With the recent escalation of the pandemic COVID-19, the Rocky Mountain Conference leadership is postponing all of the upcoming Town Hall meetings, March 16 -26. Information about future scheduling of Town Halls meetings will be forthcoming.
We encourage all church members to keep this developing issue as a matter of prayer for the communities in which we live.
–RMCNews
Denver, Colorado … Every day we are seeing communities take unprecedented measures to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19. The Rocky Mountain Conference along with Adventist Risk Management, Inc. is committed to providing resources to help mitigate the impact of this coronavirus pandemic.
Attached you will find guidance for churches and schools on how to be proactive in planning for the possibility of disruption in everyday life. We have provided our schools with a template they can use to communicate with parents about measures the school is taking to minimize the risk of transmission.
Adventist Risk Management has also created a video to be shared with our churches and schools that promotes everyday hygiene habits that will help reduce the spread of germs. The video has been translated into 3 different languages:
English https://youtu.be/HXV74zb0Vcg
Spanish https://youtu.be/ELaj89qw-Ck
Portuguese https://youtu.be/wYqHu18HSkY
Please note that all of these resources and more can be found on the Adventist Risk Management website at https://adventistrisk.org/covid19.
Orlando, Florida … AdventHealth has launched a coronavirus information site for the Adventist Church with videos covering topics like prevention, symptoms, spread and some special considerations for congregations.
You can find the first few episodes of the video podcast series at AdventHealth.com/Coronavirus-Resource-Hub/Church-Resources, in addition to FAQs, blogs and CDC resources. Future episodes will be posted as we learn more about the virus and we have additional updates. We will also set up a coronavirus information site for schools in the near future.
To download the video files, click the links below:
Prevention
Spread
Treatment
Important Considerations for Congregations
We invite you share the site and the videos on your platforms and with the congregations in your territories. Be sure to check back often for new content.
—AdventHealth News Service and Adventist Risk Management; photo courtesy of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Columbia, Maryland … One of our roles as pastors is to create a safe space for gatherings, writes Dave Gemmell, associate director of the North American Division’s Ministerial Association. He says, I’m not a germaphobe but with increasing concerns about the impact of COVID-19, I would like to propose seven ways to increase the safety of our congregations.
1) Find ways to greet other than a handshake. The tradition of standing at the door to greet everyone as they leave the church with a handshake could spread more than just love. As we shake each attendee’s hand, we circulate the germs from everyone in the congregation to everyone in the congregation. Instead, let’s think of creating ways to share the love without the bugs. There’s the fist bump, the forearm bump, the elbow bump, or the safest of all, the toe tap!
2) Wash our hands. Much of our time as pastors is spent mingling with people. We should be washing our hands for at least 20 seconds frequently.
3) Put up signs in the washroom that encourage people to wash.
4) Put up hand sanitizer dispensers at strategic places in the church. (60% alcohol is recommended).
5) Stay at home if we’re sick. I know we’re all a tough bunch, but we don’t need to be infecting everyone if we’ve got a serious bug. Let’s have a designated elder ready in case we have to call in sick at the last minute. And encourage members who are sick to enjoy the service virtually (see below).
6) Shorten our worship services. Dr. Peter Landless, General Conference health ministries director, believes that there is a correlation between the length of our meetings and the risk of infection. He suggests keeping our worship services to no more than an hour. This could be our once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to cut those pesky extraneous things we don’t like out of our worship services!
7) Make sure our streaming equipment is working. In the unlikely event that the government requires us to shut down our worship services, we can continue to worship together virtually.
It is our responsibility as pastors to ensure that our congregations are safe places. Our community needs to know we are doing everything possible to reduce the risk of infection. Those are my rants. For a real authority, please go to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
—Dave Gemmell, associate director, NAD Ministerial Association
Denver, Colorado … Several hundred people attended opening presentations of a multi-church evangelistic outreach called Catch 2020, a series involving Northeast Colorado churches “working together to fish for men,” explained Nestor Soriano, pastor for evangelism and worship from Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Thirteen congregations from Akron, Brighton, Campion, Carbon Valley, Chapel Haven, Fort Morgan, Greeley, Holyoke, Loveland, Mountain View in Loveland, Sterling, the Adventure in Greeley, and Louisville’s Twin Peaks, are participating in the evangelistic initiative which opened on March 6.
