Central California Conference
The Unlikely Pastor:
Ordination of Nicholas Moore By Deloris Trujillo
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Corinthians 4:7, KJV).
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n Sabbath afternoon, May 16, Nicholas Moore, the associate pastor at Clovis church, was ordained to the gospel ministry by Ramiro Cano, president, Ron Rasmussen, executive secretary, and Pierre Steenberg, ministerial director of the Central California Conference (CCC).
While that announcement alone is always a reason to rejoice and give praise to God, it does not begin to explain the miracle of this event. This is a story that illustrates “this treasure in earthen vessels.” It was a virtual ordination—livestreamed on YouTube. Cano explained, “We have never done this before. The year 2020 will go down in history as a year that challenged our practices and traditions.” Because the coronavirus restrictions had not been lifted, the Clovis church building was empty of church members. During the prayer of ordination, the officiating ministers could only outstretch their hands from the required six-foot distance. In spite of the necessary changes to the traditional service, it was decided to move ahead with Moore’s ordination because, as Cano noted, “the building
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PA C I F I C U N I O N R E CO R D E R
may be closed, but the church is not.” Indeed, over 500 people viewed this unique ceremony. Yet, the story of how this man became a pastor is even more remarkable. When you hear that his parents are just grateful that he is not in prison, you start to understand that his road to becoming a pastor was a miracle of God’s grace and mercy. Moore readily admits to being a problem child with a number of scrapes with the law. He had no President Ramiro Cano explains that Nicholas Moore has gone through the required process and was approved for ordination by the Pacific Union and the CCC Executive Committees, as well as the event's different ordination procedures, due to the pandemic.
