Listen! An Update from Ruling Elder Rob Habiger of the Vision Construction Team

Listen!
When Jesus wanted to teach his followers a truth, he often preceded his teaching with an imperative to listen. For example, in Matthew’s account of the parable of the sower (13:3), Jesus starts by saying “Listen!” He finishes his teaching by challenging them, saying (13:9) “Let anyone with ears, listen!”.

Reverend Russ Kane challenged us to “see” in our last report. In this report, I want to challenge us to “hear”, and not just hear in a passive way, but to hear by listening.

Bright Spotting at the March Assembly
The Vision Construction Team was overwhelmed and energized by the way attendees in the March Assembly embraced the bright spotting exercise. We compiled your input and are now into the analysis of this rich data. This was a great opportunity for the Vision Construction Team to listen to people in the Denver Presbytery. This was also an opportunity for members of the Presbytery to listen to each other in the 17 different breakout groups. Thank you to the facilitators, scribes, and most of all to you who highlighted so many bright spots.

The Vision Construction Team
I believe we are really coming together as a Vision Construction Team. This cannot happen without listening to each other. The love each member of the team has for our Presbytery, the passion about completing our work, the respect we have for each other, and our desire to unite in a common purpose becomes clearer each week as we meet every Saturday morning and listen to each other. We are in the Curate and Generate stage, which requires a lot of data collecting and a whole bunch of listening.

Listening to the Holy Spirit
Please pray for your Vision Construction Team to listen to the Holy Spirit so that the vision for the Denver Presbytery will become clear. Please also pray for all people in the Denver Presbytery, that we might unite in ideas we share, and respond with love and listening when we disagree. Jesus promised in Matthew 18:20 that “where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” Consider the wisdom and power that can be unleashed as together we listen to the Holy Spirit and to each other.

Together in service to Christ,

Ruling Elder Rob Habiger
Vision Construction Team

Prayer for Ending Violence Against Asian Americans and for Interracial Peace

Creator God, who blessed all plants, animals, humans, and all created world and allow them to coexist together, thank you for your mercy and grace. We pray for all races and ethnicities to live in peace with one another.

Lord, hear our prayers.

God, you “give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death” (Luke 1:79), as well as freedom and redemption. But because of our arrogance and pride, we discriminate and hate those of other races, and we commit atrocities that take away their lives.

Lord, as we confess our sins, be merciful unto us.

Several days ago, we lost eight of our neighbors, six of whom are of Asian descent, due to violence against Asian Americans in Atlanta. We also have witnessed ten lives lost due to senseless violence in Boulder. Be gracious unto the lives lost and please comfort those who have lost their loved ones.

Lord, our eternal comfort, receive them as we commit their spirits to you.

As we have witnessed increase in violence against Asians in the United States, many Asians residing in the United States, especially women, are living in fear and anxiety.

Lord, our everlasting shield, protect us from danger.

God, who tears down the walls of discriminations and calls us to be one, remind us that every single person is created in your image. Help us to display the beauty of your creation by respecting our differences and celebrating diversity.

Holy Spirit, who unites us, lead us to unity.

God, who gives strength to the weak and exalts the humble, may we not remain silent in the face of injustice. Lead us to be your workers for human rights, freedom, and peace.

Holy Spirit, who gives breathe to a new life, strengthen us for the work of reconciliation and peace.

From the shores of the Pacific to the Atlantic, from the peaks of the Rockies to the beaches of Key West, and in every street where people roam, may your peace and reconciliation ring through love and reconciliation between all races.

Lord of the new heavens and the new earth, may we build up your kingdom step by step.

We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Peace. Amen. 

Adopted and modified from the Korean Sanctuary Church Network Translated by Rev. Dr. John Yu

Vision Construction Team Update | What do you see?

"What do you see?”
That’s the question Jesus asked the man in Mark 8. He had been healed of blindness, but the process wasn’t complete. The question was part of the healing.

"What do you see?”

The Vision Construction Team in particular, and the Presbytery of Denver in general, are being asked the same question. Vision is about learning to see. It’s a process as well as a practice.

The Bible is full of stories of people learning to see, and I’ve found myself going back to them. One person had great vision, but it was incomplete. He accurately saw the armies against him but needed prayer to see what he was missing (2 Kings 6). I get that. I’m aware of the problems and perils surrounding our Presbytery; I’m not blind. But Vision is more than seeing accurately what is apparent, it’s also learning to see what isn’t. It takes prayer- and practice.

Elijah’s servant was told to go up the hill and report what he saw- and keep going up. There was a drought, and he was to watch for God’s deliverance (1 Kings 18). After the seventh trip, he finally reported seeing one small cloud on the horizon. He was told to tell others it was time to invest in heavy rain gear, and good luck trying to outrun what was coming. The practice of persistent looking helped his capacity to see- and respond.

We are practicing persistent watching, too. I’m reminded that Vision it is less about what we create and more about sharpening our capacities to perceive. We don’t create our vision any more than we create our mission. Christ has a mission and that mission creates us.*(1) Our task is not so much to construct a vision for ourselves as be constructed by Christ’s vision for us.

"What do you see?”

Vision is a corporate practice. On the Vision Construction Team, I’m surrounded by creative people, faithful to what God has done, and anticipating what God might yet do. What is true for one group, is true for the whole Denver Presbytery. At our March 23 Assembly, we will practice sharpening our vision, together. Have you heard of “Bright-Spotting?” (2) It’s a practice that will expand our capacity to see, and attune us for what may be coming. It’s helped me in the process and practice of Vision. Perhaps it will help all of us do the same.

