Church picnic to be held May 19

The annual Church Picnic will be held at the Church on May 19, 2019 immediately following the second service, from 11:30 am to about 1:30 pm.  The Men’s Group will provide food for the Good Shepherd family and friends.  We will have a sign-up list in the hallway starting April 24 and we will have an electronic sign up on our web page and in our weekly e-newsletter, so we can have a count of expected attendees and buy the proper amount of food.

Children’s Ministry News

Our annual Easter Egg Hunt, which we hold on Easter Sunday, continues. In order to have an abundance of eggs, we are asking families to donate plastic eggs filled with individually wrapped treats or small stickers.  There is also a need this year for bags of small candy or a collection of small stickers that I can use to fill plastic eggs.  (There is the possibility…not guaranteed…that 500 empty eggs may be donated and these will need to be filled).   We would greatly appreciate a donation of one dozen eggs per child to ensure that we have enough on Easter Sunday for our church family and visitors.  There will be a large, labeled red collection bin just inside the church entrance March 31 through April 14.  Thank you so much in advance for your generous donations that make this fun event possible!

On April 14, Palm Sunday, Sunday school aged kids will participate in the palm procession and then go directly downstairs for a special Palm liturgy.

April 21 is Easter and thus we do not offer Sunday school this day to allow all kids aged 3 years and older to attend a church service and worship our Risen Lord as a family.  An Easter Egg Hunt will begin immediately following the 9:15 worship service, at approximately 10:30.

Sunday school begins at 9:45 every Sunday with the exception of Easter and Palm Sunday (see note above).  On April 7, the combined Godly Play classroom (for children aged 3 years through 2nd grade) will have the presentation titled: Washing the Disciples Feet.  The kids participating in the Communion Instruction will conclude this year’s materials.  All kids are invited to participate in the Palm Sunday Liturgy on April 14 and join their families upstairs for the entire service on Easter Sunday (as noted above).  On April 28, the combined Godly Play classroom will have the presentation: Easter-The Garden Appearance.  The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students will discuss: Jesus Appears to His Disciples and Doubting Thomas. 

We will recognize the participants of the Communion Instruction class and celebrate with those who will receive their First Communion at the service on May 5 at 10:00.

Cathedral Ridge offers several summer camp opportunities for youth & children

Did you know that the Episcopal Church in Colorado hosts several summer camps each year at Cathedral Ridge? Here is a look at the camps they are offering this summer!

Explore Camp, June 16-22, 2019

Come explore the outdoors! Explore what it means to be a member of the Body of Christ. Explore Camp encourages kids to find their gifts by digging deeper into the environment around them. Kids experience traditional summer camp at its best: cabins and campfires; games and friendships; challenge courses, archery, and outdoor learning. Discover more about yourself, more about God, and more about the wonderful relationship that brings us all together.

Campers: rising 3rd-8th graders
Cost: $450 (through April 30, then $500)

Junior and Senior Counselors in Training (CITs): ages 15-17
Cost: $225 (through April 30, then $275)

Cathedral Camp, June 23-29, 2019

Cathedral Camp is a whole week’s worth of sleepovers! Come experience the many traditions of Cathedral Ridge’s longest-running camp. Make new friends and reunite with old ones. Play all day. Have a carnival. Slide down the water slide, pray, hike, do crafts, sing, laugh, and watch the stars at night.

Campers: rising 3rd-8th graders
Cost: $450 (through April 30, then $500)

Junior and Senior Counselors in Training (CITs): ages 15-17
Cost: $225 (through April 30, then $275)

Family Camp, July 1-3, 2019

Camp can be a wonderful time full of friends, crafts, and laughter. But for younger campers, time away from family in a new place can be scary. Family camp is a chance to help those butterflies fly away. Parents join their children so they can dip their toes into camp life and get the hang of this amazing experience with the support and comfort of family. Older siblings are welcome!

Cost: $150/$60 for adults/elementary-aged children; middle and high school aged youth: $100

Cosmos Camp, July 14-20, 2019

Ever wonder how science and God fit together? Explore physics at the ropes course, astronomy at evening campfires, and ecology on hikes all while finding new and fun ways to see the creator in the creation. Guest scientists help kids go deeper during daily activities. Come see how the God who made it all is in it all!

