Rajmund Dabrowski with Liz Kirkland – Montrose, Colorado … You can find Addie and Greg working on their farm in Paonia. They tend to their fields and fruit trees during the week. On Sabbath, August 5, they treated 175 participants of the Western Slope Camp Meeting to what was announced as an inaugural performance.
“This is my first public performance,” Addie said. With husband to her side, she shared how the song was revealed to her. “I hear God’s voice as I am working in the field.”
Strumming on her guitar, we were treated to folk song with a message and Greg adding his gentle harmony. Addie wrote both the lyrics and music.
Come up into My Spirit.
If you listen, you can hear it calling you to be new.
To be in the world but not of it.
In My Spirit you’re above it.
I will teach you how to love it.
Come to Me,
to see with My eyes to be wise,
to hear with My ear to be clear,
to know what is so, to feel what is real,
to be just like Me.
Receive the present of love from above.
Receive the presence of love freon above.
For Nathan Cranson, a pastor of Montrose Adventist Church and their son, to hear his parents sing such an original and inspiring song was a highlight of the gathering. Other participants shared his view.
The nature which the Cransons experience daily in Paonia, the participants shared with each other at the Mountaintop Christian Retreat. “We always have a mountain top experience in such a natural setting,” said a participant from one of the Western Slope churches.
The camp meeting was kicked off on August 2 with an evening worship led by Mic Thurber, RMC president, beginning the sermon series and camp meeting theme of “Life Changing Lessons from Bible Characters.” As the event’s keynote speaker, he delivered thoughtful and story-rich programs with titles like “The ‘Almost people’” and “Scandalous Extravaganzas.”
Thurber was joined in presenting by two other speakers who held afternoon sessions. The first of the afternoon speakers was Dr. Kristen Mauk, who shared her passion and 40 years of experience in research, teaching, and participating with geriatric care with camp participants. The focus of her afternoon seminars was on aging well and recognizing and dealing with Dementia.
“As Christians,” Dr. Mauk commented, “we are called to honor, love, and care for our elders, whether it is our own family or other people, in a health ministry. And a takeaway from the aging process is we can recognize what is not normal by what is normal, and that is really important.”
She also said, “[Another takeaway] is realizing that our whole body works together; it’s not just the physical, but our spiritual, our psychological, our emotional, our relationships. And, by realizing that we are not just a physical being, we have all these components just the way God made us.”
Dr. Kristen Mauk is not new to the Western Slope Camp Meeting. She remarked on her time at camp: “There is something so spiritual about camp here. Every time I am here, I just feel the Lord’s presence.”
Harold Williams was another afternoon speaker giving glimpse into God’s natural world and mathematics with colorful photography presentations, hands-on demonstrations, and an introduction to the Fibonacci sequence. Williams taught physical sciences and mathematics at Adventist academies for 46 years and is enjoying his second career as a preacher. He enjoys coming to Camp for the “socialization with believers of like faith and world views, the comradery, and the desire to see Jesus come soon.”
The camp was hosted by the regional pastors who emceed and moderated the programs and panels: Nathan Cranson from the Montrose Adventist Church; Eliezer Roque Cisneros from the Fruita, Palisade, Riffle, and Glennwood Springs Adventist Churches; and Mark Phillips from the Pinon Hills Adventist Church. Ron Johnson, from the Grand Junction Adventist Church, also hosted and is a fixture at the Western Slope Camp meeting for years, welcoming, organizing, and registering attendees.
When asked what expectations did he have of the event, Pastor Eli Cisneros commented, “I was really expecting to find out how we could be better suited to do evangelism and draw closer to God. Evangelism and the ‘personal walk’ are two things that matter to me a lot, especially as a pastor. And I feel like those were met, both through the preaching and the teachings that we had through our afternoon seminar sessions.”
“I felt greatly enriched in my approach to witnessing and outreach, and I also felt drawn closer to God because of the things that I learned scientifically and health wise. Just seeing how God is present in nature with things like the Fibonacci sequence was fascinating,” he also remarked.
Emily Cisneros, wife of Pastor Cisneros, also commented on camp: “Whenever I come to camp meeting, I always expect some rejuvenation and community. That is always surpassed every year in getting to make new friendships and rekindle old ones from other churches you don’t normally get to see. It is always refreshing to come to camp meeting and enjoy nature and get to be with your community outside of your community.”
—Rajmund Dabrowski is the RMC communication director and is editor of Mountain Views. Liz Kirkland is the RMC communication assistant. Photos by Rajmund Dabrowski and Liz Kirkland.
