Arvada celebrates Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday

From left: Pastor Allen Bullock, Bill Wells (new ORM chapter director), his wife, Danna Ray Wells and Curtis May, ORM director.

Curtis May (left) and Dominique Foxworth, Denver Broncos cornerback.

ARVADA, Colorado—Arvada celebrated Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday Jan. 16 with an event sponsored by the Arvada Peace and Justice Commission.

Living Grace Christian Fellowship, the WCG congregation in Arvada, offered its help for the event. Curtis May, director of the Office of Reconciliation Ministries, was one of the main speakers.

May and his wife, Jannice, were guests of Pastor Allen Bullock and his wife, Doris.

On Sunday, Jan. 15, Living Grace Christian Fellowship hosted eight members of the Peace and Justice Commission for the worship service. Bill Wells, a WCG member, was commissioned as the Denver ORM chapter director. May gave a sermon on Jesus’ dream (Luke 4:16-19) and Martin Luther King’s dream.

On Monday morning, May gave a live television interview on Channel 7 about events scheduled for the evening. He was also asked what it was like for him to live in segregated Alabama.

That evening, about 100 people met at the Arvada United Methodist Church to participate in a 1.5 mile candlelight walk to the Arvada Center for Performing Arts. There everyone gathered outside in a circle as May spoke about Martin Luther King Jr. Then the group returned to the church for speeches, music and dance.

Dominique Foxworth, Denver Broncos football cornerback, spoke on the legacy of Martin Luther King. Then, May expressed what King might be saying today were he alive. He also spoke about current walls that keep people separated and bridges that unite us.

The irony of having this event in Arvada with about 90 percent of the attendees being white was that in the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan had a major event there.

Following are excerpts from the program insert: The KKK “began to rise to power in Colorado during the 1920s. After World War I, the Klan attempted to deal with the perceived social problems of immigration, the high crime rate of minorities, and the bootlegging that resulted from the prohibition amendment. The membership consisted of only white, native-born Protestants.

“All Catholics, Jews, immigrants and blacks were rejected as a national threat to the country’s ideals.

“On Aug. 8, 1924, the Colorado Women’s Order of the KKK organized a parade, which was held in Arvada with ‘ten thousand unmasked women marching to the shrine of St. Anne to show female Protestant solidarity.’ In front of St. Anne’s Catholic Church, the women burned a cross.

“The Arvada Enterprise reported that on Sept. 20, the Catholic churches retaliated by organizing ‘a pilgrimage of 10,000 men and boys from north Denver to show their strength.’ ”

The article pointed out that the Klan faded from view almost as suddenly as it appeared. Bill Wells.

 Faith comes by hearing

AUSTIN, Texas—Romans 10:17 tells us faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  

Austin and Waco, Texas, members participated in a program sponsored by Faith Comes By Hearing (FCBH), an international ministry dedicated to building up the body of Christ through reading of the Holy Bible.

We issued a challenge to our members to read through the New Testament together in 90 days—and  most met the challenge.

FCBH provided various-length reading schedules to choose from, sermon outlines and certificates of achievement.

Many teens and children completed the reading—sometimes together as a family. This created a sense of unity among the congregation, it put the Word of God directly into our minds each day, and it helped families with children get into Bible reading and discussion. Sermons addressed a topic from the previous week’s text.

Contact FCBH at www.fcbh.org or call 1-800-545-6552.

CHILDREN’S CHOIR—The Grace Family Church children’s choir in Dallas, Texas, performs at the Jan. 15 worship service directed by Johanna Moya. [Photo by Sarah Crespo]

Three church revival

BURLESON, Texas—Burleson Christian Fellowship (WCG), Calvary Baptist Church and Christian Family Life Baptist Church had a three-night revival Jan. 15 to 17.

Herman Cramer was the keynote speaker, and everyone in the Burleson community was invited to attend this expression of unity in the Body of Christ and to share God’s love.

The theme for this revival was “Be Reconciled With Jesus.” Services took place at Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday and Monday evenings, and at Burleson Christian Fellowship on Tuesday. 

The average attendance was 73 each night.

