On February 18–20, Walla Walla University hosted the campus ministries convention (CMC) at Rosario Beach. Chaplains and students from North American Seventh-day Adventist colleges and universities came to worship and learn together. There were a total of 70 attendees from the invited schools.

Chaplains from each of the attended schools preached over the weekend, and students were involved with the music. After the general worship sessions, they would break off into groups to have more personal discussions. 

Jake Langford, junior theology major, attended the CMC retreat as WWU’s music chaplain to help coordinate music. “I wanted to connect with other schools to discuss what they are doing on their campuses to help their spiritual life grow,” said Langford. He and several other students met to give each other advice on how to encourage spiritual involvement on their respective campuses. 

All of the students left on Sunday while the chaplains stayed behind for additional learning sessions. Albert Handal, WWU campus chaplain, said, “The chaplains met and talked about how to grow as chaplains and better serve our campuses. We got to process issues with people who know what we are going through.” 

Both the chaplains and students had meaningful conversations throughout the weekend at Rosario. Chaplains used the opportunity to talk with each other more one-on-one once everyone else left, and students had a chance to bond with those from other SDA schools. “My favorite part of the weekend was worshipping through spontaneous music with all the attendees,” Langford said. 

Posted on March 10, 2022