Dear U Park Family,
Have you ever had a moment when you realized that you needed to change something about your life? Maybe it was a job or career change, realizing that your old way of making a living had to shift. Or maybe in a friendship or marriage you came to see that the way things had been would no longer work. That time of change can be exciting, but it can also be scary. Attempting something new is always risky. It might not work out. We might end up back where we started, or even worse off.
This weekend, we’ll hear a story from the end of John’s Gospel that raises the question of change. Peter and a few of the other disciples have met the risen Christ. But in the final chapter of the Gospel, they at least start back to their fishing careers – and meet the resurrected Jesus once more. I hope you’ll join us for worship at 9:00 in Wasser Chapel or 11:00 in our main Sanctuary. If you can’t attend in person, try joining us online at 11:00 on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/UParkumcdenver/) or on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@UniversityParkUMCDenver) in the later afternoon.
This coming Tuesday, a group will gather at church about 11:00 and drive to Metro Caring in Capitol Hill to volunteer there from Noon – 3:30. We have seven people going, which means we have three openings left. So if you’d like to join us, email me at adunning@uparkumc.org and I’ll pass your name along to Lorraine Richards (you will need to complete a waiver and some other paperwork to participate).
May 9 – 11, I’ll be out of town at a memorial service. So that Sunday our guest preacher will be Caralyn Ware, Student Senate Co-President at the Iliff School of Theology. I’ve gotten to know Caralyn as a thoughtful, dedicated, and energetic leader through some of my involvement at Iliff; she also works with Rev. Stephanie Price as a Pastoral Intern at Highlands UMC. I know that you’ll appreciate what she has to say, and I hope you’ll plan to be in worship on May 11 for Mother’s Day.
May 18 will be our Celebration Sunday, as we close out our winter and spring church programming and move into Summer. We’ll be honoring our graduates, presenting Bibles to our Elementary Schoolers, recognizing our many volunteers, and even celebrating an infant dedication that Sunday. After 11:00 worship, Chef Stephen Rohs will serve a wonderful lunch in the courtyard; there will be a bounce house for kids as well as the invitation to help us plant the Mother’s Garden. (Needless to say, the sermon that day will be approximately 90 seconds long.) This school year has been a whirlwind, and our church is starting the summer in a stronger position financially and in terms of our ministry programming than when we started. I’m grateful for this wonderful congregation and all you do to make our ministry possible and move it forward!
Speaking of moving our ministry forward, now that our strategic plan for the next few years is complete several of us from the strategic planning team will be making presentations to let the congregation know what’s coming. We’ll visit various venues, from church committees to small groups and Sunday school classes, because we want everyone to be aware of our goals and all we have planned. Thanks to Carolyn Roggensack, who began this process by leading a discussion in our Journeys in Faith class last Sunday. If you’d like to know more about the Strategic Plan, be sure to contact me: adunning@uparkumc.org.
I’m excited about this summer. The sun is out and the wind is at our back – I’ll see you at UPUMC!
Grace and Peace
Andy