Campers: rising 6th-9th graders
Cost: $500 (through April 30, then $550)
Cost includes a $50 lab fee.
Junior and Senior Counselors in Training (CITs): ages 15-17
Cost: $225 (through April 30, then $275)

Stewardship Update: Success and a key for our 2019 budget

Overall, we have now received 155 pledges for a total of $438,933 or $2832 per pledge.  Our original goal for the Stewardship Campaign was 175 pledges for $437,500 or $2500 per pledge.  As you can see from the numbers, we are under the number of pledges we had hoped to receive, but with the Supplemental Stewardship Campaign, we are significantly higher on our average per pledge. 

The key factor for our 2019 budget will be that we can maintain our pledges and keep them current.  This successful Supplemental Stewardship Campaign has allowed us to maintain staff in eleven areas and we hope this will help us as we grow both spiritually and in numbers.  As many of you know, last year we were 11% under in our actual received pledges compared to our pledged budget. This $25,000 shortage on our pledges resulted in us barely breaking even in 2018.  Our hope and our prayer for 2019 is that we can maintain our pledges to complement our sharing at our Annual Meeting and the wonderful financial response to our Supplemental Stewardship Campaign.   

Men’s Group meetings in April

In April, the Men’s Group will meet on April 13 & 27. We’ll meet in the parish hall for a full breakfast on April 13 at 7:30 am and there again for a light breakfast on April 27 at 7:30 am. A short program follows breakfast from 8 to 9 am in the Chapel, with our meetings ending generally at 9 am.

The topic on April 13 will be a follow-up conversation with the Men’s Group covering new members to the group, new programs to be considered and new projects/activities we may want to undertake. On April 27 the topic will come from the Serendipity Bible focusing on “Gifts and Calling: What is the Will of God for My Life” featuring the topic on “Worrying About God’s Will”.

Note, each session stands on its own, so those interested can attend any one of the individual sessions even if you miss one or several meetings. Information relating to the topics covered will be available at the meetings.

Mark your calendars and join us on April 13 or 27. We welcome men new to the Church and/or those having an interest in the Men’s Group. Please email me at (roden.pete@gmail.com) if you have any questions or need any additional information.

Thanks for your interest and hope to see you at one of our upcoming meetings!

Snapshot of Good Shepherd’s Finances as of February, 2019

From Fr. Gary: It’s time for a different narrative!

Most of us know the old “joke” suggested in the picture: "An optimist sees the glass as half-full. A pessimist sees it half-empty. (And an engineer sees the glass twice as large as it needs to be.)” That joke, in my mind, represents an outdated narrative — in ANY of the three answers. I actually like the “answer” in the picture; it represents a changed narrative about the glass and the water. Another response, different still, might be “Who cares about the relationship of glass to liquid? Look — there’s water! What can we do with it?”

How we look at something, I believe, is important. Our outlook, or our perspective, affects how we feel and how we might proceed. As I’ve said a number of times in my sermons, I’m a big proponent of Appreciative Inquiry, a system/theory for managing change. It is based on a number of assumptions, the very first being: "In every society, organization, or group, something works”. Managing change, therefore, means that to move from Point A to Point B, the best strategy is to look at what has worked in “Point A” and maximize it (another of Appreciative Inquiry’s assumptions)!

Of course, recognizing “what worked”, or what was great, at “Point A” isn’t always easy. Significant events may have clouded vision for some. Decline may have obscured vitality for others. That’s why yet another couple of Appreciative Inquiry’s assumptions are so critical: “Reality is created in the moment and there are multiple realities” and “It is important to value differences”. In other words, no one view of “the glass/contents” should dominate. To continue the metaphor, there should be a frank conversation about “the glass/contents” to discover alternative views . . . which can result in changing the narrative about that glass!

