NewsNuggets

Melody Siregar – Aurora, Colorado … In the diverse city of Aurora, Colorado, “Flight 3:16 Destination Heaven”, a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program, took place in the summer evenings at the Rocky Mountain Indonesian-American Seventh-Day Adventist Church (RMIASDAC), July 21-25.

“Children throughout the local community and church were welcomed to board this spiritually fun-filled, five-day event,” remarked Melody Siregar, RMIASDAC’s newly elected children’s Sabbath School teacher and Children’s Ministry director for the 2025-2027 term. “They virtually traveled and learned about five different countries, learned Bible verses through songs, played games, ate healthy snacks, and created their own arts and crafts in preparation for our final destination—Heaven.”

Siregar stated that she was encouraged by her fellow RMIASDAC board members to host and direct a VBS for her first time. She accepted the opportunity as she said, “by the wonderful grace of God,” and came across “Flight 3:16 Destination Heaven” created by Melissa Bradshaw, the Children’s Ministry director for It Is Written.

With this being the first time directing a children’s VBS program, Siregar “felt nervous but continued to pray and trust Jesus to be my personal pilot in directing the VBS program.” With the help of many RMIASDAC members, the church facility was prepared for the daily activities for the week-long program and decorated in airport and airplane themed stage props to make children feel like they are passengers getting ready to board an airplane.

Siregar recalled that the “Flight 3:16 Destination Heaven” program materials package was so meticulously created with all the supplies and instructions, it was exactly what she needed for her first time directing a VBS program. She enjoyed watching everyone participate in singing the theme song and being engaged in the activities. She believes that all the children and volunteers who participated in this VBS event at RMIASDAC were moved by the Holy Spirit and had a lot of fun during the program.

—Melody Siregar is the RMIASDAC Children’s Ministry director. Photos supplied.

RMCNews – Casper, Wyoming … Camp meetings have been a defining tradition in the Seventh-day Adventist Church for over 150 years, with James and Ellen G. White laying the groundwork for these gatherings in the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) region with evangelistic effort in Colorado in the 1870s. Playing a vital role in spiritual revival, community building, and denominational identity, these gatherings provided a space for both instruction in Bible truth and connection among scattered members.

Overtime, camp meetings evolved to include youth programming, health education, and mission promotion, but the original simplicity, rustic settings, and familiar format of worship, Bible study, and fellowship remains the trademark of the RMC Wyoming Camp Meeting.

The 2025 Wyoming Camp Meeting was held July 15-19 at Mills Spring Ranch (MSR) in Casper, Wyoming, with this year’s theme being “Walking with Jesus.” The featured speaker was Dr. Greg A. King, a renowned Bible scholar, a passionate teacher currently serving as dean of the School of Religion and professor of biblical studies at Southern Adventist University, and a man whose “greatest mission is helping people experience the abundant life that comes from a deep relationship with Jesus.”

When asked what message from his presentations Dr. King hoped would resonate with the attendees, he remarked, “That the key to the Christian life is an ongoing walk with Jesus Christ. It is important to have a daily relationship with him.”

And, for many attendees, their annual camp meeting experience is an important part of that ongoing faith journey. “I have attended camp meetings starting when I was about four or five years old with my mother, and I’ve been speaking at them for about 30 years or so,” reflected Dr. King. “So, I’m a long-time camp meeting camper. And the Wyoming Camp is just beautiful with sweet fellowship that is a foretaste of heaven.”

A long-time Wyoming Camp Meeting attendee and member of the Gillette Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wyoming is Diane Montoya: “I think I started coming up in the mid-1980s, and I’ve been to almost every one since then. I love the messages that I get here every day. There are things that I get in the messages that help me through the next year.”

But not all that joined this year’s event are long-time attendees. This was the first year for Mary Miles, member of the Torrington Seventh-day Adventist Church in Wyoming. “I have learned so much, and I am just so much more on fire for God than ever before. Pastors talking about fear and how to get rid of it … It made me feel like I’m not alone. This whole experience made me feel like I’m not alone.”