Each church has the same theme: Discovering Revelation. Churches participating in Catch 2020 have their own preachers, in most cases, pastors. The only churches using a streaming service are the five congregations under one senior pastor, Don Lopes Jr., in the eastern area of Colorado.
Lopes reported from Fort Morgan church that on the first night “37 people attended our meetings in Fort Morgan and 15 of those were visitors from the community. I have been presenting these meetings through live streaming over YouTube to Holyoke, Sterling, Akron and Fort Morgan,” he explained.
Karen Sweney, member of the Fort Morgan Church remarked, “These meetings are really good.” Two of the guests that came said they were looking for a church home, Lopes added.
The Campion church welcomed some 170 people on opening night, including 50 guests. “We have met a total of four nights already, and we have 15 to 20 guests who are regularly attending the presentations,” said Nestor Soriano.
Their presenter is Ronnie Mills, Bible worker from Campion Church (pictured). “He has been doing a phenomenal job presenting the Discovering Revelation theme,” Soriano added.
Liesl White, Campion Church member, commented, “I have been enjoying the meetings, and have been especially blessed by Ronnie’s ability to tie current events with prophecy.”
Lee Lee Dart, lead pastor of The Adventure congregation in Greeley, reported that
50 people attended the opening of the series on Friday night with 15 guests among them. “We had 100 Bible study requests from the invitation mailings. We are doing Discover Course classes on addictions, suicide, mental health, and marriage throughout the month,” she said.
In the Carbon Valley Church, Pastor Frank Wilson, is responding to 29 Bible study requests and among other attendees, eight guests participated in the opening of the series.
Greeley Church pastor, Jason Logan reported that they had 93 people attending the meeting on the first night. Thirty of the attendees were not church members.
“I’ve talked to several of the guests who say they are loving the presentations. One guest in particular I had a conversation with her for a few minutes. She made it very clear how thankful she was to be hearing these presentations. As I was walking away, she got my attention again and said to me very sincerely, ‘I’m so thirsty’,” Pastor Logan shared.
In Brighton, “we had 65 people join us for opening night and 18 of those were guests. We’ve had a great spirit of warmth and fellowship, both before and after the meetings and are definitely creating new friends,” said Pastor Wayne Morrison. The Brighton Church received some 60 Bible study requests.
Morrison shared that Amanda, mother of an 11-year old girl, commented, “I brought my daughter because I want her to learn that [the book of] Revelation is not scary, but it is about Jesus and His love for us.”
In preparation for the series, churches mailed more than 200,000 Bible study interest cards and have received more than 650 Bible study interest cards over the last four or five months. Church members have been trained in visiting with these interests and giving Bible studies.
The length of the Catch 2020 series is decided by individual churches. The Campion Church plans for two weeks of meetings (five days each) and three weekends.
—RMCNews; photos by Nestor Soriano, Don Lopes Jr. and Wayne Morrison
Highlands Ranch, Colorado … Mile High Academy’s Men’s Varsity Basketball has made school history by advancing to the CHSAA 1A State Finals joining the top teams in the state. The Finals are taking place March 12-14, 2020 at both the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland.
For the March 12 Elite Eight game, MHA hosted a campus-wide watch party, complete with popcorn, pompoms and school spirit as the students cheered the Mustang team to a 70-63 victory against Evangelical Christian out of Colorado Springs. The Final Four game will be at 4 pm, Friday, March 13. If the Mustangs win Friday afternoon, they will play the Championship game at 8:30 pm, Saturday, March 14.
“I am so proud of the team, their coaches and our MHA community for the love and support shown to our team,” said Walter Weber, MHA Athletic Director. “It is a special time in MHA’s history. And it’s humbling to be a part of it. Other athletic directors have commented admiringly on our Mustang fans and team. Our sports program is a ministry. We always say, ‘Know Who You Play For,’ and that means your school, your family and, most importantly, God. My hope is for our athletes, families, and opponents to see and meet Jesus through us in every game we play.”
Due to health awareness, CHSAA has limited attendance for state basketball to essential team personnel only. CHSAA and the NFHS Network have teamed up to stream the state basketball play-offs. To watch the games, go to https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/playoffs/state/colorado. There is a $10.99 fee for the streaming service, but that covers a one month membership to the NFHS Network.