I believe that Good Shepherd is on the verge of “changing the narrative”. I really began to see that just before our Annual Meeting. What I’d heard from so many people was that “there was a time when Good Shepherd was burgeoning, and then. . . . .” And, “We’ve lost a lot of folks over the last few years . . . .” Those are stories we are telling ourselves. AND, they are negative narratives that do little but hinder our ability to move forward.

As I said at the meeting, especially in regard to our budget issues, we can’t keep repeating the “decline” narrative; we can’t keep going to the “well”, expecting more water. A different narrative, a different story, to explore is when Good Shepherd was burgeoning, what made it that way? What energized the congregation to grow? Because THAT’s where we need to focus our attention!

Another different narrative with regard to “decline” emerged subsequent to the meeting, and the announcement of the supplemental stewardship campaign. We have an amazing congregation that has stepped up! That means commitment to who we are and energy to move us forward. Regardless of the size of the glass, or the amount of liquid, we have “the juice”! That should give us hope.

Yes, I am talking about “hope” and “faith”! And, what I’ve seen in the last several weeks has been evidence of both. We are changing the narrative! This is biblical/Christian stuff! Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Berkeley, CA had a banner: “Sheep on a Mission”. I liked it then; I love it now! We are on our way forward! Join hands . . . paws . . . hooves!

Transition Team update

We continue to move forward in our “Season of Discovery”!

• The timeline is up, and people are filling in the butcher paper with comments and events! But there’s always more that can be said. For example, as I write this, there is no “flesh” on the 1990’s bones and very little on the 1970’s!

• By the time this newsletter has made it to your hands, maps of the Denver metro area will have been put up. And you are invited to visit the maps and mark on one set where you live, and on the other, where you work! We believe it will help us understand our congregation a bit better, and, perhaps, envision ways to minister beyond our walls.

• We think that the only “formal” survey we’ll need to do is the “congregational vitality survey” (mentioned elsewhere in the newsletter). That said, we will still be collecting information that gets at the heart of who we, at Good Shepherd, are!

• "House masses" are coming! One by-product of the mapping exercise is that we will know where we might offer weekly “house masses” during Easter-tide. These will be opportunities for folks to get together geographically (rather than by “interest group” or service time). We’ll break bread together (potluck dinner as well as Eucharist), and we’ll engage in some conversation about Good Shepherd’s past, present, and future!

• It is our intention to re-purpose the old “Transition” web-pages into a clearing house for all of the information that we’re collecting, as well as our deliberations! Watch for its roll-out!

It’s all good! And we want everyone to be a part of it!

As mentioned in the last Sheepskin, the “Discovery Team” members are: Shane Jones, Elaine Oxenbury, Ellen Blackburn, Randy Hubbard, Kaitlyn Bridgers, Pete Roden, Deb Sampson, Susie Street, and myself. If you have any questions, concerns or comments, let one of us know!

Youth & Family Service coming on Sunday, March 31

"Be Afwaid, be vewy vewy Afwaid! Youth Sunday’s a-comin’!"— Elmer Fudd

NOT! — Fr. Gary (who remembers that Elmer Fudd was . . . . a fuddy-duddy!)

Good Shepherd is proud of, and committed to, our Youth Program! And I believe that once a year is too seldom to have our young people bring their passion for their faith into our worship. 

We will be celebrating, and showcasing, our young people on the fifth Sundays of the year- and the next one is March 31st!  (And, yes, that’s also “Vitality Sunday” this year — see the other article! NOTHING’s more vital than our youth!)

All of the planning hasn’t been finalized, but I have no doubt that it will be amazing — even though we’ll be in LENT! And the reason I know that is that our young folks — whether 2 or 12 or 20 — ARE amazing!  So set aside any plans you have for the last Sunday of March, and plan to be at the 10 am service!  And bring ALL of your un-afwaid enthusiasm!

Service of Healing will be offered at 6 pm on March 31 as part of our “Fifth Sundays” series

We are pleased to begin our celebration of “Fifth Sundays” in 2019 with two special services planned on Sunday, March 31. The 10 am service that day will highlight our Youth and Children, and we are very excited to also offer a Service of Reflection & Healing at 6 pm.  This service, which will include Holy Communion, will be more meditative and reflective in nature, and you will be given the opportunity (if you choose) to be anointed with oil as you receive healing prayers. We will change up the seating in the chapel and the music will be soothing and calm. Bring your prayer requests and come with an open heart to receive all God has planned for you.

