October 2, 2020

ABILITY TO DISCERN

By Gordon Anic

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge    and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,  filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. [Philippians 1:9-11 NIV]

These words are more appropriate now than they ever were. Life has become one giant stadium with millions of people screaming into millions of microphones and all of that noise is directed at you and me. I don’t know about you but for me it is overwhelming.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN 175 WOMEN ARE HANDED LEMONS? LEMONADE, OF COURSE!

By DeeAnn Bragaw – Loveland, Colorado … In early August, the annual Rocky Mountain Conference women’s retreat plans for a weekend escape to Glacier View Ranch filled with laughter, hugs, and friendships renewed was on track to be another casualty of the ongoing COVID situation.

Facing this reality Deeann Bragaw, RMC Women’s Ministry director, remembered the proverbial phrase, “When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade” and began to think of alternatives to the weekend retreat.

PASTORAL LAY TRAINEES TEST THEIR SERMON SKILLS

Grand Junction, Colorado … The sanctuary doctrine was the focus of a recent lay pastor’s training weekend held at the Grand Junction Church.

The purpose of the training was not to make “pastors” but to help people hear what God is calling them to do and to give them the tools and resources that they need to do it. Each training weekend includes a practical ministry topic and a theological focus.

CAMPION STUDENTS GIVE BACK

By Sami Hodges – Loveland, Colorado … Campion students gave their Sunday, normally a free day to enjoy teenage activities, to improve their campus and the campus of Glacier View Ranch, along with various other outreach projects in the surrounding area, during their annual Community Service Day

Students at Campion Academy cleaned up their campus by cutting down dead trees, doing yard work and agriculture and tearing down a deck behind the girls’ dorm.

ALAMOSA PASTOR’S TWO CHILDREN BAPTIZED

By Bob McAlpine – Alamosa, Colorado… Every baptism is special, but the Alamosa church recently celebrated two baptisms that Bob McAlpine, Alamosa pastor, will never forget–the baptism of his two children, Meredith and Tristan.

McAlpine recalls the weeks leading up to the baptismal date, saying those weeks “stressed me out. I saw all the petty acts of selfishness that take place between siblings. Worse, I saw how my own bad habits and sins (let’s just be honest, here) were shaping my children.”

ONCE ON A FINE SUNDAY IN WESTERN COLORADO

By David Klemm -- Fruita, Colorado ... Ten men from the Fruita and Grand Junction Seventh-day Adventist churches gathered for fun and fellowship on a beautiful fall day at James Robb State Park in Fruita, Colorado.  Five early arrivals rode bikes from the park to the end of Riverfront trail, which ends about four miles shy of Utah.  A wonderful and relatively easy ride, the last several hundred yards is a leg-burning, steep climb to the top.

CAMPION STUDENTS EXPERIENCE BACKPACKING FOR THE FIRST TIME

By Bentlee Barry – Loveland, Colorado … Students experienced Colorado’s mountainous art, God created, on their annual back packing trip, several of the fifteen students for the first time.

“It was a lot of fun and I definitely would go again. I was going in blind and had no idea what to expect. Using the restroom in the forest was definitely a challenge I had to overcome since I’m from Kansas and there are no mountains,” Jared Marcenaro, Campion junior, said. 

PANDEMIC DOES NOT STOP VIBRANT CHURCH ACTIVITIES, RMC EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HEARS

RMCNews – Denver, Colorado … “Tithe and offering faithfulness is such a blessing in our Conference. Church members and their pastors are inspiring in their dedication to God, which is clearly visible in how God’s church is supported,” said Ed Barnett, RMC president.

In his report to the RMC Executive Committee on September 29, Barnett expressed gratitude to all RMC churches which, in spite of the volatile situation from the pandemic, are successfully using technology so that regular worship services can be conducted.

MILE HIGH ACADEMY HOSTS FIRST EVER VIRTUAL ALUMNI WEEKEND CELEBRATION

By Karrie Meyers — Highlands Ranch, Colorado … Due to a mandated closed campus for large events and COVID unknowns, Mile High Academy shifted its 2020 Alumni Weekend to a virtual celebration on Sabbath and an in-person golf tournament at Arrowhead Golf Course on Sunday.

The virtual Alumni Sabbath event began, September 26. A video was posted via MHA’s YouTube channel as a premiere event and linked to the Alumni website. A .pdf of the program was also offered on the website.

FIRE DESTROYS HOMES AND COMMUNITIES NEAR PACIFIC UNION COLLEGE

RMCNews –Angwin, California … Early Sunday morning, September 27, Saint Helena Hospital and the campus of Pacific Union College received the order to leave the premises immediately due to a nearby forest fire that had just been sparked.

THE DELIGHT IN THEIR EYES

By Esther Ramharacksingh Knott — Columbia, Maryland … During an offering appeal, I once asked the church members, “What secular holiday is in our faces all through the month of October?” There were some children sitting near the front. Their immediate and energetic response was, “Halloween!” Their suppressed giggles and the delight in their eyes was, of course, much less about their understanding of the paganism behind this ritual, than it was about the candy and treats they might receive at a “Fall Festival” — a stash to last all year.

PUEBLO MOVES EVANGELISM ONLINE

By Anton Kapusi – Pueblo, Colorado … The Pueblo Church refocused their evangelism outreach, to social media and beyond.

COVID has brought a new normal of social distancing, masked faces, and has introduced a gap between not only people, but families, church members, and all kinds of relationships.

COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION CENTER FORMED AT PUEBLO FIRST

By Delbit Hayden – Pueblo, Colorado … The Pueblo area had the opportunity to help families in need by providing free baby diapers from the State of Colorado, but there was still a need for a distribution center and a team to lead the efforts.

Members of Pueblo First church offered their building as a place to receive and store the truckload of diapers and the Pueblo First Adventist Community Service (ACS) team began developing the distribution process.

CHURCH MEMBER VISITATION: GLOBAL TRENDS

By The General Conference Office of Archives and Statistics — Silver Spring, Maryland … It was written about the early Christian believers: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. . . . Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42–47).²

The Adventist Church uses Christ’s method to minister to those outside the church. But how good are we in ministering to our own members?

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