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Denver, Colorado … For Seventh-day Adventists in the Rocky Mountain Conference, Town Halls are part of our calendar. This year, one of the eleven gatherings is coming to your area in the month of March. Two Town Halls–Campion and Denver South Hispanic churches–are still to be scheduled.

“Our overall goal is for the churches to be informed about what’s going on in the conference as well as for church members to inform Conference leadership the blessings and challenges in our conference,” says Eric Nelson, RMC VP for administration.

“It’s a special privilege that administration has to visit the regions of our large conference. We truly enjoy meeting the people and having a chance to exchange thoughts and perspectives that are unique to each area of our conference,” Nelson added.

The RMC leaders are taking this time to visit Wyoming more intensively by conducting Town Hall meetings in a church in each district. “We did this early on when Ed Barnett, assumed the role of RMC President. It was a blessing to administration, and certainly provided a wonderful time to interact with and be informed about the church’s particular interests in the specific districts of Wyoming,” Nelson commented.

RMC By-laws mandate that administration conduct six Town Hall meetings each year as an avenue of communication and interaction with the Conference regions in our three states – Colorado, Wyoming, and San Juan County in Northern New Mexico.

In 2020, the Conference administrators and several departmental directors are planning to go well beyond the required regional meetings to include more intentional interaction with the Wyoming churches and to include a Hispanic Town Hall.

–RMCNews; photo from 2017 Farmington Town Hall by Rajmund Dabrowski

Town Hall Meetings 2020 – meetings begin at 6 p.m.

Light supper at 5:30 p.m.

NOTE: When the church prays… For months and months our RMC office staff prayed for Stephanie. Today, we all rejoice. Susan Inglish was closest to the experience and, along with her, we are sharing a story of God’s answer to scores of prayers. 

Denver, Colorado… I grew up with a niece who was closer to my age than any of my siblings.  Stephanie made her home and raised her family in the small town where we grew up, while my husband’s denominational employment took us to several states over the years. Nevertheless, we have always remained close.

Last year, she video called me and tearfully told me that she had cancer–serious cancer that would require aggressive treatment, including radiation, chemotherapy, and life-altering surgery. It broke my heart. When I asked her in deep sincerity what I could do to help, her answer took me by surprise. She said, “I want you to take care of the spiritual part of this”. She was reaching out to God for help, and I was humbled that she chose me as the person she trusted to speak on her behalf.

That week we attended Sabbath School at The Adventure Church. When it came time for prayer requests, I told them about Stephanie and they prayed fervently for her and really showed that they cared. I told Stephanie about it and it made her cry. She knew she was prayed for. These people cared, and it touched her deeply.

Since that day, so many people have prayed for Stephanie. Morning worships at the Rocky Mountain Conference office often found sincere prayers rising up from Ed Barnett’s office on behalf of Stephanie. My father-in-law got his Sabbath School class in Elkhart, Indiana, to lift her up in prayer. Many others we don’t even know personally have prayed for her through her radiation, chemotherapy, surgery, and months of additional chemotherapy.

Through it all, I have seen God working. I knew He would because He loves her even more than I do. She has remained so cheerful and strong through this battle. She has encouraged others around her. She now knows through personal experience that we care enough to pray, continuously over time and in large numbers across the country, for someone who needs and asks for those prayers. These are all answers to prayer!

Stephanie called me the other day on her way home from the doctor. She was so excited she could hardly contain her joy. Her scans were clear!  Praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!  Prayer is powerful. Thank you to all who have been praying for her.

–Susan Inglish; photo by Erica Haas Photography

Loveland, Colorado … The #starsofcampion shone brightly Sunday during the annual Alumni Scholarship and Scholars Brunch. Inspiration for the morning’s theme came from both Colorado’s beautiful midnight sky and the stars that shine so radiantly at Campion in the form of students and alumni. Fifteen students received scholarships, funded by the generosity of Campion alumni. Sixty-seven students were honored for their academic achievement of a 3.5 or higher GPA for the first semester of this school year.

More than 200 students, parents, and alumni came together to celebrate these student achievements in the Campion Academy cafeteria, during Senior Recognition Weekend. Many of the alumni donors of these scholarships were in attendance to share the inspiration behind their gifts and to present the scholarships to the deserving students. The alumni stories spoke of family legacies, commitment to Christian education, and pride in their school.

A new scholarship was added to the growing list this year. Family and friends of Art Brown established a scholarship in his memory. Brown was a science nut, according to his students. He taught at Caltech, Cal Polly, and Andrews University. He then walked away from that illustrious career to start a greenhouse program at Campion Academy. During his time at Campion, every student had to take one year of horticulture and one year of greenhouse management to work for him. The scholarship is given to students showing academic achievement in science and showing a desire to work hard at a job to help do their part in paying for their tuition.

Local veterinarian and Campion Academy alum Dr. Amy Gane (1986), who worked for Brown as a student, helped set up the scholarship with the support of the Brown family. “He taught us to work,” Gane remembers. “We worked hard in the greenhouse and it impacted my success in knowing how to work hard through vet school. Art Brown believed in Christian Education. He mentored dozens of students over the years.”

While parents and families looked on, additional awards were handed out.  Sixteen seniors were inducted into the National Honor Society and 12 juniors recognized as provisional NHS members. Four students shared short speeches about the meaning of scholarship, service, leadership, and character.

Darcy Force; photos supplied by Campion Academy News. Pictured: Sandra Marin was the recipient of the new Art Brown scholarship for excellence in science and work ethic

La Junta, Colorado … The only time Ted Williams has ticketed a law enforcement officer was on a trip from the Wyoming State Penitentiary in Rawlins to La Junta. Needing fuel, he stopped in Wellington, Colorado and was filling his tank when a black Dodge Charger came to a screeching halt at the fuel station near him and out stepped a Colorado highway patrolman who began to fuel his vehicle.

Stepping toward him across the cement barrier between pumps, Williams said, “Thank you!”

“Thank you for what?” the officer asked.

“Thank you for what you do,” Williams said as he handed him one of his special ticket stubs offering salvation. 

“Wow! This is cool,” the officer said. “Come sit here,” he invited Williams, who crawled into the driver’s seat of a running highway patrol car.

“Would you pray for me and my fellow officers?” he asked.

Getting out of the vehicle and putting his arm around him, Williams asked for his name. The officer responded not with “Officer So and So,” but with his first name. Williams happily prayed for him, for his fellow officers and for their safety.

It was an encounter for Jesus.

Carol Bolden; photo by Ted Williams