Vitality Survey to be administered on March 31

As I mentioned in my sermon on February 10, all the parishes and missions in the diocese are asked to administer the "U.S. Congregational Vitality Survey" on March 31st. The diocese has, for a number of reasons, been “given” this opportunity — at no cost!  It’s a robust survey, and will help congregations identify their strengths in several different areas: our “Overall Vitality”; how well we prepare people for, and engage in, mission within our congregation and outside our walls; do we prepare servant leaders; is our worship Spirit-filled; how well we care for each other, etc.

The group behind the survey has done this before, and has a good solid academic and theological base for its work and conclusions. I was pretty excited to hear about it, as it will come out this spring, right when we’re in the midst of our “Season of Discovery.” The survey will be administered in conjunction with each service on the 31st. We’d love to get everyone’s response, so, if you know you’ll be away, there will be an on-line version we will provide. Pay attention to the weekly E-Newsletter for more information as we draw nearer!

Season four of Music with a Mission finishes on a high note despite the snow

Over 200 people attended our last Music with a Mission Concert on Friday, February 22, despite a terrible snow storm which came through the Front Range that evening. The concert, which featured Bennie L. Williams Spiritual Voices raised over $1,800 for our mission partner, Colorado Haiti Project (CHP). The Executive Director of CHP, Wynn Walent, was coming down from Lafayette to make our mission presentation, and he spent three and a half hours on I-25 stuck in the storm. He barely made it to Good Shepherd in time to give the presentation at the end of the concert.

Despite the cold and snow, the sanctuary was filled with beautiful music and many smiling faces.

At the start of the second half of the program, parishioner Marge Pegula surprised DeeDee Atwood with flowers and a plaque of achievement recognizing her for her work on the series.

Season four finished by raising almost $7,000 for our mission partners, and our grand total to date for all four seasons is just over $34,000.

Congratulations to all of our volunteers who work on our series. We would not be able to do this outreach project without your gracious giving of your time, talents, and financial support.

Season five will begin this fall, so stay tuned for our Angel Sponsor fundraiser this summer. We are also looking to attract three new $1,000 Corporate Sponsors this next season to help offset the costs of our series. If you know of a company that would be interested in helping us, please contact DeeDee Atwood at ddatwood08@gmail.com

Thanks again to all of our volunteers!

New Organ Fund getting close to its goal

As of mid-January our New Organ Fund has had wonderful support from the Good Shepherd community.  Over 60 families have donated and the total is at almost $40,000 of the $65,000 that we need to raise.  We had tremendous participation in our “Bux” Bazaar in December with about $4500 in proceeds going to the organ fund. 

Over 50 artisans participated by donating items.  All of the draw knobs are now “owned” by our donors.  But, we have lots of black notes on the keyboards, pedal notes, and many sound palettes just waiting for your sponsorship. 

If you have already donated, thank you, thank you!  If you would like to help us get to the final amount so that we can get a wonderful new organ, please see the poster in the hall at the church or contact the church office.  Any amount will help toward our goal.  We would love to have this money in place in the next couple of months so that we can order the organ and have it installed by the end of spring.  If you have questions, please contact Connie Branton (cbmusik@comcast.net) or Stephen Fiess, organist.

From DeeDee Atwood: Communication Update

Here’s a look at what’s happening in your church regarding internal and external communication.

• Ashes to Go – That’s right, we are taking our ashes on the road! On Ash Wednesday, March 6, Fr. Gary, Donna White and I will be at the Dry Creek Light Rail Station to administer ashes to people of our community. We will broadcast live on Facebook, and provide people with our newly redesigned Newcomer Brochure about our church. (See next entry)

• Newcomer Trifold Brochure – We have redesigned our Newcomer Brochure into a smaller tri-fold format, which will make it easier for people to read, as well as easier for ushers to hand out. It features just enough information to whet the appetite, and even has a QR code on the back for people to link directly to our website. Pick up a few today to use as a tool to invite a friend to church.