A lot goes into the planning and fulfillment of every camp meeting, and they would not run without a dedicated team of individuals. Wyoming district pastors Edrey Santos, Mark Phillips, and Kevin McDonald hosted and provided morning devotionals and workshops. Leandro Bizama, associate pastor of Worship and Evangelism at the Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church in Loveland, Colorado, stepped up last minute to provide music programming and direction for the event, and RMC president-elect David VandeVere gave inaugural remarks.

With the relatively recent transition of new pastors in the Wyoming region, Liz Cornett, assistant clerk of the Casper Seventh-day Adventist Church, took on a leadership role in this year’s camp meeting as the coordinator. “My first experience with Wyoming Camp Meeting came in 1991 after I had just moved from the Oregon Conference to Casper. I was 14 years old and had left everything I knew behind,” Cornett recalled. “I arrived at Mills Spring Ranch, and I knew absolutely nobody that first day; how lonely that was!  So, I decided to change that.”

“So, every young person that looked around my age that walked into camp, I immediately walked up to and said, ‘Hi, I’m Liz!’  I made so many new friends that week!  When I went to Campion Academy in the Fall, several of them were there saying, ‘Hey! I remember you from camp meeting!’  Some people became my friends for life, and we still stay in contact,” she continued.

“Camp meeting to me is a time to leave behind the day-to-day grind of life and separate for spiritual renewal,” reflected Cornett. “This is made up of many things—friends, nature, uplifting messages, and music.  This year’s camp meeting has become one of my favorites.  The combination of spiritual messages, real-life application workshops, family activities, and making music filled my cup to overflow. I praise God that I was given the opportunity to be a part of it, and I am looking forward to camp meeting again next year!”

New to this year’s camp meeting experience was the presence of the RMC summer camp staff. They were facilitating the RMC Blind Camp session that ran concurrently with camp meeting, assisting in a number of facility projects at MSR, and providing support for camp meeting. “It was off the charts watching all of the young people this week—helping out, cooking, and taking care of things,” commented Mona Fellers, member of Torrington Church.

Also hosted at this year’s Wyoming Camp Meeting was the first of six regional RMC Town Hall sessions. The town hall was divided into two segments: the first being breakout sessions on mission and ministry topics followed by conference ministry reports from department directors. “I loved the town hall breakouts. I managed to catch parts of two of them and wanted to go to more,” remarked Cornett.

“I would encourage more of our members to attend Wyoming Camp Meeting,” closed Cornett. “It is where we support and lift each other up and see that we are not alone up here in the vast prairies and mountains but that we are one conference, one church, and one message to proclaim to a world in desperate need of Jesus.”

—RMCNews. Photos by Liz Kirkland and Susan Inglish.

AdventHealth – Castle Rock, Colorado … Following AdventHealth’s mission to help team members, guests, and patients Feel Whole, AdventHealth Castle Rock officially opened the Pittman Pathway Wellness Trail with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Located on a 10-acre site in the southeast corner of the hospital campus on Limelight Avenue, this publicly accessible quarter-mile trail was made possible through generous contributions to the AdventHealth Castle Rock Foundation and was completed earlier this summer.

The trail includes several pieces of outdoor workout equipment, an incline, and useful health tips along the path.

“This initiative serves as an outreach to the community for health and wellness,” said Executive Chef and Manager at AdventHealth’s Manna Restaurant, Dan Skay who came up with the idea. “The community can walk the trail or guests and patients can come out here to get away for a little bit.”

The wellness trail is named after former AdventHealth Castle Rock CEO and current Rocky Mountain Region Chief Financial Officer, Jeremy Pittman.

“From the very beginning, we’ve had this vision for AdventHealth Castle Rock to be a place of healing not only when you’re sick, but when you’re well,” said Jeremy. “How do we better invite the community in and create this connection where a hospital isn’t a scary place. This is one more step in that direction.”

Team members and community supporters attended the ribbon cutting including AdventHealth Castle Rock CEO, Michelle Fuentes, who had the opportunity to dedicate the trail to her longtime friend.

