Golden Gate Chancellor presides at Colorado graduation

By Rocky Mountain Campus Staff

CENTENNIAL -- Fourteen students received degrees during commencement services of the Rocky Mountain Campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

The May 14 ceremony was held at Community of Grace Church in Centennial.  Chancellor William Crews presided.

Colorado Baptist Convention Executive Director Mark Edlund received the William O. Crews Presidential Leadership Award, named in honor of the current chancellor and former president of Golden Gate Seminary.

Jim Misloski, Colorado pastor and church planter, received the Crews award at the December 2005 commencement at Golden Gate's main campus in Mill Valley, Calif.

The award includes a $1,000 gift.

Other award winners:

• Tim and Michelle Fox received the Francis M. DuBose Missions Award for their commitment to cross-cultural missions.
• Jeff Feinberg received the Wright-Bramlet Memorial Scholarship in the amount of $850.
• Charlie Jones was recognized with the Buren Higdon Christian Leadership plaque.
• Mike Morgan was awarded the Jack O'Neal Multi-Ethnic Award.

In other news, Rocky Mountain Campus Director Steve Veteto announced that Sharon Leddick recently resigned her position as administrative assistant.

Leddick, who joined the staff in 2001, relocated to Sitka, Alaska, with her husband, Steve, in June.

"Sharon was the presence of service and grace with everyone she came in contact with," Veteto said.  "For Sharon, the past five years was a journey of learning, as she herself was a student at the RMC.  She lived a life as Christ-follower to the students, staff and faculty of Golden Gate, and to those in her community of downtown Denver."

Steve Leddick graduated in May from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center with a degree in nursing.  He now works in a hospital in Sitka, Alaska, that serves Native Americans and Eskimos, Veteto said.

"Sharon and Steve will become involved in the community, meeting the needs of those around them and living an intentionally missional life," he said.  "As we send the Leddicks off, it is with gratitude for the impact on each of us that they have had and hope and pray for encouragement for what God has for them in Sitka."

The Rocky Mountain Campus' new administrative assistant is Paty Gambordella.  She and her husband, Preston, were students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and were displaced by Hurricane Katrina to Dallas before relocating to the Denver area.

Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary will offer graduate-level seminary courses online starting this fall.  The first two courses to be offered will be Christian history and Baptist history.  By the fall of 2997, the seminary is projecting the opening of an "eLearning" campus through which two-thirds of a master's degree can be earned without the need to attend classes in a traditional campus setting.  The eLearning courses are fully accredited and can be applied to any master's program at Golden Gate.

Fore questions concerning online courses, call 888-442-8701 or e-mail admissions@ggbts.edu.

With additional reporting by Jeff Jones of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary.

Rocky Mountain Grads: Members of the Class of 2006 and graduation dignitaries are, from left, Mark Edlund, Jim Misloski, Matt Brasby, Jerod Faris, Jay Williams, Golden Gate Chancellor William Crews, Derek Dennis, Kathy Brasby, Derrick Mills, Alan Moos, Henry Luckel, Craig Cavalier, Jeromy Guthrie, Joel Bundick, Earl Waggoner, Steve Veteto, Bob Royall, Frank Ames and Allan Karr.