• New Welcome Cards – Our new design will make it easier to get information on our visitors. All we really need is our visitor’s name, email and phone. From there, Father Gary will contact them and help connect them to ministries that interest them. These cards will be inserted into the Newcomer Brochure.

• New Prayer Request Cards – We are creating new Prayer Request Cards which will replace the old Visitor Cards in our pews. We want to encourage our parishioners and our visitors to tell us how we can care and pray for them.

• Table Top Cards for Parish Hall – We will be adding table-top display cards to every table in the Parish Hall. These cards will be three-sided, and will feature upcoming information about the church, ideas from our Invite, Welcome, Connect committees, and questions to engage you as you sit and socialize during coffee hour.

• Youth Sunday Invite Cards – We have big plans for our Youth & Family Sunday service on March 31! We will provide special invitation cards to our Youth so they can invite their friends to our church. We will also have copies of the cards available for parishioners who wish to invite their friends and neighbors.

Youth Corner: An update on Good Shepherd’s Youth

Youth and Family Sunday

Join us March 31st at 10 am as the children and the youth take over the service. They will be shaking things up with contemporary jams, a video sermon, and more. You won't want to miss it!

YES trip fundraising

A number of our youth will be attending Young Episcopalians in Service summer service trips (say that 5 times fast) to Coastal Texas and Colorado Mountain towns. In order for our youth and adult chaperones to attend we need to raise a minimum of $1,350. Stay tuned for our various fundraisers this year or give online by clicking here or by check with YES in the memo.

Lent Madness

The youth are going to be participating in lent madness this season. We will set up a large bracket in the parish hall. We would love for the congregation to play along with us.

Read all about it here

Supplemental Stewardship Campaign exceeds its goal

Congratulations!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!

For the Supplemental Campaign we received 69 Supplemental Pledges and seven new pledges, all totaling $69,817.  A great response to our Supplemental Campaign.  We had to pull a very much needed air conditioning unit out of the budget to try to balance the budget – by going over our goal we can consider this work. 

Overall, we have now received 157 Pledges for a total of $442,196 or $2817 per Pledge.  Our original goal for the Stewardship Campaign was 175 Pledges for $437,500 or $2500 per Pledge.  As you can see from the numbers, we are under the number of Pledges we had hoped to receive, but with the Supplemental Stewardship Campaign, we are significantly higher on our average per pledge. 

We are very hopeful that with the Invite, Welcome and Connect program we will grow the Church over the next year and increase the number of pledges in 2020.   

For the Supplemental Campaign we received 69 Supplemental Pledges and seven new pledges, all totaling $69,817.  A great response to our Supplemental Campaign.  We had to pull a very much needed air conditioning unit out of the budget to try to balance the budget – by going over our goal we can consider this work. 

Overall, we have now received 157 Pledges for a total of $442,196 or $2817 per Pledge.  Our original goal for the Stewardship Campaign was 175 Pledges for $437,500 or $2500 per Pledge.  As you can see from the numbers, we are under the number of Pledges we had hoped to receive, but with the Supplemental Stewardship Campaign, we are significantly higher on our average per pledge. 

We are very hopeful that with the Invite, Welcome and Connect program we will grow the Church over the next year and increase the number of pledges in 2020.   

From Fr. Gary: Point A to Point B

In last month’s “Sheepskin" article, reflecting on the Roman god Janus, I wrote that now is our time to begin journeying together, I would like to comment a bit more fully on that this month, pointing to two specific ways we’ll be doing that: the “Season of Discovery” and the Invite/Welcome/Connect initiative!

Our “Season of Discovery” is the first major phase of the whole Priest-in-Charge process. When Good Shepherd called me to that role, we both committed to the challenging work of looking closely at Good Shepherd’s past and present.  What was it that “birthed” Good Shepherd?  What have been the formative events — positive and negative— that have shaped Good Shepherd into the church it is today? What does our neighborhood look like? What does our congregation look like?  The answers to these questions will form the “data” from which we will discern our next steps together (the “Season of Visioning”). This process, we hope, will engage the entire congregation in “information gathering” . . . . AND we intend it to be Sprit-filled and FUN! 

