It feels weird not having students at church. As strange as it sounds, I like squishing together in the pew so there’s more room for them. It just makes it feel more like we’re all a family that way. Our grow group stemmed from missing the academy students and wanting to let them know they ARE missed and they ARE valued by our church. Together our group brainstormed how to most effectively show them that we’re their church family. We have several things planned for them this session, the first of which we were able to carry out this past Sunday.

With the current COVID-19 precautions, dorm students are not doing town trips and are not allowed to have food delivered on campus. With that in mind, our first project was catering Panda Express and serving it to them. Since the students only eat two meals on Sunday, by dinner time, they’re hungry. We had plenty of food ready for them along with Izzie drinks and a wide assortment of homemade treats. It was a huge success; many students came through line at least twice (some more). They were so kind and grateful!

Many of our spouses and kids were able to join us and each had a job they could do: handing out drinks, helping with serving, or making sure there were hot trays of food ready. As the students went through line, we were able to talk to them, ask questions, laugh with them and just be a friendly face from church. When they had all been served, the Campion students shouted thank you’s, clapped, and woohoo’d.

It felt like I was walking on sunshine on the way home. My kids must have felt the same way, they asked when our group’s next event was because in their words, “That was awesome!” And that’s the thing with doing something for others: you intend the blessing for them, but ultimately, you receive one as well. If your Grow Group hasn’t planned an outreach activity yet, brainstorm what you can collectively do. I bet you’ll walk away with the same feeling we did.

Over five years ago, the church library was closed because that space was needed for additional pastors. There were over 1900 books stored, waiting for the new addition to be completed so the library could again be functional. The new library is in the conference room in the new addition. Plans are to open the library again on Sabbath, November 7, 2020.

Sadie Torrez, the librarian, has purchased new children’s books that will be available for checkout when the library opens. She is getting many new donated and purchased books ready for your enjoyment as well. The library is on an honor system—there are instructions explaining how to check out books or DVDs and how to return them. You can check out books anytime that the church is open and the conference room is not in use. The left side of the library has reference material that can be used for Bible study and books on the Sabbath, End Time Events, Daniel and Revelation, Holy Spirit, Jesus, etc. The right side of the library has books such as mission stories, other true stories, Christian life, family life, health, juvenile books, children books, etc.

Our hope is that many of you will make use of the library and enjoy some good reading this winter.

Thom Rainer, an American writer and speaker on church growth, shares a personal story of when he met Jane, his hair stylist. He relates his story in his book Becoming a Welcoming Church:

At Campion, we want to continue to strive to be a welcoming church. One of the best ways we can do this is by building up our “frontline workers”: our greeting team. We are in need of more greeters. If you’d like to be part of this vital team, please contact our greeting team leaders, Eddie and Sarah Schwisow at [email protected]. 

Buster and Jill moved to Colorado in September of 2018. Both Jill and Buster grew up in Colorado, so this is coming home for them. They have two daughters and two grandbabies. Their daughter Rachel lives in Minnesota and Kelsey, their other daughter, lives in Johnstown. Their grandson Jack was a huge draw for them to return to Colorado.

Both Buster and Jill graduated from Union College. They did one year in the mission field and then returned to Lincoln where Buster flew an air ambulance and Jill worked as a nurse. They’ve lived in Tucson, Arizona for a time and then spent the last 20 years in Wichita, Kansas.

Buster is a ground school and flight instructor for private, charter, air ambulance, and law enforcement pilots. Jill works at Avista hospital in the NICU.

Buster’s dad built the Campion church along with the ad building and boy’s dorm, so they have a rich history with Colorado and Campion. They are living in the Erie area.

When Carolyn Pucket heard that Gilberto Rivera, who had arrived in Loveland just a couple years earlier from Puerto Rico, and a resident of a building near her, had fallen, she went to offer a walker she had. They began to visit, and she asked if she could pray for him; he readily agreed. They spent time visiting, and as he healed, they began to walk together and the more time they walked and the further they walked, they walked into a relationship. Frank Velasquez gave Gilberto Bible studies until the COVID pandemic, but Gilberto continued to study on his own, and soon Carolyn and Gilberto married.

Carolyn and Gilberto take care of an 11-month-old granddaughter, and when she has time, Carolyn enjoys crocheting and crafts and involvement in Pastor Soriano’s Bible study coaching; she has been a member of Campion for some time. Gilberto is a retired accountant who says he likes to observe people and especially cars, and he is “good at fixing things.” He was hoping there would be a Spanish small group as he is more comfortable speaking Spanish than English, but it did not happen this fall. He is also hoping for a Spanish Sabbath School class. If there are others who would like the same groups, get in touch with Gilberto!

November Birthday List

Campion Church will miss the Campion Academy students during the month of December. They will not return to campus after Thanksgiving until January.

Warm drinks and an invitation to walk or run a 5K around campus (a few loops) Thanksgiving morning. Donations for community services will be taken---to bless those, who in our celebration of Thanksgiving, need a helping hand. Church parking lot, 8:30 am. 

By Jill Harlow

Principal Reeder further said, “I am grateful to God for His watching over us as he promised in Psalms 91, and we ask for everyone to keep us in your prayers for the rest of the school year.” Read More

Landscaping: The landscaping project started with the plan developed by Larimer County as part of the permitting process for the addition to the church. The plan listed the plants and the location for the plants. Several plant nurseries were provided the plant list and each made suggestions for plants that would require less water and be more hardly for the suggested location. Fort Collins Nursery was chosen based on the best price and best customer service.

Kitchen: Work is going on which include different perspectives and ironing out details before settling on plans that can be shared. While it might seem slow, there are steps taking us forward. Thank you for your continued patience and generosity. We are currently still aiming at the goal of just under $300,000.

Elders: Each of our elders invest themselves in a specific area of church leadership: Evangelism, Administration, Discipleship, Worship, and Member-Care. Over the next couple of weeks the pastoral and elder teams will work together to organize the leadership teams. We look forward to communicating that soon.

Ministry Development Team: The Nominating Committee (NomCom) finished their work and we appreciate them. Campion has two sister circles that help build our ministry teams: Nominating Committee and Ministry Development Team (MDT). Different ministries based on needs were divided – NomCom meets every two years while the MDT (before going dormant) would continue to meet periodically to assist and build ministries. The church board has voted to reengage a small, lean MDT that partners with the pastors through the year to support our ministries and their leaders.