In my new morphed role as the Associate Presbyter for Congregations with our Presbytery, I have been spending a lot of time with our installed pastors. I have many visits yet to make, but I am absolutely loving my time, listening to and connecting with pastors. We have wonderfully gifted pastors in our Presbyter and I have loved hearing about how God is at work in and through our congregations in beautiful and powerful ways. I want to share with you some of the ways I have seen and heard God at work. We spend so much time focusing on church and how to make it work in the midst of a pandemic and cultural upheaval. Don’t forget to keep asking where God is at work in your midst and celebrate it. The same is true of Presbytery work. We can get so focused on problems and pathology that we forget to turn our attention to the point of God’s mission in our churches, among our validated ministers and among our honorably retired pastors. So far, and in no way limited, here is where I am finding God at work in my wonderings.
Good Shepherd, St. Paul and Westminster have faithfully kept their food banks open, adapting their process and procedures to serve even more families and there are reports about how the surrounding communities are being moved to help and financially support the ministry! God is on the move!
Stained glass at Byers Community Church
Commissioned Lay Pastor, Sandy Safford stands outside Byers Community Church
Byers figured out a way to host their summer music program and had ten kids join in as a way of strengthening lives and building community in their town! They also made emergency buckets and gave them to the local fire station to use and distribute as they felt necessary!
Genesis has gone beyond the gates of their church so to speak and host a worship service at the elderly care facility across the street where thirty some residents participate and they are just beginning to plot how to safely reopen this beautiful, missional ministry moving forward! A wild imagination of what it means to be church in this world!
Folks from Golden Presbyterian have partnered with the local Methodist congregation to make sure the homeless have a meal and hot showers every week. And in our last extreme cold made sure those without motel vouchers had a warm place to sleep through the below freezing temperatures!
Montview continues to develop disciples and leaders through a 28 week course on spiritual gifting grounded in an in depth spiritual formative engagement with scripture and they are remodeling their church in the midst of all of this!
The Spirit is alive at First Avenue, in the little things including a miraculous way they were able to buy a lawnmower!
Arvada is in the midst of moving out of their building because they have a buyer and will close in August! They are sorting through years of Christian Education Material and ministry stuff; all so they can move their offices into the house on their property and they continue to discern if the Spirit is inviting them to merge with Trinity! All of this is because they have been on the adventure of listening to the Spirit together about where God may be leading!
Trinity is fully engaged in a mission study of their own as they consider this invitation to merge and where God may be at work in their life and future!
Grace is figuring out tangible ways to connect with neighbors throughout Highlands Ranch by going into neighborhoods and being a blessing! Can you say Luke 10!
Central Presbyterian Church
Central is envisioning a renovation that is fully geared to how they can serve their neighbors and partners of Shalom in the downtown area more faithfully! They even are on record of saying they more and more see their building less about meeting their needs, but more and more as resource for their neighbors!! That’s crazy beautiful!
Providence has successfully completed a search for a new pastor and are thrilled to welcome Reverend David Pettit as their new pastor! To connect the dots, Dave has been the amazing part-time pastor with Calvary and this also means we as a Presbytery will continue to be blessed by Dave’s incredible insight wisdom and leadership!
Multiple churches are finding ways to live on earth as it is in heaven as they grow in their understanding of racism and participation in racism as they commit to partnering with God in dismantling structural racism in their church, their community and in our Presbytery; always actively working towards a true sense of biblical Shalom.
Friends all of this is to say what you already know. God continues to move even in the midst of a pandemic, political craziness and racial upheaval. We know churches are faithfully engaged in deep work together. Of course, I have missed things but I will continue to share what I am learning and discovering as I am out and about connecting with pastors and congregations. Here is a heartfelt thank you to all of our pastors and sessions for coming together to be church in a way none of us expected.
In the meantime, where is God at work in your life and in the life of your congregation? Pay special attention to where is God already at work in your community and world and inviting you to join in?
May the good Lord shine a light on you,
Rev. Joel Adams
Associate Presbyter for Congregations