Here are some of the things you can anticipate:

• During February, we will put up a time-line of the church’s “history”, with key dates for the congregation, as well as national/global events. Y’all will be invited to add YOUR formative events/ideas to the timeline. Our hope is to have a congregational history, not simply a list of dates!  And, our hope is that, while you are filling in YOUR dates, you’ll be having conversations with others who want your felt marker!

• Also, during February, we will put up two maps of the Denver metro area. On one map, we’d like you to put a mark where you live.  On the other map, we’d like to know where you work (even if you work from home).

• Tentatively, during March, we may take advantage of some of the more traditional ways of gathering information, such as surveys.

• In late April and May (i.e., in the weeks after Easter), we are considering hosting a series of “Easter House Masses” at peoples’ homes, inviting church members who live near the host to come together for food, worship and conversation — the topics for conversation will arise out of the other information-gathering exercises.

All of that will provide a wealth of information we can distill into our “Discovery” document . . . in time to deliver it to the Diocese by the end of the summer!

This process is being coordinated by a “Discovery Team” , the members of which are:  Shane Jones, Elaine Oxenbury, Ellen Blackburn, Randy Hubbard, Kaitlyn Bridgers, Pete Roden, Deb Sampson, Susie Street, and myself. If you have any questions, concerns or comments, let one of us know!

Over the last several weeks, we have worked to begin our implementation of Invite/Welcome/Connect. This is an initiative that will help us incorporate new folks into the congregation.  At this point in the congregation's life, we couldn't be more ready for such effort. As you might imagine, we will be working a bunch of new--and old-- ways to "invite" people (both through "marketing" and personal invitations) to see what Good Shepherd is all about; we will ensure that once they come through the door, they are greeted warmly and introduced to all that Good Shepherd can offer; and we will endeavor to put them in contact with those individuals and groups that can engage them in the ongoing life of the church. This is NOT the work of committees, but of the entire congregation! We're hoping for your ideas and whole-hearted engagement!

If you're interested in becoming MORE involved in making this as successful as it can be, and would like to become part of one of the teams (or just have ideas for them), please contact a member of the team:

• Invite:  DeeDee Atwood, Chair; plus Donna White & Nan Behringer

• Welcome:  Anne McMahon, Chair; plus Liv Hornsby, Chris Hall, Ann Pounds, Joyce Manning, and Tom & Duane Namaksy

• Connect:  Jim Wolfe, Chair; plus Deb Sampson & Christine Blackburn

We have a fantastic journey ahead of us! So jump on board as we head from Point A to Point B!

Vestry approves Supplemental Stewardship Campaign

As communicated via email last week, and at the Annual Meeting on January 27, we are launching a Supplemental Stewardship Campaign to allow core ministries to continue at Good Shepherd.  We truly appreciate all of those who have contributed to the Hope Grows Here campaign, but at present, we are about $65,000 short of a balanced budget to sustain the current ministries and programs that are in place. 

The total level of pledged financial support for 2019, coupled with the unexpectedly high number of unpaid pledges from last year, only brings us 85% of the way towards a balanced budget.  Unless sufficient additional funds are raised, paid staff positions for our Sunday Children’s Program, Youth Program, Communications Director, Business Manager, and Bookkeeper will have to be discontinued, and our music program will be reduced to only having an organist.

We have an opportunity to come together at this critical time to support the hope that grows here.  Based upon a recommendation from the Stewardship and Finance Committees, the Vestry approved a Supplemental Stewardship Campaign, with the goal of attaining additional pledged income by the end of February.  Meeting this goal will maintain as many paid staff positions as possible and sustain the wonderful ministries of music, Christian education, children and youth, all of which are so vital to our church community.

No gift is too small.  A $2/day pledge would allow children and youth ministries to continue for ten days.  A $5/day pledge would sustain the music ministry for three weeks.  If we collectively pull together, we can not only sustain our core ministries, but grow our congregation.

