Aome Jacob Angeles – Loveland, Colorado … After much preparation and anticipation, the Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loveland, Colorado, hosted their annual International Sabbath worship service, March 7. The International Sabbath celebration serves to appreciate the cultural diversity within the Campion community and the global Seventh-day Adventist Church by featuring a multicultural and multilingual service.
Throughout the program, church members and Campion Academy (CA) students proudly represented their countries by marching in the flag parade, dressing in cultural attire, speaking their native languages, and finally sharing a taste of the world over potluck.
Kicking off the church program, around 50 people carried flags and marched into the church in a colorful and symbolic parade of nations. Flag bearers also greeted the congregation by saying “Happy Sabbath” in 14 different languages represented at the church.
Throughout the service, the praise team members incorporated different languages in their worship songs, presenting the same message in different languages. The theme continued in each aspect of the service with different languages represented in scripture reading, prayer and children’s story.
A highlight of the program was the baptism of CA sophomore student Moses W. As a member of an Indonesian Seventh-Day Adventist Church, a group from his church provided special music in the Indonesian language.
Rodlie Ortiz, Campion Church’s lead pastor, gave the sermon appropriately focused on the first Angel’s message in the Book of Revelation chapter 14, which starts by emphasizing the gospel message being preached to all the word in every language.
After church, members gathered for an international-themed potluck. Campion Academy students enjoyed Indonesian and South American food, generously provided and served by the Indonesian Church visitors and the Campion Church Spanish-speaking Sabbath School members.
—Aome Jacob Angeles, Campion Academy Student News Team. Photos supplied.