Sometimes vision is about catching a glimpse of what God is yet to do. Sometimes it is correcting our capacity to perceive what is right in front of us.

What do YOU see?

With Gratitude,

Rev. Russ Kane
Vision Construction Team

_________________________________

1. Jurgen Moltmann, The Spirit and the Kingdom

2. This is a practice described in Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath

Check out the latest information from the Vision Construction Team (VCT). Click here to read our report to the March Assembly on some things we see so far. A link to that report along with the “Two Loops Life Cycle” and bright spotting chapter from Switch (2010) are here.

Meet Rev. Paula Steinbacher, Vice Moderator, Member of Council and the Vision Construction Team

Dear Beloved Community,

Over the past couple of months, you've been receiving updates on our vision process from Council members. Today I'm excited to share with you as a Council member and as the Vice Moderator of Denver Presbytery, but perhaps most importantly as a member of our recently formed Vision Construction Team (VCT). Our hope is that you will recognize that Council, Presbytery Leadership, and the VCT are openly communicating about the process and sharing details about how to become part of the conversation. Our updates from this point on will be written by members of the VCT so that we can keep you posted of the progress.

Our consultant, Corey Schlosser-Hall, leads excellent meetings during which we learn much about one another and have begun to get a grasp of the momentous work ahead of us.  We have chosen to embrace Corey’s definition of vision as, “the capacity to ‘taste and see’ what God is doing at the intersections between God’s people and the world God loves so that other can ‘taste and see’ it, participate in it, pray for it, be transformed by it.” 

Corey has helped us establish a timeline, and Council has approved it. Our goal is to move ever forward, checking in with the goals for each “Chapter” of our work. Currently we are in the “Curate and Generate” chapter which will help us cull the best of what our previous team learned; review the input the body of our Presbytery has offered; listen to the thoughts and questions being offered now; and begin to generate dialogue to help us into the next chapter of “Tangibilitate.” We tangibilitate when we put words and language to the ideas and thoughts that are taking shape.

My teammates highlight what they would like for you to know about our work together: 

• We will be meeting weekly to keep our momentum going and to hold one another accountable for the reading and tasks we are to do outside of meeting time.

• We recognize together that vision is not driven by one person, but best discerned in a group (this is the Presbyterian way of doing most discernment); this means we need your input as well to say we are doing the work of Presbytery. Please pay attention to the ways you can make your voice heard and be assured that the VCT would love to hear from you via email or a call.

• Following through with a new vision leads us to recognize we need to become a Presbytery that is constantly seeking God’s vision, always listening and responding, and remembering that we are participating in God’s vision – not our own.

I have already been touched by the breadth of experience and wisdom that is exhibited by my fellow Vision Construction Team. One member offered us a reminder that Vision typically does not come like a lightening strike or a mountain top moment; vision comes often through small discussions, attentive listening, and paying attention to how God has already begun that work in and among us.  

I pray you have the same hope I hold: we can move together into these unknown times holding the most important thing in focus: our God has made an invitation to “taste and see” – will you come? You can share with us in this process by praying a simple, "May your vision for the DP be clear and may we be faithful to taste and see."  You can also email the VCT at VCT@denpres.org.  I promise you that we are engaging with all input that our DP family share, and that we want to be truly open to how God is moving here and now. 

Thankful to serve you,

Rev. Paula M. Daniel Steinbacher
Vice Moderator
Denver Presbytery Council
Vision Construction Team

2021 Vision Update from Ruling Elder Pat Queen

At the urging of my pastor at Green Mountain Presbyterian I started working with the presbytery and council in 2019. Not knowing any better, I agreed to be the co-moderator of Finance and Property. With a background in finance for almost 35 years with the US Postal Service, I carried over a lot of the goals from there: balanced books, achievable budget, policies in place, competent people in all positions and short finance meetings. In the first year we had a new treasurer, had gone through 3 accountants, had a new firm handling our investments, had a new bank and had a new software package to do the accounting. And then COVID-19 hit. Welcome to Denver Presbytery!

Only my faith from childhood and a few well-placed remarks from presbytery staff and my pastor kept me going. I quickly realized we had churches in trouble and no real way to help them. We had the funds but not the path or policy for their use. The last two years we have concentrated on getting this done and with the January assembly when the motion for allocation of funds from the sale of property was approved, we now have a policy and a path and can do more to help. The Shared Funding Ministry is a part of this assistance.

The Vision Construction Team is now in the "curate and generate" process. Once they complete their work, Finance and Property will continue to move with the team’s vision and strive to make sound decisions going forward, especially in the areas of property and church assistance.

Our goal is to see no church fail. We want to work with them any way we can to ensure their congregations continue to function, even if in another format. The document, Reimagining Congregations, is a tool now on the website to help with this. LEARN MORE→ If you or your session have questions or concerns, let us know. We can help with data gathering and interpretation as well as reviews of your financial reports. Don't wait until there are no other options.

Denver Presbytery has a long tradition of serving, meeting the needs, ministering and sharing the gospel in our part of Colorado. Working together and managing our resources, we can see this continue for many years to come.

And by the way, we still haven't had a short finance meeting!

In the service we share,

Ruling Elder Pat Queen
Denver Presbytery Council
Finance & Property Workgroup Chair

God Sightings with Rev. Joel Adams, Associate Presbytery for Congregations

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