Join Us For Worship This Sunday

We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and cards during this time of CL's illness and transition. He will hopefully be moving to a Mirasol Green House on Monday for long term care if all goes as planned.

~Pat Jones

As we update our directory and begin implementing the Text in Church communication platform, please know that you can opt out at any time. Our goal is to improve our communication and hope that this will help us keep you informed. 

Do you volunteer around the church?

Jean Malchow wants to hear from you!

Heart of Longmont is blessed to have many volunteers who take on tasks and to-dos around the church without anyone knowing it--changing banners, polishing brass, and much more. Thank you so much for your silent—sometimes almost invisible—efforts!

If you are one of these angel-like volunteers, Jean Malchow wants to hear from you! She is compiling a complete list of these tasks—big and small—that volunteers take care of around the church throughout the year.

Please contact Jean at j.malchow@live.com.

Friends

Food

Fun

All could be found in Collyer Park on August 28th at the Heart of Longmont picnic. A good time was had by all on a gorgeous day.

On Sunday August 21, Pastor Claire had the privilege of being a guest along with Gordon and Ann Yoder at Thy & Kim and Vannary & Kim Sean's home, where she learned the shared story of Heart of Longmont and their journey from Cambodia to the United States. The food was exquisite and the laughter and love palpable. It is a reminder of the power of the church, and that we are truly our sibling's keepers. 

Does anyone have a canoe that is no longer seaworthy and willing to donate to the new playground? If so, please contact Jean Malchow. Thank you!

Change for Change

Votes are being counted!

The final day for voting was August 28th.

At this time Samuel Homes is in third place. A grand total of $71.67 was collected for Samuel Homes.

The votes between Isaiah Homes and Wesley Homes is too close to call at this time.

Check back for the final certified results to find out which name won.

Thank you for putting more of God’s love into our community.

Sign Up for the Boulder Crop Walk!

This year's Crop Walk will be Sunday, October 16th at Atonement Lutheran Church Boulder. Join us, registration is now open! To sign up, click on the URL below. Select "Join a team" and search for our team (Heart of Longmont). Follow the on-screen instructions to finish registering. If you have any questions email Becky Vancura at becky.vancura@gmail.com

To register, click here: https://events.crophungerwalk.org/2022/teams

Library Book Give Away

Now is the time to add to your book collection. The library is downsizing and we are in the process of clearing and consolidating book shelves. This is a process and the first section of the library we are working on contains books on faith, personal devotions, history and personal growth. Those are the books currently being given away. Downsizing will happen over a period of time.

There are several crates of books in the Gallery against the west wall next to the library table. Please take some time to see if there are books there you or someone you know might like. Additional books will be added to the give away as space allows.

Please do not take the crates.

There's Room for Everyone

LGBTQIA+ People, Church Community, and

J. J. Warren's Reclaiming Church

by Devon Towry

For many church-going people, their church community is like a second home, a second family, full of friends they have known for a long time, maybe even grew up with. The friendship and love that binds the community together is warm and supportive and many would not know what to do without it. Unfortunately, for many LGBTQIA+ individuals this isn’t the case.

It’s probably difficult for someone who’s only seen the welcoming and warm side of church communities, who hasn’t felt the pressure to conform to a certain way of being, or find a place they fit within the community, to understand the pain that some LGBTQ+ individuals have experienced from the communities they belonged to. There are many ways this pain can be caused (which we will not go into here) but it can be overt or subtle, and the rejection may cause some individuals to leave the church altogether. For those that don’t leave, there is always the looming specter of “judgy” and “exclusive” Christians.

This may feel sad and painful to read, that something that should be a place of love, support, and joy, could cause others pain and grief which may last for years.

How can one’s own church community be more welcoming to LGBTQ+ people? The truth is, there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. A group is not a monolith, and different people will have had different experiences and different feelings about church and God and the Bible. A good place to begin is understanding where some may be coming from and recalibrating one’s own thoughts and ideas to make room for new understandings.

Reclaiming Church is a book that can help with that understanding and recalibration. Published in 2020 by Abingdon Press, Reclaiming Church is author J.J. Warren’s call to reaffirm that the Church should be welcoming to everyone, including those who “didn’t know God could love them because their churches said God didn’t”. Its audience may be queer folks, but there is a lot here that cis, straight folks can take from it.

