Gunnison: Pastor Ted Williams will be preaching about "Passoniate Patience."
Montrose: Pastor Campbell is speaking about "Sacred Rhythms: Prayer."
- For adults we have a prayer meeting series beginning on the book of Revelation with Pastor Campbell.
- For children in grades 5-8 a new year of Pathfinders is beginning.
- For children in grades 1-4 there will be Adventurers, and for younger children there will also be a "Busy Bees" program.
After a fun day of paintball this last Sunday we've pushed back our evening church business meeting on Sept. 12, 7 pm for pizza and afterward some games and other fun activities. Please plan to save the date!
THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
Thank you all for the time and effort that was put in by each of you to make this CROP Walk successful! I am currently working on thank you letters to each congregation that participated. I will send them to each of you and perhaps you could share them during announcement time.
Thank you all again so very much! As soon as we have some final numbers for money raised I will forward that information to you so that you can share with your congregations. I believe number wise – including all supporters and walkers we hit around 55 participants – GREAT for a first year.
Be Well! --Jennifer
I'm so grateful for some rest from last week with a few extra days off for family time. We all need some "down time" once in a while and this was a window of opportunity for our family to do just that.
This week's note will be short since I'm taking a few days of extra vacation time that I am going to lose if I don't use it! As the end of the summer draws to a close it is my prayer that the Lord will bless each of you. I know many of our students at school our quite eager to start the new school year.
- School this year will be a 4-day school week.
- Adventurers and Pathfinders are gearing up for the new year. Make sure you get your children signed up!
- Prayer meeting will start back up on Wednesday evening, 7 pm, Sept. 1
- Pathfinders will now be using the Sabbath School rooms in the hallway adjacent to Pastor Campbell's office.
WORSHIP THIS SABBATH
Gunnison (11 AM): Norman Graham is the featured speaker.
Montrose (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is preaching on "Learning to Listen from Lamentations."
NEW SCHOOL WEB SITE
A special thank you to Staci Nelson who thanks to her hard work our church school is blessed with a new web site: www.springcreekadventist.org. The web site looks up to date and classy! For those of you online I would strongly encourage you to stop by for a virtual visit.
THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
Yesterday I sat in our local Rotary club meeting for a state-of-the-school report for the Montrose County School District. It was interesting to learn that public education is the number one expense for our local tax dollars, and that for every dollar we spend we get two dollars of federal funding. It also takes 750 contracted employees to educate the 6,311 students over the 1,121 square miles that make up our county. The total cost? A $63,000,000 school budget. Amazing. This year through attrition due to budget costs they are letting go of some 40 school employees which translates to more students per teacher in the classroom. I know that for our church family that times have been tight, and it is nice to know that we aren't the only ones who have had to cut back to make ends meet. It also tells me that our community cares for our kids. What is even more important is that I know because of the sacrifice of our church members that our church cares for our students at Spring Creek Adventist School! Although over the past couple of years we've had to do some cutting back I am encouraged that we have all the students and a waiting list for our church school, which starts here in just a few weeks. Plus with new leadership on our board and staff I believe our school is going to grow and blossom.
Speaking of which I was so encouraged to see the significant facelift that has occurred at our facility. The trim around the building looks neat and sharp. Yesterday I caught Dan Carpenter working with Mike to start the new staircase at the entrance. They are going to pour the cement on Friday. And, to top it all off, there is a new sign by the road that looks really sharp. Now I don't have to worry about driving past the school anymore! I know that it has been a lot of our church members who have worked together to make this all happen. Praise the Lord!
This week I've done a lot of reflection on the life and ministry of Elisha. God's call to him, which took him by surprise. Yet he chose to leave family behind and humbly served Elijah. In Patriarchs and Prophets one of my favorite authors comments on this experience: "success depends not so much on talent as on energy and willingness. It is not hte possession of splendid talents that enables us to render acceptable service, but the conscientious performance of daily duties, the contented spirit, and unaffected, sincere interest in the welfare of others." That is the kind of leader that I want to be more like, how about you? As a church we can strive to truly be servant leaders like Elisha by taking the time genuinely show that we care for other people. Perhaps this might be a phone call to a church member who hasn't come to church in a while, or it might be to someone who the Lord impresses you to stop by their home for a visit just to encourage them. I know the Lord will impress you with how you can serve Him.
