|
The LiNK
August
2016
A monthly publication from WPUMC
|
What a month is has been in our country-we have witnessed the shooting deaths of black men and police persons. We have seen peaceful protests and ones filled with violence and threats. We hear words of division and polarity around whose lives matter, around who should lead our country, around how people should think and act and live.
In the midst of such horrific news, a different kind of story arose as just a couple of weekends ago, the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church made history by electing the first openly gay bishop, Karen Oliveto. Not only that, but she has been appointed to be the Bishop for our area, the Mountain Sky Area (Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone Conferences). I am very excited to receive Bishop Oliveto as my presiding bishop starting September 1
st
, but ripples of discontent and talk of church split are rising to the surface again as many are challenged by this election.
I am sure that we all have different ideas and opinions about all that has happened recently. Maybe my views and yours connect at some points and diverge at others. As people of faith, we struggle with these issues and wonder how to be faithful in the midst of doubt, how to be filled with grace and love in the face of opposition, how to engage in relationships and conversations when they are tough.
Jesus calls us right into the middle of that tension, to "
love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you"
(Matt 5:44); that
"blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God"
(Matt 5:9; that we should
"do unto others as you would have them do to you"
(Luke 6:31). It's a high standard that is put before us, to love those who are difficult to love, to pray and work for peace and to do good works without any expectation of reward or reciprocation.
It is my prayer that we can journey as a community into this place of tension and uncertainty together, learn from each other and know one another deeply. And as we are deeply known, that we find that in our diversity, there is blessing and enrichment for not only our lives, but all lives that we encounter.
Peace,
|
|
August Worship
August 7
th
COMMUNION SUNDAY
Postcards from Paul:
Landed Ourselves in Jail
Acts 16: 25-34 / Tyler Joyner preaching
August 14
th
BLESSING OF THE PETS
(Pets are welcome in worship to receive a blessing)
Postcards from Paul:
Ephesus is Beautiful This Time of Year
Acts 19: 23-26
August 21
st
Postcards from Paul:
Tragedy in Troas Acts 20: 7-12
August 28
th BLESSING OF BACKPACKS
(students bring your school backpacks to be blessed for the school year)
Postcards from Paul:
Arrested Development
Acts 21: 27-31
Send WP
UMC a Postcard this Summer!
We'll sti
ll be co
llecting postcards this month from your summer travels, as a parallel to our sermon series called "Postcards from Paul", where we will follow Paul's missionary journeys through the book of Acts. So while you're away on your summer vacations, pick up a postcard and send it to:
Wash Park UMC 1955 E Arizona Ave Denver, CO 80210
Visit the big map in the narthex hallway to read the postcards,
stay connected throughout the summer, and enjoy each other's journeys. Small postcard kits with a mailing label and postcard stamp are available in the church office. It's been fun to share the journey!
|
Music
Welcome to August! We have hot days, and I know I'm already feeling a bit nostalgic about summer that has mostly passed by. Well, summer isn't over yet. Please join us for another wonderful bit of summer fun at a concert in the courtyard this Wednesday night, August 3, 6:30. We're going to have some great bluegrass music, and it will be a ton of fun for the whole family. Bring a camp chair or a blanket, family and friends, and your listening ears!
Bell choir update: We've had another significant donation to our 'Bell Choir Fund', so we are very close to halfway to our $11,000 goal! We are in the planning stages of a fundraiser concert, and our current tentative date is Wednesday, September 14. We are hoping to put on an excellent and inspiring concert and we have a few details to nail down first. Please save the date, but stay tuned for more information.
Choir members, I'll look forward to seeing you at our first rehearsal for the fall, on Wednesday August 24. This has been a particularly odd summer with everyone's schedules, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone more regularly! I have lots of great music in store for us to sing - I'm as excited as ever about getting started again!
|
|
Children's Ministry
The month of July has been a "Journey with Paul" in Sunday School. Our grades 2-5 have dug deep into discussing how his journey and the changes Paul made can be compared to today's issues within their own lives as well as the bigger outside world they see. Pretty big concepts, and it is amazing how they really understand with God, anything is possible. I am very proud of them! Our younger school groups have enjoyed stories of Paul's transformation and other people in the Bible that have made transformations.
