Students Sleep in Cardboard Shantytown

To gain greater understanding of the plight of the homeless and to raise money for an upcoming urban mission trip, 25 CUC students spent Friday night, October 24, sleeping outdoors in cardboard boxes set up in the skating rink behind the PE Centre.  The event has already raised $1300 with more pledges still being turned in.

udents solicited pledges from family and friends for each hour they were able to endure "living" in their cardboard homes.  The basic recommended pledge was $3 per hour (for a maximum of 12 hours).  Donors were encouraged to add $1 an hour if the temperature fell below 0 Celsius and another $1 an hour if it snowed.  Several Lacombe businesses joined individual sponsors to support this event.

The money raised will help send a group of students on an Urban Mission Trip to East Hastings, Vancouver, November 6-9.  Students will be working with several local organisations to serve the homeless community.

While CUC students were singing by their cardboard shelters Friday evening a group of cyclists from Peru, who were looking for a bar in which to spend the evening, stopped to listen.  They ended up spending the next two hours fellowshipping with the campus group!

After enduring 12 hours in the cold, the event ended with students enjoying a "soup kitchen" style breakfast in the Hideout on Sabbath morning.

CUC Hosts 2nd Annual Flagball Tournament

More than 180 students from five schools* spent the weekend of October 25-26 on campus enjoying spiritual renewal, making new friends and playing many exciting flagball games.  Canadian University College's 2nd Annual Flagball tournament was organized by Vice President for Student Services Stacy Hunter and his associate Rachel McQueen.  "This was a fantastic weekend for students from Alberta and British Columbia to come together and spend spiritual time, service time and participate in the football tournament," said Hunter.  "With over 180 students involved, we hope the fun of the snow storm and friendships made this weekend will be remembered forever."

On Sabbath the students took part in Sabbath School presented by Peace Christian School.  Kevin Keirs, Youth Director for the Alberta Conference of Seventh-day Adventists spoke for the church service.  After lunch the students prepared bags for the local food bank.  After that they were able to choose from three different activities: A hike, a Bible-based scavenger hunt, or a Christian movie.

On Sunday, despite snow, wind, rain and sleet, 14 teams in 3 divisions played flagball.  At the end of the day the standings were:

Senior Division
1st Peace Christian School
2nd Parkview Adventist Academy

Junior Division I
1st College Heights Christian School
2nd College Heights Christian School

Junior Division II
1st Peace Christian School
2nd College Heights Christian School

*Coralwood Academy, Peace Christian School, College Heights Christian School, Mamawi Atosketan Native School, Parkview Adventist Academy.

ABC Offers Devotional Book by CUC Alumnus

The devotional book A Day in the Life of Jesus, by CUC alumnus Dennis Nickel, has been published posthumously and can be purchased at the Lacombe Adventist Book Center or Amazon.  The online description of the book states, A Day in the Life of Jesus is a daily devotional that takes you on a chronological journey through the Gospels from the perspective of those who interacted with Jesus. See life through the eyes of the people who walked and talked with Jesus as they share their first-person account of what they heard, saw, and experienced. Each day features a Bible reference and corresponding story based on the accounts of the four Gospels. 

Dennis Nickel was born on March 19, 1946 in Salmon Arm, BC to Marvin and Pearl Nickel. His dad was teaching at the little Silver Creek school but decided to further his education at Walla Walla College. The family eventually settled in the Loma Linda area. 

Dennis Nickel
1946-2011

Dennis returned to Canada when he was 21 and worked for several years in the logging industry. In 1973 he enrolled in the Religious Studies program at CUC.  He spent a year in Thailand as a student missionary teaching English and married Jenny Nielsen in 1977. 

Graduating with his Bachelors degree in 1979, his first pastoral assignment was the Wetaskiwin/Ponoka district. Daughter Bethanne was born here. Son Benjamin was born while Dennis was attending the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary at Andrews University. He completed his Master of Divinity degree in 1983 and returned to pastor in Alberta where a second son, Bradley, was born. 

