Dear U Park Family,
As I mentioned in my last letter, I’ll be out of town this weekend attending a memorial service. Our guest preacher will be Caralyn Ware, who is is a 3rd year MDiv student and co-chair of the student senate at Iliff. She is a certified candidate for ordination as an Elder in the Mountain Sky annual conference. Alongside her studies, she works as a clinical research professional at the Anschutz Medical Campus. Her work focuses on moral injury, addiction, and challenges in real-world leadership in the United Methodist church. Caralyn is an imaginative and talented leader, and I know you’ll appreciate what she has to say. One of the blessings of being at U Park is that we have a historic association with Iliff, and our worship and church life are enriched by that connection. I hope you’ll be in worship on the 11th to meet Caralyn and support her work.
Celebration Sunday is May 18th this year, and it promises to be a very active worship service. We’ll be presenting Bibles to our Elementary Schoolers, congratulating our graduates, recognizing our ministry volunteers, and even celebrating an infant dedication! After our 11:00 worship, we’ll have lunch in the courtyard and opportunities for children to play in a bouncy castle and help plant the Mother’s garden for this year. I hope you’ll be there to celebrate all we’ve accomplished this year and help us kick off our Summer programming.
I want to thank our United Women in Faith group for their work strengthening our connection with Metro Caring, the Food Pantry and anti-poverty organization downtown in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Tuesday, a group from our congregation went to the first of what I hope will be many afternoons volunteering there. The ongoing food and supply drive for Metro Caring will continue throughout the summer, so if you can pick up extra packages of toilet paper, hygiene supplies, or canned food and drop them off at church, the United Women in Faith will ensure they get to Metro Caring.
As our spring church programming begins to transition into summer, I’m grateful for this congregation. This is an outstanding church, we’re entering summer on a high note financially and in terms of ministry engagement, and I’m excited about the possibilities for the rest of 2025. I’ll see you on the 18th if not before!
Grace and Peace,
Andy