“I have had the opportunity to know Jeremy for a very long time, and I know that he absolutely adores this hospital and that he is 100% committed to the work that we’re doing here,” said Michelle. “To dedicate something like this for my friend is a real honor.”

The primary goal of the trail is to embody AdventHealth’s C.R.E.A.T.I.O.N. life principles (Choice, Rest, Environment, Activity, Trust in God, Interpersonal Relationships, Outlook, Nutrition), serving as a resource for those seeking healthier, more fulfilling lives based on a whole-person health philosophy.

The creation of this trail will allow AdventHealth Castle Rock to create a deeper connection with the community as they continue the mission of “Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ.”

“I always say, it’s the people in this community who make it amazing, and I am so humbled and honored to be a part of spreading whole-person care with this trail,” said Jeremy.

—AdventHealth News. Republished with permission from the AdventHealth News & Stories website, July 10, 2025, article. Photos supplied.

Ron Johnson – Uncompahgre National Forest, Colorado … The 25^th annual Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) Cowboy Camp Meeting was held in the scenic valley surrounded by 12,000-foot peaks in the Uncompahgre National Forest of Western Colorado, July 9-13. Attendees came from as far away as California and Georgia, and a common theme of conversation was that this is one of the most beautiful locations in Colorado.

There are no facilities at this site, except for portable toilets that were brought in, and it is next to a wilderness area, so campers brought their own accommodations ranging from motor homes, travel trailers, truck campers, tents, and even a few brave souls who slept in hammocks.

Nathan and Charlote James presented inspiring messages in the morning and evening. Nathan is lead pastor at the Hot Springs and Custer Seventh-day Adventist Churches in South Dakota. His wife, Charolet, has a master’s in music education and serves at the state veterans’ home as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CAN). In addition to morning and evening meetings there was a women’s tea, a plant walk to identify edible plants, and a Sabbath School for the little campers.

The theme of Nathan’s messages was having a mountain experience with God and nature. He began his messages with fascinating stories of amazing ants, capturing bobcats in chicken coops, mountain goats licking salt from hikers, and a flying squirrel that he thought was a bear leaping on him while sleeping in his hammock at 2:00 a.m. one morning. He also talked about life-saving wilderness rescues and wilderness quotes by Ellen G. White and naturalist John Muir.

Nathan spoke of the importance of each of us to make gratitude a primary focus in our lives and how it would influence us, asking, “what do I have to be thankful for and what benefits are lacking in my life because of a lack of gratitude?” He spoke of making sure there is room in our hearts for Jesus every day and not underestimating the power of our testimony.

Charolet’s messages were on Isaiah, a Bible book of contrast and complexity that presents God’s work of salvation with the themes of judgment, comfort, and hope. The first thirty-nine chapters are filled with judgment for sin, and the last twenty-seven chapters declare a message of forgiveness, comfort, and hope.

Charolet shared her study methods of journaling and highlighting texts using colored pencils to lace and develop Isaiah’s thoughts: red for when Jesus is speaking, blue for when Isaiah is speaking, yellow for happy thoughts, orange for warning, purple for sad, and green for instruction.

Tiffany Westmoreland, and attendee of the camp meeting, commented, “A highlight for me was the description of the character of Isaiah. His fiery rage against the iniquity of God’s people. Yet he sees God’s goodness and mercy in contrast to his own lack of love and empathy for God’s wayward people.”

The plant walk, attended by 23 people, was organized by the health and young adult ministries of Grand Junction Seventh-day Adventist Church in Grand Junction, Colorado, and led by the Health Ministry director, Duane-Sue Jardinico. Aaron and Jami Dove, attendees and members of the Grand Junction Church, stated that their favorite “tidbit” from the walk was learning that Aspen tree bark has yeast that can be used for baking bread and also learning uses for Arnica, red clover, various thistles, wild currants, yarrow, and wild red raspberry.

When asked what they enjoyed about camp meeting, the Doves remarked, “we really enjoyed the music at each meeting. There is something special about worshiping together in the mountains.”