WORSHIP THIS SABBATH
Gunnison (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is going to be preaching a message from the book of Lamentations entitled "Learning to Listen: A Challenge of Compassion."
Montrose (11 AM): Please come for a sacred musical concert for our worship service led by "Simply His"--a musical group led by Don Mohl.
GUNNISON CHURCH SOCIAL THIS SABBATH
Rebecca Grice wanted me to let everyone know that if you're up in Gunnison this Sabbath that you're invited over to their cabin for Sabbath afternoon. Please bring your own portable chair, and in the evening there will be a hot dog roast. They will provide a nice camp fire and condiments--you just need to bring the veggie burgers or hot dogs to go between the buns! A fun time will be had by all so please plan to come for this fun church activity.
NEW SCHOOL WEB SITE
A special thank you to Staci Nelson who thanks to her hard work our church school is blessed with a new web site: www.springcreekadventist.org. The web site looks up to date and classy! For those of you online I would strongly encourage you to stop by for a virtual visit.
THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
This week I've been blessed to be able to minister to the church members in Hope, British, Columbia, who have gathered here for their camp meeting. It certainly has to be one of the most beautiful camp meeting sites in North America (rivaling the Redwoods campground for those church members living in northern California). I've never had the privilege of being here before so I'm so thankful for the invitation to be here to share. They've been working me hard. In addition to a daily two-hour seminar on Ellen White I've also done one of the early morning worker's meetings, and this morning I filled in at the Junior tent with a devotional message for the kids there, too. It's such a blessing to be able to be here.
On a personal note I was able to visit with my great-aunt and great-uncle, who love near Penticton, on the eastern side of British Columbia. They are church members. It was only after my grandparents passed away some years ago that are family discovered that we have a whole wing of Adventist relatives who are a part of this wonderful Advent movement! Last night we went out for supper, learned new stories about her family, and on the way back stopped by to visit some additional relatives who I didn't know I even had. They had a family tree that filled in some gaps for me as I learned about our family's past. We've had a very colorful history with great villains as well as other people who have made significant contributions (I'll try to focus on the more positive angle though!). I was proud to learn that some of my family were famous in Russia for their ability to ride horses.
Genealogy is important--it reminds us of who we are and where we have come from. I'm thinking that must be why the Bible has long lists of genealogies. They appear at first to be rather mundane and boring, but I think that really they tell us stories that our Savior, in particular, was a real person just like us. He had some "shady characters" in the closet as well as some notable individuals such as King David (who even his career wasn't exactly untarnished you might say), eh? (I couldn't resist throwing that in there!).
I'm thankful for those of you who were able to help out at the school (while I was flying to camp meeting) this past Sunday. Although we changed the date for school registration we still had at least 11 young people register for school this year, which is a great start. If you weren't able to get your child registered you will want to make sure that you call Michelle Caviness at the school (249-5500). Also, right now is the time to register your child for either Adventurers (call Staci at 275-3705) or Pathfinders (call Tavia at 417-4886).
Gunnison (9 AM) & Montrose (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is preaching on "Finding Faith from Old Faithful"
SCHOOL/ADVENTURER/PATHFINDER REGISTRATION
I'm so thankful for the refreshing rain that we've been experiencing last night and today. It reminds me of the showers of blessing that we experience as we receive blessings from the Lord. The Lord has so many blessings that He wants to pour out on us. It was so nice to be able to turn off the sprinklers in our yard and just let nature water our lawn and garden (and give us a break on our water bill, too!).
Gunnison (9 AM) & Montrose (11 AM): Pastor Campbell is preaching on "What does it mean to be a Seventh-day Adventist?"
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
The theme for this year's Vacation Bible School is "On the Sea with Jesus" that will take place at the Montrose Adventist Church from July 5-9. For more information please contact Allison Duncan at 209-5336.