—Karrie Meyers; photos supplied
Loveland, Colorado … Middle school students from Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, and Nebraska converged on Campion Academy for the annual Rocky Mountain Conference Music Festival, March 5-8. There, the young musicians made music with high school students for three days, with 300 students participating in various ensembles, including a large choir, an orchestra and a handbell choir.
Megan Michalenko, a senior at Campion who has attended this festival for the last nine years, commented, “Music Fest has been such a positive experience in my life and has given me the opportunity to grow my love for music.”
Beginning early Thursday morning and continuing until Saturday evening, Campion students shared their musical talents with the young visiting musicians.
On Friday, Campion’s music department gave a short concert for guests attending the music festival. Pastor Goetz, who shared a worship thought, encouraged everyone to “rejoice always, pray continually, (and) give thanks in all circumstances,” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
With Sabbath came performances. The church service began with a group of first through third-grade students, the Strings of the Rockies, and was followed by festival ensembles who shared the beautiful music they had been preparing.
“One of my favorite parts was everyone working together to form such a big sound,” Benjamin Maxson, a Campion student, remarked, “There’s nothing like hundreds of voices singing in unison to glorify God.”
Saturday night, ensembles played the last of their pieces before wrapping up the weekend.
Yves Clouzet, the music department director at Campion Academy, who plans this event, shared, “It gives me great joy to see the students improve over the course of the festival rehearsals. It means that all the things that went on behind the scenes to make sure these students could have the musical support they needed to be successful was 100 percent worth it.”
—Madi Jordan, text; photos by Darcy Force
Multi-faceted community outreach engages Grand Valley church members
Grand Junction, Colorado … A group of 40 members from the Grand Junction Seventh-day Adventist Church met February 22-23 to participate in several hours of training for the community outreach program, Free Indeed. Joining them were church members from Fruita and Montrose. The training was conducted by Julia Bellman, director of Family Health & Education Resources, based in Colorado Springs.
The church is seeking a way to intentionally and meaningfully touch the lives of people throughout the Grand Valley, reported Bernie Hartnell, a church elder, who participated in the program.
“Julia has invested in a long-range plan through which we can continuously engage our community by helping to provide classes that will help meet the needs of people dealing with depression and anxiety, as well as provide lifestyle education, Hartnell explained. The initial stage of the multi-faceted program will conclude with an evangelistic series based on the book Steps to Christ by Ellen G. White.
The church plans an extended effort to engage with the community by responding to community needs and meeting them where they are.
—Bernie Hartnell, text; photos by Nate Skaife
Denver, Colorado … Adventist Risk Management released Information Regarding Coronavirus COVID-19. We would like to share it with our Rocky Mountain Conference pastors and congregations. “This is relevant information how to react to a situation which does concern all of us. As we meet with each other, go about our daily lives, organize church worship and events throughout our Conference, we would like all of us to be aware and act wisely,” says Ed Barnett, RMC president.
“Let us commit ourselves and the communities in which we live in prayer and engage in preventing as much as we can what is looming in the world today,” he adds.
The following information deals with precautions and prevention. As this is a “fluid” situation, availability of tests will likely increase information of new cases of the virus. Some of the details about the COVID-19 spread change daily.
Background Information
COVID-19 was discovered in December 2019 in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. It is an aggressive respiratory infection that is believed to be transmitted through droplet spread when infected people cough or sneeze. The virus can gain access to the body through the respiratory tract, mainly through the nose and mouth. Symptoms are similar to the common influenza strain and include fever, cough, muscle pain, shortness of breath, and fatigue.
Initially isolated to mainland China, the World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting for the first time that there are more new cases being discovered outside China than from within China.[1] As of their March 1 report, the WHO is reporting 87,137 confirmed cases, with only 7,169 of those outside of China.[2]
In the United States, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is reporting 494 presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, meaning they have tested positive by a public health laboratory and are pending confirmation by the CDC. This includes at least 2 cases of where the virus was contracted by individuals with no relevant travel history.[3] The first death due to COVID-19 in the United States was reported in Washington State on February 29[4].