The younger campers had their own Sabbath School class led by Cindy Pickell, from Ringgold, Georgia, and her helper, “Pumpkin,” a young adult from Monticello, Utah. Jami says, “The children enjoyed songs, stories, and art projects. Favorites [of theirs] were the sharing song and learning to share some toys. Another favorite activity was pulling nature items, such as flowers, pinecones, and leaves, out of a treasure box. Everyone learned how much Jesus loves us.”

Cindy and her husband Chuck Pickell enjoyed a nearby hidden waterfall accessed by a short hike through a field of columbines. When it came into view, Cindy clapped her hands with joy, removed her shoes and socks and waded in the cold creek—very briefly. When asked what she liked about Cowboy Camp Meeting, she reflected, “I really appreciated the wonderful, fun, upbeat gospel songs led by Charolet and Tiffany, and it was great to have so many musical instruments—accordion, ukulele, violins, guitars, and recorders. I also appreciated the pastor’s stories and the study of Isaiah, which is something I have not heard before.”

Chuck remarked, “I really appreciated the music and the selected speakers. A highlight for me was getting to know people, and I am thankful for the attitude of everyone from the leaders to the attendees. Everyone was so helpful!”

Karen Fishell, also a member of the Grand Junction said, “[This is] my first time to camp during the camp meeting, and it was an amazing experience. We were blessed by friendly people, incredible views, wonderful music, and speakers! A special blessing was a women’s tea on Friday afternoon. Cindy Pickell loves to do teas with women. She brought the table settings, teas, juice, pastries/cookies/muffins, and encouraging notes. There were even hats if you wished to borrow them. With a dozen women from many places, she orchestrated introductions, affirmations, and prayers. We met new friends and were encouraged and blessed by this experience.”

Several people expressed their appreciation of the efforts by the organizers to provide this camp meeting in the mountains each year saying it affords a special blessing not found in other camp meetings. Next year’s RMC Cowboy Camp Meeting is scheduled for July 8-12, 2026.

—Ron Johnson is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is the RMC Cowboy Camp Meeting treasurer. Photos supplied.

Jill Harlow – Loveland, Colorado … Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, is launching the 2025–2026 school year with a new administrative leadership team, bringing renewed energy and a united vision to uphold the school’s Christ-centered mission.

Leading the team is Kaleb Leeper, who joins Campion as principal after serving as vice principal at Shenandoah Valley Academy in New Market, Virginia, and as a teacher in Georgia. With a passion for spiritual leadership, academic excellence, and student mentorship, Leeper sees Campion as a place poised to thrive.

“I am excited for this opportunity to lead because Campion Academy has so much potential,” Leeper said. “It has a reputation for strong academics and the support of a deeply connected church and alumni community. I believe uplifting Christ should be first, best, and last in our school. I look forward to seeing where God can lead as we move forward with humility and holy boldness.”

Oliver Bragg joins the team as vice principal, bringing nearly a decade of classroom and leadership experience. Bragg is passionate about empowering both students and teachers and is committed to building a strong academic and spiritual foundation across campus.

Returning to her alma mater, Cara Greenfield steps in as vice principal of Finance. With nearly 20 years of experience in school administration and finance, including international posts in Canada and Cambodia, Greenfield brings both expertise and a deep personal connection to Campion Academy.

“For each of us on the leadership team, coming to Campion has been providential,” Leeper added. “It’s clear that God has led in preparing this team for their new roles. By His grace, we will build a campus where Christ is lifted up, the Word of God is the rule of faith, and where every student is supported to thrive in this life and the next.”

Campion Academy invites the community to welcome the new leaders at an open meet-and-greet event on Saturday, July 26, at 7 p.m. at the Campion Seventh-day Adventist Church at 300 42^nd Street SW, Loveland, Colorado. Parents, teens, and community members are encouraged to attend to get to know the leadership team beginning with a time of worship and followed by games and fun in the school’s gymnasium.

—Jill Harlow is the Campion Academy communication director. Photos supplied.