numerous attendant consequences. One such negative outcome is that we live in an age of unrest, and unity seems to be rarer and rarer.
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CHURCH WORSHIP “DIFFERENT” AS STUDENTS RETURN TO CAMPION
By Sami Hodges – Loveland, Colorado… Campion Academy students were welcomed back with a special worship service and a prayer of dedication for the new academic year on Sabbath, August 15.
Campion church holds a campus dedication the first Sabbath of every school year where students get involved, this year with music and the children’s story.
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VIRTUAL VBS REACHES AREA INDONESIAN CHILDREN
By Rossaline Sitompul – Aurora, Colorado …Some 44 community children attended the virtual Vacation Bible School sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Indonesian-American church August 10 – 15.
The summer of 2020 was not like the one we had planned. Prior to the pandemic, Rocky Mountain Indonesian-American church was planning to host VBS as an outreach for area children.
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WILDFIRES NEAR PACIFIC UNION COLLEGE AND ST. HELENA HOSPITAL FORCE EVACUATIONS
By Kimberly Luste Maran — Angwin, California … As of Friday, August 21, 2020, several Adventist entities and institutions in Northern California have been evacuated due to wildfires that began several days ago when an unusual heat wave and storms in the region produced more than 10,000 lightning strikes.
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