On June 24, 2017, two Adventist churches experienced a rare joint event, a gathering on the lawn of a church member’s home in Clark Fork, Idaho. Clark Fork and Spirit Lake church members, plus a few from Newport and Rathdrum, united for a Sabbath afternoon and evening of special fellowship. Intended as a way to get better acquainted and support one another, 65 young and old participated.
An adventuresome group of younger folks took the opportunity to climb neighboring Scotchman’s Peak, a popular local climb of 4,649 feet that is part of the Cabinet Mountains, overlooking Lake Pend Oreille.
After a few hours of getting acquainted, the group enjoyed a haystack dinner, followed by singing and musical entertainment. Before lighting a campfire under the stars, we were inspired by Dayv Lounsbury, Spirit Lake Church pastor, to take a new look at the 14th of the 28 Fundamental Beliefs.
14. Unity in the Body of Christ: The church is one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. In Christ we are a new creation; distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality or reservation. Through the revelation of Jesus Christ in the Scriptures we share the same faith and hope, and reach out in one witness to all. This unity has its source in the oneness of the triune God, who has adopted us as His children. (Rom. 12:4, 5; 1 Cor. 12:12–14; Matt. 28:19, 20; Ps. 133:1; 2 Cor. 5:16, 17; Acts 17:26, 27; Gal. 3:27, 29; Col. 3:10–15; Eph. 4:14–16; 4:1–6; John 17:20–23.)
Despite the divisiveness of the time in which we are living, we were reminded of the diversity in our own group, which represented not only various churches but also languages, ages, genders and places of origin. In our time together, the Holy Spirit truly bonded, blessed and reminded us of our oneness as God’s children.
The view from Scotchman's Peak.