Warren wrote the book following his speech at the Special Session of the General Conference in February 2019, where “the role of queer United Methodists in the life and ministry of the denomination” would be decided. Despite the work and words of many, including Warren, the delegates voted to restrict queer people within the denomination. Warren writes:

“But I know that one speech doesn’t turn the tide of religious culture, and that one person isn’t a movement. The truth is, the only reason I was able to be there [at the General Conference] is because people have been working for decades to reclaim the whole idea of church—to make it a place where queer people and people of color and immigrants and the differently abled can find refuge and a home.”

Within the book, Warren addresses the (mis)conception of God and the “clobber verses”, so called because these passages from the Bible are the go-to verses “exclusive Christians” use like cudgels against queer and trans folks. 

“Many of us have grown up with images, almost like cold marble statues, of who God is, and these statues cause us pain,” Warren writes. In the first chapter, he asks the reader to consider the “traditional” version of God, handed down across the years--the angry, macho white dude who has a plan and you better not deviate from it—and deconstruct it, in dialogue with passages from the Bible. He uses She/Her and They/Them pronouns for God (and He/Him for Jesus, who, as far as we know, identified as a man), and asks the reader to consider the use of different pronouns and how, though it might seem strange, it may open up different avenues of thought, including, but not limited to, in God’s dimension as nurturer.

In the second chapter, Warren more closely examines the clobber verses and where they come from. “It’s not so easy to say ‘The Bible tells me so’ when we’re dealing with a collection of books that has been edited, translated, and compiled over thousands of years,” he writes. To fully engage with the Bible as the central text of Christian faith, one must be aware of the original contexts of the text and the various choices translators over the centuries have made. For example, the word “sodomy” doesn’t exist before the early 1000s CE, but you will find translations of Augustine that use the word, though Augustine lived 354-430 CE. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is a favorite clobber passage, but, in fact, the sins of those cities weren’t “homosexuality” and “sodomy” but “pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease” and they “did not aid the poor and needy” (Ezekiel 16:49). 

Despite being a short book, this is only a drop in the bucket of information Warren provides his audience and consideration he asks of them. Exploring these ideas, and one’s relationship to them, is an “exciting and personal journey”, and the hope of this book is that exploration can be done in safety.

In Chapter 3, Warren writes:

“For those of us in the LGBTQ+ community, our lives can feel like we’re wearing an awkward airplane costume. Sometimes, our families, church communities, and school friends even construct costumes for us. They have a certain image of who they hope we’ll become, and sometimes we start to internalize their expectations and strap on their costume ourselves.”

It’s an excellent analogy. Room should be made for everyone, giving them space to be who they are—without masks or costumes—and making that space also means being open to the perspectives and experiences of others, listening with an open heart and an open mind. 

Love and understanding are the strongest foundation upon which to build a community. Cornerstones of tradition, the “way it’s always been”, and misconceptions about God and scripture might need to be shifted or replaced, but doing so will make a warm and welcoming place for LGBTQIA+ folks and people from all walks of life to find the community and second home others have enjoyed. 

—

Devon (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary writer and manages digital content at Heart of Longmont.

Salmon Sale

Is Here!

The yearly BUMMP Salmon Sale is now starting. Wild caught salmon from our friends in Alaska will soon arrive. The suggested price will remain the same as last year, $10/lb. Delivery will start September 24^th.

This sale provides BUMMP funds to support BUMMP member churches and individuals in their outreach efforts.

If you would like to support this effort and buy some salmon, there will be a sign up sheet at the hospitality desk this Sunday or you can contact Nancy Swope at pgp1999rrs@gmail.com or 303-519-5516. Donations are also accepted if anyone does not care to purchase salmon.

Financial Update

Overall church finances continue to be slightly better than the 2022 budget, with income at 60% of the annual budget and expenses at 54.75% of the annual budget (58.3% of the year is complete). However, it should be noted that the 2022 approved budget was a loss of $70,885. It is expected that our income will exceed the budget and expenses will be lower so our loss for the year will be less.

As mentioned last month, YTD income and net income (deficit) comparisons to 2021 will be impacted for the balance of the year as HOL was the beneficiary in June 2021 of the forgiveness of the PPP loan of $37,900. No such benefit is forthcoming in 2022.

Without the PPP loan forgiveness, income for the year is up $ 13,340 (6.8%) thanks primarily to a couple large contributions in January.

Expenses are up $6,931 (3.1%) from 2021. The largest variance to budget continues to be for our facility operations where our building maintenance expenses are at 75% of the annual budget.

New Sermon Series - Half Truths

Volunteer Sunday - Sept. 11th. Immediately after service is over, check out the gallery for information on how you can get involved in the community or in our church. Enjoy your coffee and snacks while learning more about all the great opportunities for you to get connected.