“The spirit of oneness grew each evening as everyone stayed around to break bread and fellowship together,” said Tom Pickett, Burleson pastor. “We were especially grateful to share this revival expression of reconciliation with Christian Family Life Baptist Church, which is an African American church.”

PORTLAND, Oregon—The Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, congregations honored retiring pastor Dan Fricke in December.

Fricke has served for 38 years in the ministry of the Worldwide Church of God for congregations in Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Washington; Chicago and Rockford, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; Lafayette and Terre Haute, Indiana; Des Moines and Chariton, Iowa; and Vancouver, Washington.

Dan and his wife, Marcia, live in Reno, Nevada, where he serves as an elder in the Reno congregation of the WCG.

Bob Morton (right) receives congratulations for four decades of ministerial service from elder Lawrence Zacharias [Photo by Steve Posiak]

KELOWNA, British Columbia, Canada—Dec. 31 marked the end of a career lasting nearly four decades for Bob Morton as he retired from full-time ministry in the WCG.

Morton was ordained Nov. 24, 1967 in the United Kingdom, from where he served the church in the British Isles and Africa. 

In 1975 he was transferred to the Southern Hemisphere as regional director for New Zealand and the South Pacific and again in 1980 to become regional director for Australia and Southeast Asia.

For the past 19 years, Morton pastored congregations in Ontario and, more recently, in the Thomson and Okanagan region of south central British Columbia.

Morton and his wife, Sandra, live in Kelowna, where Sandra is an editor for the city newspaper. Their three children and four grandchildren live in Ontario.

The first name of German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg was incorrectly listed as Wolfgang in a January WCG Today news article on page 11.

Cross country cycling team to mark 30th reunion

MISSOULA, Montana—Members of the 81-strong Ambassador Cycling Team that traveled 4,292 miles across the United States in the summer of 1976 will conduct their 30th reunion July 2 to 4 in Missoula.

The opening banquet will take place at the Holiday Inn Parkside Sunday evening, July 2.

On Monday, attendees can visit Bike Centennial Headquarters (now Adventure Cycling) in Missoula or visit the Missoula Smoke Jumper Center. A picnic lunch will be served at Fort Fizzle campground on Lolo Pass, near where the team camped in 1976.

At 2 p.m., we will travel to the top of Lolo Pass for a team picture. On July 4, a potluck picnic will take place at the Kiwanis Park from noon to 5 p.m. Reunion attendees and their families and friends are welcome at all activities.

The reunion committee has been unable to contact some members of the team, so if you know anyone who would like to know more about the reunion, please have them contact Donna Love at 1-406-677-3767.

HAZARD, Kentucky—Walter McKnight, Bradley and Quida Slone, June Couch, Tirrella Bentley and Cora L. Hamilton, members of the Hazard congregation of the Worldwide Church of God, met Nov. 22 with the Avawam Pentecostal Church and helped fill 100 boxes of food for needy families for Thanksgiving.

The Hazard congregation bought 50 hams and 50 turkeys for these boxes, which were delivered the day before Thanksgiving.

The congregation had a Christmas party service Dec. 18 and invited anyone who wanted to join in the celebration of Christ’s birth and listen to Dan Greider read the miracle of Christ’s birth.

Residents of a homeless shelter were unable to attend, so three members of the Hazard church delivered 12 dinners to them. Cora Hamilton.

Donna Love writes nature book for children

SEELEY LAKE, Montana—Donna Love’s second nature book for children, Awesome Ospreys, Fishing Birds of the World, has been released.

Love, who attends the Missoula, Montana, congregation, said: “I write nature books for children to share God’s wonderful creation with them. Though I don’t come right out and say, ‘God made the world,’ I hope to give children an appreciation of God’s awesome power, and in some way convey to children that God’s creation shows how much he loves us.”

The book is published by Mountain Press in Missoula, and follows her first book, Loons, Diving Birds of the North, published in 2003.

Donna’s husband, Tim, is the district ranger for the Seeley Lake ranger district on the Lolo National Forest.

TYLER, Texas—The Tyler church conducted its annual women’s ministry potluck and silent auction Jan. 15. Members purchased tickets for the auction to raise money for the women’s ministry. Children assisted Pastor David Orban in calling out the winners to the auction items. Janalee Swisher.

Copyright © Grace Communion International, 2006