Precaution and Prevention
Using good hygiene practices can further reduce the risk of contracting COVID-19. Here are some simple preventative measures you can take:
Resources
This is an ongoing situation that is evolving quickly. For updated information regarding the spread of the virus and travel advisories please consult the following resources:
World Health Organization – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
International SOS – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak
U.S. State Department – Current Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
[1] World Health Organization, Coronavirus Situation Report #37. February 26, 2020. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200226-sitrep-37-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=2146841e_2
[2] World Health Organization, Coronavirus Situation Report #41, March 1, 2020. https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200301-sitrep-41-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=6768306d_2
[3] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the U.S. February 29, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html
[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Summary. February 29, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/summary.html
Parker, Colorado … Newday Adventist Church in Parker said goodbye on February 29 to Pastor David Kennedy, who helped found the congregation in 2000 and has been its lead pastor. The sanctuary was packed for his last day, with overflow seating set up to accommodate the crowd gathered to say farewell to Pastor Dave and his wife Kim. The couple is moving to Kansas City, where Dave has accepted a leadership position at AdventHealth.
Three individuals were baptized during his final worship service–Eden Jaklich, a 6th grader at Mile High Academy; Roberto Amaya, a college student who started attending Newday at the invitation of his girlfriend; and Aura Stannard, a medical professional who started attending Newday last summer after being invited by a co-worker.
Pastor Dave’s final sermon wrapped up a series entitled “Transitions,” intended to help the congregation prepare for the transitional period ahead in which they will be searching for a new lead pastor. The final message focused on Acts 20, the story of Paul’s farewell to the leaders of the church in Ephesus. The sermon urged the congregation to remain faithful to the gospel, and Pastor Dave ended the message by following Paul’s example and kneeling to pray for his congregation.
After the service, the congregation celebrated with a fellowship lunch, followed by an emotional afternoon farewell program. Several Newday members gave brief speeches in which they shared memories of friendship with the Kennedys, expressed gratitude for the Kennedys’ service, and (in several cases) shed tears over the departure of a beloved friend and pastor.
“We have had the honor and blessing of loving God and serving our world with the most amazing community of people for 20 years. Stepping away from this group of people is one of the hardest decisions of my life, and it’s difficult to imagine serving in another city. People ask if we’ll miss the mountains, or the weather, or the Broncos. Living in Denver is great, but we’ll really only miss the people of Newday who have loved us and served along side us so faithfully for so long,” Dave Kennedy commented for the NewsNuggets.
The service ended with Newday’s congregation joining together in unison to affirm Pastor Dave and Kim with the traditional farewell the congregation gives to departing members who have deeply impacted the Newday community: “We commend your service.”
—Jamie Santa Cruz, text; photos by Agape Hammond
Loveland, Colorado … For twelve volunteers, the eight-day adventure to Kings Children’s Home (KCH), an orphanage, near Belmopan, Belize began in the early morning hours of February 2. Eleven of the group came from Campion Church, and other nearby churches and began their journey at the Denver airport while Linda, our 12th volunteer and cook, joined the group during the layover in Houston.
“As our team spent time working and sharing together, we gained great blessings, making many memories and experiencing answered prayers,” said Bill Hay, coordinator of the mission trip, who shared his list of answered prayers, “starting with how the group came together in just the last six weeks before departure; how some passports were received in short order; how boarding passes were obtained even when the airline was missing several names; how Myrna was able to go even after becoming sick a couple days before departure; how the right radiator hose was found for the van used to get around.”
Favorite memories include our morning and evening group worship time, recounting individual answers to prayer, favorite Bible verses, special times with each unique child at the orphanage, the challenges of the electrical circuits, the almost nightly trips to town for ice cream, Sabbath school and church worship with kids and staff, a water taxi ride to Caye Caulker island, seeing the colorful variety of fish while snorkeling, a Sabbath afternoon visit to Xunantunich Mayan Ruins and Sabbath evening dinner at Western Dairy in Spanish Lookout, Belize.
Team members included Bill and Sherry Hay, Linda Reece, Lindsey and Myrna Greene, Patricia Velasquez-Torrez, Vicki and Daphne Kahler, Walt and Pam Sparks, Jerry and Marlene Ellquist, and Bob Aitkin, our van driver to and from the Denver airport.
A common theme in group conversations was the belief that one week was just not long enough. Many expressed the desire to go back,” Bill added. For more information about KCH go to Kings Children’s Home Belize.
—Bill Hay, text and photos