Nickel pastored for a total of 30 years in the Alberta, BC and Upper Columbia Conferences. He lost a battle with cancer on August 4, 2011. 

Minister Scott Meets with Cabinet

Alberta's new Minister for Innovation and Advanced Education Don Scott visited campus and met with Cabinet Monday afternoon, October 27.  "We are very pleased the Minister took time to meet with us," said CUC President Mark Haynal.  "We enjoyed a cordial visit and the opportunity to acquaint him with the many good things CUC does for post secondary education in Central Alberta."


Attending the meeting with Minister Scott was the new Deputy Minister for Innovation and Advanced Education Marcia Nelson.  Also attending the meeting was Student Association President Nisha Johny.

Campus Celebrates Official Reopening of the Chan Shun Science Centre

Faculty, staff and students gathered in front of the Chan Shun Science Centre Friday afternoon, October 24 to celebrate the official reopening of the facility that was damaged by an explosion, small fire and water October 8, 2013.  "Even though we have been using this all of this building since the start of this school year, it is right and fitting that we have set aside this special time to gather and officially reopen this important space," said President Mark Haynal during his remarks.

Haynal said the occasion of reopening the science centre brought to mind two important truths and asked students to remember them each time they entered the Chan Shun Science Centre.  First, even though what happened to the building a year ago was devastating and disruptive, by patiently working together through the difficult situation the building we now have is better than the one we had before the incident.  "Each of you will go through great challenges at some point in your life," said Haynal, "but if you and your community tackle them with courage and determination you will come through those challenges a better person."

"Our science centre is also celebrating its 20th birthday this year," said Haynal.  "For 20 years this building has been a place where students prepared themselves for lives of service in medicine, dentistry, and other healing professions," said Haynal.  "Every time you enter this building, I ask that you commit yourself to a life of doing good, a life of being of service to others."

Dr. Bruce Buttler, Dean of the Division of Science thanked the students for their patience and adaptability during the time they did not have access to the science centre.  Student Association President Nisha Johny thanked the faculty and administration, on behalf of the students, for restoring the science centre, making it even better than it was prior to the explosion.

Following a prayer by Chaplain Adam Deibert, Dr. Haynal, Dr. Buttler and Nisha Johny cut the ribbon and officially reopened the building.  Students then swarmed in to enjoy refreshments and the opportunity to win one of two $500 scholarships awarded to commemorate the occasion.

The reopening ceremony was planned and presented by Rhanda Bonet-Graham from the Office of Advancement and Bonita Campbell, administrative assistant for the Division of Science.

CUC History: The Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Douglas Pappajohn introduced tumbling as part of the PE program 59 years ago. Following him, Michael Luchak continued the program with much enthusiasm. Although the teams had no official name, Bernie Leavitt says her team called themselves the Tumbling Tumbleweeds and what fun they had!

Saturday night entertainments often included a tumbling act. One evening Russ Spangler, Gordon Guild, Louis Johnson, Don Williams and brothers Dick and Werner Seidel demonstrated the “kick” that CUC’s water has. They lined up, each taking a sip of water, and then all fell backwards as one.

Even the faculty displayed their tumbling skills for Faculty Talent Night. The team was made up of Vic Fitch, Colin Campbell, Curtis Wolfe, Orval Lorenson, George Schafer and Allen Robertson under the direction of Luchak. They were assisted by two unknown female clowns.

The greatest highlight of 1961 was the arrival of the school’s first trampoline in November. It was introduced by Michael Luchak at a Benefit Program presented to raise money for the $650 piece of equipment. Admission to the program was: 50ȼ for adults; 25ȼ for students; and 15ȼ for children.

Members from the audience were called up to show their trampoline skills. All earned considerable applause with the youngest being 2-year-old Gary Tetz (President Johnson’s grandson) who found it had more bounce than his parents’ bed. But a thunderous applause erupted when President H.T. Johnson removed his glasses, kicked off his shoes, mounted the trampoline and experienced uncertain thrills for the first time on the unpredictable surface.

by Edith Fitch

Sisters of Soul Sets New Record

The women of CUC presented the annual Sisters of Soul (SOS) concert benefiting the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation (CBCF) on Saturday, October 18th, at 8 pm, in the College Heights Christian School Gym. This event is loved and attended not only by the campus family but also by members of the community who look forward to it each year. Admission to Sisters of Soul is free and donations are collected with all proceeds going to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. 