Also this month held our Vacation Bible School, Cave Quest! This took us on a journey how Jesus provides ; Hope, Courage, Direction, Love and Strength. How He is our light in the dark. We hosted about 80 kids ranging in ages 3 to 10. We had an amazing week of songs, crafts, discovery, recreation and healthy snacks. We also learned a lot from our volunteer leaders, like how to ride a unicycle. If you want to find that out, maybe you should volunteer for VBS next year! Its always FUN! I feel very blessed to have had this experience and meet so many wonderful kids.
Grow in Grace,
Sheri Salis
Director of Children's Ministry
|
|
Preschool
Summer is quickly coming to an end at WPUMC Preschool. We are looking forward to experiencing a "Journey to Outer space", a visit from the Denver Aquarium and from a master chef. Last day of summer camp is August 19
th
. Looking forward to fall, we still have a few openings in our older classrooms. Please see or email the Director Melinda Svenkerud at
[email protected]
or the Assistant Director Jessica Sipes at
[email protected]
.
Boots, Blues, & BBQ
Join us for WPUMC Preschool's 3rd Annual Fundraiser-Boots, Blues & BBQ- on October 1st 2016. This fun community-building event includes live music, excellent food and a silent auction and is being hosted in a private home. All money raised will help support school improvements. If you cannot make it you can still help out by donating money towards teacher tickets or donating items to our silent auction. If you would like to donate please email [email protected].
|
|
Youth
Note from Associate Pastor Tyler
I am grateful for a community to call my home!
Moving to Denver to follow a calling was a hard thing to do. I left many friends and a great family behind. But I have found love and joy in being a part of the Wash Park UMC Family.
All I can say is thank you!
Thank you for trusting me and inviting me to be in ministry with you as a community of faith. I look forward to the many future opportunities we have to grow together as family and to encourage each other to dream big in ministry.
You are all in my heart, my thoughts and prayers. May God bless our church community as we continue to live deeply into relationship with one another and with God. May we find courage to engage with meaning making relationships with spirit, one another, and with the world around us that might actually transform our hearts and minds forever. My prayer is that we will dream big together
Blessings and Friendship all in the name of Never-ending Love,
Tyler Joyner
Associate Pastor
Club 456
A ministry for 4th 5th and 6th graders where we gather to have fun and practice being in fellowship. Our hope is that Club 456 will help our younger youth engage with church in their own ways and build relationships that will last.
All student's grades
4th-6th are welcome. Parents please feel free to join us, to fellowship together and to have fun alongside your children.
This Month's Meeting:
Sunday Aug 21st 4:30pm-6pm
This month we will be meeting at the church and walking to Wash Park and enjoying a fun scavenger hunt.
YOUTH
We would love for a chance to get to know you. If you are a student in grades 6 - 12, please stick around after Sunday morning worship to hang out, eat lunch, and have fun. Lunch in Fellowship Hall at 11am followed by group activities, discussion and study in the Youth Room on the second floor at the back of the Sanctuary. Pick up at 1pm.
Welcome Meeting
- We will have a Special Year Kick Off meeting on September 11th after church. All youth and families are encouraged to join is to learn about our upcoming yearly program. All youth 6th grade and up have a place our youth program.
*6th Graders
- We invite our 6th Graders to leave worship after Children's Time and go downstairs with all the kids to be leaders for the children's ministry program.
*7th Grade Confirmation
and anyone older who wants to join!!! Confirmation is journey during middle school years where a student learns about our church, our church's history and our faith tradition's history so they might make an informed decision themselves whether they would like to join the church., We need to find a day during the week we can gather for confirmation study. I hope we might meet Sunday evenings beginning Sept 21st.
Park Youth
8th grade (Those who have completed confirmation) through 12th. A space for youth to be themselves and to practice living full, spreading joy, serving other and loving above all. This time is specially reserved for the youth that want to learn together about the world and their place in the world. It is set aside for them own special interest and the own unique experiences and learnings.
Thank you for coming together and surrounding out youth and teenagers with love and support. They need all they can get. May God continue to make our youth program a thriving program based on the foundations of acceptance, love and a good time.
Tyler Joyner
Director of Youth Ministries
|
|
Congregational News
Congratulations to Eliza Garrett and her parents! Eliza was baptized on July 10th.
 Congratulations to Elam Frazier and his parents! Elam was baptized on July 17th.
Lisa Lane had an extremely bad fall while training for a triathlon and broke her femur. She cannot put any weight on it for 12 weeks. There is a meal train started by both the Care Team and her triathlon team, but as this is an extended amount of time for care, we are looking for others who may want to help! The link to sign up is
https://mealtrain.com/vv7q06
Please keep Bruce and Cheryl Buddington in your prayers as Bruce goes through cancer treatments.