Fall Festival - Saturday, Oct 15th, 4pm- 8pm at Pastor Claire's home for fellowship and fun. Join together for a wonderful time in the great outdoors. The McNulty-Drewes family is inviting you to their home north of Longmont, for an afternoon/evening of fun and connection. Pet the horses and other animals, enjoy some tasty pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, baked beans and cookie bars. Talk to your friends while sitting around a campfire and looking at the gorgeous view that God provides us with these Rocky Mountains. Look for a sign up in the gallery. Contact Tricia Grafelman for answers to your questions. 

Blessing of the Animals - Oct. 16th at 4:00 at 1505 21st Ave. Bring any animal you want blessed to either the dog park or if you have an animal that isn't comfortable around dogs, we will bless them outside the enclosed dog area.

For Love of the Horse - Sunday, Nov. 6th, 12-2pm at Pastor Claire's home. Learn how amazing time with a horse can be and how it can heal your heart and calm your soul. This is a hands-on event for the first 10 people that sign up. Participants will get a chance to groom the horses, learn about their special gifts and gentle spirit and how they can heal your soul. Sign up in the gallery. Contact Tricia Grafelman for answers to your questions.

September's compassion offering supports 2022 CROP Hunger Walk.

CROP Hunger Walks are community-based walk fundraising events held in cities and towns across the United States, created to support the global mission of Church World Service, a faith-based organization transforming communities around the globe through just and sustainable responses to hunger, poverty, displacement and disaster. After a CROP Hunger Walk ends, 25% of the funds raised is returned to the host community to support local hunger fighting efforts.

If you wish to donate to this month's compassion offering, you can do so online by clicking here and navigating to the Monthly Compassion Offering tile. Or, you may send a check to the church office with "Compassion Offering" on the memo line.

Heart of Longmont UWF have a Facebook page!

Click here to follow us at https://www.facebook.com/uwfoftheheart/

The Heart's United Women in Faith

are planning a Holiday Fair!

The Heart's UWF are planning a Holiday Fair on November 5 from 9AM-2PM. Vendors, baked goods, jellies and jams, candy, the Treasure Trove will all be there and of course the wonderful lunch of pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw, chips and PIE! Help spread the word and if you have friends who are vendors, have them get ahold of Mary Ann Watson!

Thank you for your continued support!

United Women in Faith Circles are beginning to meet again! Please come join a group and see what it's about,

we'd love to have you!

Lydia Circle

Catherine Murphy (chair)

Second Thursday of the month at 5pm in the church Gallery.

Sarah Circle

Ann Yoder (chair)

3rd Thursday of the month at 9:30am in various homes.

Contact the church office for location.

Esther Circle

Nancy Swope (chair)

3rd Tuesday of the month at 9:30am, various homes or church Gallery.

Call the church office for location.

Elizabeth Circle

Linda Morris (chair)

3rd Monday of the month at 1pm in the church Gallery.

Are you a knitter, crocheter, sewer or do you just love shopping for handmade items?

The 2022 holiday gift to Longmont Meals on Wheels clients will be handmade mittens, gloves or wrist warmers. Any homemade medium is accepted. Just please be sure they are good quality, new and lovingly made. If you aren't a crafter yourself, please consider a pair from Etsy or many of the local craft & artist fairs. Go to www.longmontmeals.org/events for some from local Etsy artists. Please mail items to Longmont Meals on Wheels or drop off items at the secure dropbox on the west side of the Longmont Sr. Center. Contact Annie@lmow.org with questions.

BUMMP Day at CalWood

Following the CalWood fire 2 years ago BUMMP has been sponsoring volunteer days to go assist with replanting at the CalWood Youth Educational Camp west of Jamestown. We need your help! Saturday, September 17th from 9:00am- 3:00pm

Contact Belinda Strickland, sbstrickland@mac.com to sign up.

Our Mission:

Putting More of God's Love Into The World

Helping all persons find deeper meaning and God’s purpose for their lives as committed Christ-followers.

Serving as the Heart of Longmont means:

We will welcome all persons, without reservation or judgment,

just as Jesus Christ would do.

We will work tirelessly by entering into intentional acts of compassion and social justice to make our community a place where God’s love is known by all, where poverty and deprivation are unknown by any, and where respect for the worth and dignity of each person is the norm.

We will respect and honor other religious traditions

while choosing Christ as our way of knowing God best.

We will emphasize life-long learning so that we may

engage our world from a dynamic and creative perspective.

We will work to protect God’s creation.

We will practice stewardship of all aspects of our lives,

including time, talent, financial resources, and spiritual gifts.