Sisters of Soul has each year increased the amount of money raced for the CBCF. In 2012, it raised $800. Last year it raised $1,880.  This year's concert has already raised $2,100 and that amount is expected to rise.

One of the most distinguishing features of Sisters of Soul is how well it reflects the diversity Canadian University College - both in the variety of performance genres and talents and in the incredible cultural diversity. The concert featured music from Broadway, country, pop, folk, gospel, soul, and jazz as well as East Indian cultural dance. The complete printed program can be viewed here.

Co-founder of Sisters of Soul, Rhanda Bonet-Graham, shares,“SOS has a very special place in my heart. I started this concert with other students in 1999 as a way to remember my wonderful mother who lost her battle with breast cancer when she was only 37 and I was only 12. I’m so thankful that today’s medical advancements, awareness, and advocacy mean that fewer children, siblings, and parents will have to go through what I did. That’s why we organize SOS.”

You can read more about this fundraising concert in the Lacombe Express.

Massed Choir Anthem for GC Session Introduced

The GC Session was held in Atlanta in 2015.  It will be held
in San Antonio, July 2-11, 2015.

During Fall Council at the General Conference, delegates were introduced to the anthem a massed choir will sing at the close of the General Conference Session in San Antonio in July.  Arranged by Williams Costa, Jr., the anthem, Jesus Is Coming, Our Hope, combines two of Adventism's most familiar songs, Lift Up the Trumpet and We Have This Hope.

Costa invited delegates to learn the music and join the massed choir.  If you are planning to attend the General Conference Session in San Antonio and wish to sing in the massed choir, links for the score of Jesus Is Coming, Our Hope and rehearsal tracks are provided below.  

Score  Full Demo  Soprano Rehearsal Alto Rehearsal Tenor Rehearsal Bass Rehearsal Soundtrack

Roy Adams Publishes His Memoir

CUC alumnus and former editor of the Adventist Review, Roy Adams, has published his memoir, Beams of Heaven Guiding Me.  The book can be purchased online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  What follows is the publisher's press release for this book.

Beams of Heaven Guiding Me ventures into some of the most sensitive – and usually forbidden – territory regarding the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s inner workings. The newly released memoir of former Adventist Review and Adventist World associate editor Roy Adams is published by Outskirts Press.

Adams’ memoir begins like many others of its genre, but before it’s done, it candidly addresses some very delicate issues, even when these revelations come at Adams’ own expense.

Beams of Heaven Guiding Me includes some of the most arresting behind-the-scenes experiences of the author’s life. Adams writes, for example, about the night God used a bunch of cockroaches to bring him to a pivotal decision of his life; and about the frightening moments at a British Columbia border when, after a harrowing journey from the Caribbean and an anxious, close-to-starvation five-day ride across the United States on a Greyhound Bus, he came close to being turned back, with just 33 cents left in his pocket.

Roy Adams

 Readers of all stripes – whether associated with the Adventist Church or not – will find items of fascination in Adams’ many travels. Caribbean compatriots will relate to his description of the many practices, customs and superstitions of the region; while Canadian readers will engage with the author’s captivating references to student and pastoral-ministry days in that northern country. People in Central America, South America, Australia and many parts of Europe will be interested in Adams’ observations during his visits to these territories. Nationals from Asia – especially those from the Philippines – will be intrigued by tales of Adams’ time as a missionary in the region. Members of the African-American community will be riveted by his penetrating assessment of race, prejudice, and discrimination inside the Adventist Church.

Beams of Heaven Guiding Me is available online through Outskirts Press at www.outskirtspress.com/bookstore. The book is sold through Amazon and Barnes and Noble for a maximum trade discount in quantities of 10 or more, and is being aggressively promoted to appropriate markets with a focus on the memoir, biography/autobiography and religious categories