Call for Volunteers:
Worship Team:
We're looking for friendly faces interested in serving one
Sunday per month during worship as either an usher or an A/V PowerPoint tech. As an usher, you'll welcome friends and guests to worship, distribute the registration pads, assist with the offering and support our worship activities. As an A/V tech, you will run the PowerPoint presentation during the service. We would love 2 more ushers and 1 more A/V tech at least. If you're interested in serving as an usher or A/V tech, please email
[email protected].
Funeral Committee
The Funeral Committee offers personal, unobtrusive help at a difficult time for families. The committee helps host the reception and supports the family during the service. Currently the team is comprised of 4 members, and could use a little help. With more people, split shifts can be created so the team does not work a full day. We are looking for 3-5 more people to join us. The commitment is one day for about 4 hours when needed which is usually between 3-6 months. If you would like to be added to the team, email Ros Warren at
[email protected] .
Connections Committee
Summer BBQs, concerts, Fall Festival, etc, the Connections Committee helps engage our congregation through fellowship and fun. The events are hosted 6-10 times a year. This is a fun group with lots of different ways to help out. Email
[email protected].
|
|
Neighborhood News
My name is Drew Harrilchak and I will be a junior this year at DU. I will also be the president of Campus Crusade for Christ, a student run ministry on campus. [Are there] any members of your church who might be looking to sell a car to a nice, young, broke college student who is planning on using the car for ministry (taking students to a from events), as well as personal, purposes.
If you, or someone, you know wants to sell a car to Drew, please contact [email protected].
|
Swinging @ AIDS
For the third year in a row, WPUMC will be sponsoring a hole at the Swinging @ AIDS Charity Golf Tournament. This event raises awareness and money for AIDS treatment for women and children in rural India, as well as, serving those in need in Colorado.
We have our foursome; however, you can still participate with the silent auction. The tournament will be on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at Denver City Golf Course.
If you are interested in more information, participating or donating to this cause, then please contact Caroline Christensen at [email protected] or Claudia Svarstad at [email protected] .
Morning has Broken
If you were at church on Sunday, June 26, 2016, then you heard about the powerful work that Daniel Marutle is doing in South Africa related to the continued fight against AIDS. Daniel and his wife Noreen will leave for South Africa at the end of August.
As a church, we have a goal to raise $6,000 for Daniel's on-going mission work. If you would like to make a donation to this very worthy cause, you can make checks payable to: WPUMC. Please add 'Morning has Broken' in the memo.
Habitat for Humanity
Coming soon .... It's about time to start thinking about how our church will be participating in the long-standing mission for Habitat for Humanity. WPUMC and Loaves and Fishes coalition will be building a single family home close to Federal Blvd. and W. Yale Ave. The build will start in November and conclude in February or early March. We will be looking for volunteers to sign-up to work on site. No special skills are required. You will receive on-the-job training and have an experience of a life time in giving back to our community. As we get closer to the dates in November, you will have an opportunity to sign-up and volunteer.
Be on the lookout for additional fund raising opportunities as we prepare for this event.
Cocktails & Canvases
:
On August 7, 2016, we will have our first Cocktails and Canvases party to raise money for Loaves and Fishes. Our very own Tyler Joyner will lead an art project for those attending and Molly Moats has graciously agreed to host the event. Evite invitations have been sent. If you did not receive the invitation and would like to attend, then please e-mail Caroline Christensen at [email protected].
SAVE THE DATE
:
On Sunday, October 16, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., Loaves and Fishes will have an ice cream social to kick off the project. Families are welcome! The social will be near the build site so people can get familiar with the area. (P.S. There isn't a Broncos game on this date!)
Enjoy the fellowship and friendship that comes from participating in one of the many events to raise funds for Loaves and Fishes/Habitat for Humanity. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events and at the build site!
On-Going Missions:
Bags of Hope
We have a full supply of 'Bags of Hope'. Please remember to pick up a few each Sunday and distribute them to folks as you are driving around town. This is an easy way to give back to those in need.
The box is located in the Narthex.
Sandwiches and Socks
Each week, you can help by making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches before or after worship service in the tea kitchen. The sandwiches will then be distributed to the homeless in Civic Center Park.