Please prayerfully consider what additional support you can offer and help us to maintain the level of ministry that Good Shepherd parishioners have worked so hard to achieve.  Supplemental Stewardship Campaign Pledge Cards have been mailed to parishioners, and cards will also be available on the newcomers table in the hallway. Pledges can be placed in the collection plate on Sunday, mailed in, or made through our website at www.gshep.org.

Thank you for your generous support of Good Shepherd in the past, and we deeply appreciate your willingness to help us meet the financial challenge that faces us in 2019. 

Bennie L Williams Spiritual Voices to perform on Friday, February 22, 2019

Don’t miss the last Music with a Mission concert of the season when we welcome Bennie L. Williams Spiritual Voices on Friday, February 22 at 7 pm. Ms. Williams is a renowned and nationally recognized director and teacher of music, and her choir ensemble will present an uplifting evening of spirituals for your musical enjoyment.

Spirituals are songs created by communities of Africans enslaved in North America during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Arising out of dislocation, violence, and loss, the songs express the sorrow and pain of life without freedom and the hope and endurance of humanity unbowed by oppression. The Bennie L Williams Spiritual Voices is a community choir committed to preserving, performing, and celebrating these profound songs that underlie characteristically American music, such as gospel, jazz, blues, R & B, and hip hop.

Our mission partner for this concert will be Colorado Haiti Project, which has been working with community leaders in the rural town of Petit Trou de Nippes for over 29 years, supporting community-driven programs in education, community health, water and hygiene, girls’ and women’s empowerment, and agriculture.

From Fr. Gary: Looking to the future and the past

Many of you may know that the month of January was named for the Roman god, Janus. He was, (according to the Wikipedia entry,) "the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. . . . Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of past to future, from one condition to another, from one vision to another, and young people's growth to adulthood. He represented time, because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other." Images — whether sculpted, etched or painted — could be found on doorposts and road markers, places of “comings and goings.” Janus, to me, has often been a powerful image, a reminder that things do come to an end, only to begin anew.

As someone who worked for years on college campuses, that ending/beginning “thing” was celebrated annually as students finished their coursework, only to attend a ceremony called “Commencement”. At the University of Denver, I was asked, every year, to offer an “invocation” at DU’s Commencement ceremonies, with the implicit charge to point in both directions — to reflect on what the students had accomplished on the one hand, but, on the other hand, to imagine what might lay ahead.

Several weeks ago, I was commissioned as Good Shepherd’s Priest-in-Charge. It was a wonderful day, and I am so grateful to all who helped the congregation mark that event. But while that service officially marked the end of the “Search Process,” it also marked the beginning of our collective "Season of Discovery.” This season is described in the “Field Guide” for the Priest-in-Charge process as . . .

. . . a time to explore together, congregation and priest, the past and present of the congregation and to create a common narrative or story about the congregation. During transition, the congregation conducts an assessment to create a community portfolio and works to develop a clear picture of who the congregation is, and what is sought in a new priest. However, the Priest-in-Charge was not part of that work, and it may be that some things have changed or emerged since that work was undertaken. Therefore, you need to walk through it again, together, to see what things are foundational to the congregation and its life and ministry, and which things need to be changed or replaced. It takes time, but it really does help to orient and prepare you as you move in the second season.

We have our work cut out for us! The Vestry, a Transition Team, and I will be working on putting together the various means of making this “season” enjoyable (as are ALL of our seasons in Colorado, each in their different ways). Our focus will be on taking stock of where we’ve been, and where we are now. At the end of the process, we’ll produce a short document —a “snapshot” (to use an older “image”) — that speaks of how Good Shepherd has been shaped into the vibrant place it is today. My hope is that, once we’ve put together that “picture,” we’ll be able to look at it and say, “Wow! Look who we are! What an amazing place God has made us!”

Standing then on the threshold, together we can move from where the Holy Spirit has brought Good Shepherd to the good future to which we are beckoned. 

Let us begin journey together!

New Years’ blessings!