PRAYER MEETING
Dr. George R. Knight, professor emeritus of church history from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, is our featured speaker for our church retreat at Ridgway State Park. We have rented both sides of the pavilion so you are welcome to bring your friends and family for this exciting weekend. We will begin with a Friday (July 9) evening hotdog roast/bonfire followed by a vespers program with Dr. Knight. We will continue with church service at the Pavilion the next morning (July 10), some time for afternoon fun and hiking after a potluck lunch, and then another evening vespers with Dr. Knight. This promises to be a fun weekend where we will learn from one of the best-known writers and speakers in the denomination. Please plan to make sure you are there and if you have friends from out-of-town be sure to invite them to come visit!
PROPOSED MISSION STATEMENT
"Our mission as the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church is to lovingly lead people to become disciples of Jesus Christ."
"We seek to accomplish this through:
Inspiring worship services
Quality Adventist education
Contagious evangelism and outreach
Selfless community service
Family activities that appeal to all ages
Fellowship and small groups"
Since last week our church has received some good news: the school will receive $5,000 in insurance money from the damage it sustained. Praise the Lord! I know at our school board meeting I was really happy to hear about all of the projects that Carlton is planning to give the school a face life. I'm also thankful for three of our school board members who are just finishing up their two-year terms (W. D. Hess, John Short, and Tom Watson) along with new board members (Celia Georgia, Wes Cooper, and Lance Daniel)--subject to a church vote this Sabbath. We're so thankful for their service and all that they do for our church family.
Dr. George R. Knight, professor emeritus of church history from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, is our featured speaker for our church retreat at Ridgway State Park. We have rented both sides of the pavilion so you are welcome to bring your friends and family for this exciting weekend. We will begin with a Friday (July 9) evening hotdog roast/bonfire followed by a vespers program with Dr. Knight. We will continue with church service at the Pavilion the next morning (July 10), some time for afternoon fun and hiking after a potluck lunch, and then another evening vespers with Dr. Knight. This promises to be a fun weekend where we will learn from one of the best-known writers and speakers in the denomination. Please plan to make sure you are there and if you have friends from out-of-town be sure to invite them to come visit!
PROPOSED MISSION STATEMENT
"Our mission as the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church is to lovingly lead people to become disciples of Jesus Christ."
"We seek to accomplish this through:
Inspiring worship services
Quality Adventist education
Contagious evangelism and outreach
Selfless community service
Family activities that appeal to all ages
Fellowship and small groups"
THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
Dr. George R. Knight, professor emeritus of church history from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, is our featured speaker for our church retreat at Ridgway State Park. We have rented both sides of the pavilion so you are welcome to bring your friends and family for this exciting weekend. We will begin with a Friday (July 9) evening hotdog roast/bonfire followed by a vespers program with Dr. Knight. We will continue with church service at the Pavilion the next morning (July 10), some time for afternoon fun and hiking after a potluck lunch, and then another evening vespers with Dr. Knight. This promises to be a fun weekend where we will learn from one of the best-known writers and speakers in the denomination. Please plan to make sure you are there and if you have friends from out-of-town be sure to invite them to come visit!
PROPOSED MISSION STATEMENT
"Our mission as the Montrose Seventh-day Adventist Church is to lovingly lead people to become disciples of Jesus Christ."
"We see to accomplish this through:
Inspiring worship services
Quality Adventist education
Contagious evangelism and outreach
Selfless community service
Family activities that appeal to all ages
Fellowship and small groups"
THE PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE
The class is now in its fourth week but it is not too late to join us for inspirational stories from our Adventist past. So far we've covered the background and rise of the Adventist movement, the life and work of William Miller, and the development of Adventist beliefs and organization. Next week we will be covering the saga of the 1888 Minneapolis General Conference Session.
Due to problems with flooding at the school we will now have western slope camp meeting at the Montrose Pavilion. Children's and youth programs will be at the Montrose Adventist Church. The rest of the programming will remain the same beginning with a keynote address by our conference president, Elder Gary Thurber, on Thursday evening. On Friday there will be seminars and presentations by our two featured speakers for the weekend, Elder Jim Nix, director of the Ellen G. White Estate, and Gary Gibbs, the associate director of The Hope Channel. Andrea Jacobsen, a highly desired youth speaker from Andrews University, will be with the youth in the youth tent. The ABC will set up and sell books in the lobby of the Pavillion.
- Inspiring worship services
- Quality Adventist education
- Contagious evangelism and outreach
- Selfless community service
- Family activities that appeal to all ages
- Fellowship and small groups"