The Sandwiches and Socks Mission is part of a bigger mission in our Denver Area. We collaborate with multiple churches and organizations to feed the homeless in Civic Park EVERY SINGLE DAY at noon. Many rely on these lunches to keep them from starvation and the ability to save on the expense of close to $70 a week.
Also, as a church, we make full lunches and distribute them on the fourth Saturday each month. We have had challenges getting volunteers to help assemble and distribute lunches on Saturday mornings. We are going to start assembling on the Sunday before the 4th Saturday. Below is the list of dates for the remainder of the year.
August 21
September 18
October 16
November 20
December 18
The next event is Sunday, August 21, 2016. We will meet in the tea kitchen at 8:30 a.m. (before church) to assemble the lunches.
This mission is easy, family friendly and an integral part of life for almost 600 people a week!
You can sign up on the Missions bulletin board or online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0a4ea4a629a0fc1-sandwiches
Donations
We are always looking for donations for our on-going missions. Below is a list. You can drop them off in the container in the Narthex.
· Peanut Butter (regular please --- the all-natural brands do not store well)
· Jelly
· Socks
· Granola Bars (soft)
· Chips
· Convenience size packs of hand wipes (usually located in the sample size at Target or Bed, Bath and Beyond)
|
|
August Calendar
August 12-13 - Peach Pick-up
August 14 - Blessing of the Pets: The annual Blessing of the Pets is coming! On August 14th during worship service, bring your pets--whatever they are--appropriately controlled (leash, cage, carrier, etc.)to be blessed by Rev. Sandi! We ask that only animals who will do well in a public place, and with other animals, join us at the service. You are invited to bring a picture of a pet who has died. There will be a time in the service to remember them. There will be a special "humans only" section of the sanctuary for anyone with allergies but if you are aware of major allergies, please use your discretion. With some flexibility and creativity, we hope our Blessing of the Pets will be a worshipful service.
August 16 - Administrative Council @ 5:30
August 19 - Last day of WPUMC Preschool Summer Camp
August 21 - Seekers and Joiners: After worship, a time to learn about WPUMC and the larger United Methodist Church. Appropriate for those wishing to join WPUMC and those just wanting to know more. (Library) Contact: Rev. Sandi Dillon. (C.C.) Child care available with 48 hr request before event to [email protected]
August 21 - Assembly of Sandwiches and Socks. Help make sack lunches for Denver's homeless and in-need. These lunches will be assembled on Sunday before service at 8:30 in the Tea Kitchen.
August 27 - Distribution of Sandwiches and Socks. The lunches that were made will be handed out downtown in Civic Center Park at noon.
August 28 - Blessing of The Backpacks
|
|
Sincerely,
Washington Park United Methodist Church
|
|
| |
|
1955 East Arizona Ave.
Denver, CO 80210
(303) 777-3043
[email protected] |
1-Caroline Christensen
1-Steve Moats
1-Barry Steelman
1-Genna Morrow
2-Diane Seccombe
3-Andrew Esposito
4-Jim Quartarone
4-Emme Weddle
4-Finnean Weddle
6-Brewer Couch
9-Jennifer Miklosi
9-Colin Johnson
9-Luke Smith
11-Carrie Wieder
11-Becky Schaub
11-Lori Scheffler
12-Marie Dorr
12-Teboho Marutle
12-MK Fleming
13-Mark Warren
14-Jamey Thompson
15-Robert Harber
16-Sheri Salis
16-Owen Kortsch
17-Carri Hazell
18-Carl Mikesell
19-Ellie Hamrick
20-Marni Warren
20-Lila Gonzales
24-Emily Hoskins
25-Kathryn Codo
25-Mia Casey
26-Amy Sublette
26-Juliette Jones
26-Dixie Poppell
27-Daniel Kozlowski
27-Bill Mrzlikar
27-Tanner Partsch
27-Whitaker Clarke
28-Heather Steelman
31 Bowen Banbury
|
|
Wedding Anniversaries
8-02 Mike Scheffler
8-05 Karee Justice-Bondy & Steve Bondy
8-05 Michelle & Ron Hoskins
8-07 Sandi & Jim Dillon
8-08 Jennifer & Tom Nolan
8-12 Griffen & Ryan O'Shaughnessy
8-13 Meghan Schock
8-14 Gary Longwell
8-18 Luke & Megan Ortgessen
8-20 Joanne & Daniel Esposito
8-25 Susan & Zack Carpenter
8-29 Olivia & Webster
8-29 Jennifer & Tom Parnell
|
|
|
