engaging team reports - Christ Church United Methodist

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Christ Church United Methodist
A Reconciling Congregation
690 Colorado Blvd
Denver, CO 80206
303-322-0784
www.ChristChurchColorado.org
Table of Contents
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Identity
Pg 3
Connectionalism
Pg 4
Administrative Reports
Pg 5
2014 Financial Summary
Pg 11
Engaging Team Reports
Pg 15
Education Reports
Pg 22
Ministry Reports
Pg 25
IDENTITY
NEW LOGO
Early in 2014 we unveiled a new logo inspired by dreaming Sunday in the fall of
2013. The logo was then designed by church member Rev. Brian Rossbert and has
become our branding of being a different kind of church in the world. Recently, Rev.
Eric was at Rainbow Ally assisting the Reconciling Team in a donation, in describing
the location of the church one person proclaimed, “Oh, the REAL church!” Our logo
identifies us as a Christian community but also as an alternative way of being
religious in the world. Thanks to Brian for his work on helping us create a logo that is
not simply the cross and flame, an image often rejected by those wounded or
disenfranchised with the church, but an image of hope and love.
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CONNECTIONALISM
It is important to highlight the ministry professionals, ordained clergy, and candidates
for ministry. Christ Church has a long stance of supporting students and professionals
in a variety of religious fields.
CLERGY ASSOCIATED WITH CHRIST CHURCH
Rev. Dr. Gene Tucker. Dr. Tucker is a retired professor of Old Testament from
Candler School of Theology and Elder from the Northwest Texas Annual Conference.
Rev. Lynne Butler. Rev. Butler is the Executive Director of Metro Care Ring, a
hunger-relief organization directly serving families in Denver.
Rev. Andy Dunning. During 2014, Rev. Dunning was the Director of Development
for Denver Urban Ministries, DenUM, which provides basic human services to the
most vulnerable of Denver. In January 2015, Andy was appointed to be the Executive
Pastor at St. Andrew UMC.
Rev. Brian Rossbert. Rev. Rossbert is the Interim Pastor of a new ELCA church
House For All Sinners and Saints. He is a full elder from the Tennessee Annual
Conference.
Rev. Eric Nelson. Rev. Nelson is a retired Lutheran pastor worshipping and serving
in the Christ Church community.
FAITH LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITY
Dr. William Dean. Dr. Dean is a retired Professor Emeritus of Constructive
Theology from The Iliff School of Theology.
Dr. Katherine Turpin. Dr. Turpin is the Associate Dean of Curriculum and
Assessment and Associate Professor of Religious Education at The Iliff School of
Theology.
Andy Blackmun. Andy is the Executive Director of Ring Lake Ranch, a sacred
retreat center in the majestic Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
CANDIDATES FOR MINISTRY
Brian Wilmoth. Brian graduated from Iliff in June, 2014 and during the fall served
Brentwood UMC. He is currently our Interim Children’s Director at Christ Church.
Angela Heesacker. Angela is a second-year Iliff student transferring to Christ
Church from Glide Memorial UMC in San Francisco. Angela is our Interim
Youth Director and is continuing to discern her call to ministry.
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
CHURCH COUNCIL
contributed by Larry Bourgeois, 2014 Chair
2014 was a year of change for the Administrative Council at Christ Church. In
January, 2014, the committee structure of the church changed. We moved to a
combination of an Administrative Team, Engaging Teams which are various service
and mission oriented groups, and seasonal Ministry teams. Council agreed to adopt
this committee structure for three years and learn as we go and grow. We knew this
structure would not be perfect right from the start. 2014 showed us that change can be
both difficult and rewarding. We are continuing to learn and grow, making changes
and adjustments when needed.
The AD Council is comprised of the members of the Administrative Teams Trustees, Finance, Staff Parish Relations, and Lay Leadership (Nominations). The
AD Council meets on a monthly basis to discuss and make decisions on the issues
facing our church today as well as discuss and plan for where we would like to go in
the future.
One of the major issues that AD Council worked through this year was Sanctuary and
our response to the difficulties faced by undocumented citizens in our country. Our
church was asked to offer sanctuary to an undocumented citizen who was being
threatened with deportation, separating her from her family. While we decided not to
offer her sanctuary within Christ Church, we did vote to offer support to her and the
other church that did offer sanctuary. The other result of this was many good
discussions not only within council, but within the church as a whole.
Another yearly responsibility of the AD council is to determine how best to allocate
the Council's portion of any disbursal from the Permanent Endowment. As set out by
the Endowment Charter, this money must be used for purposes of mission and
ministry within the church and cannot be used to meet our budgetary needs.
Council portion of Endowment distribution were allocated:
2013
2014
$3100 Staff Development
$1875 Trustees for church
Conference
maintenance.
$3700 2012 Tax Bill
$1875 Investigating installing
$1500 Building Banners
showers for mission groups.
$ 600 Outfront Marriage Equality
$3000 New playground equipment
Ad
$ 750 Redesign of church website
$1100 Update Church Windows
Software
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
LAY LEADERSHIP
contributed by Rev. Eric Strader
In December of 2013 the Church Council approved a recommendation from the Lay
Leadership Team to undertake a three-year experiment with a new organizational
structure. The intention is to help maximize the energy and time constraints of a busy
21st Century community with a lay-led ministry process.
The successes to date have been: new energy,
creativity that embraces the broad diversity of
Christ Church, a planning process that has a
church rhythm, and developing lay leadership
that is active and excited about participating in
ministry. We also created an online ministry
interest survey and had 61 responses from congregants. The last time an interest
survey was done was in 2010 which had 29 responses. This will be a yearly survey.
The challenges we face are: developing a better evaluation process, incorporating
children and youth into planning and presence, addressing some of the holes created
by changing committee structure, and learning this new process.
In the fall the Lay Leadership Team discussed and approved the merger of Social
Action and Reconciling into one committee. There is a two-fold approach to this
decision. It is a continued evolution of reducing the number of committees to
enable parishioners to be in tangible ministry rather than sitting in meetings.
Additionally, the intention is to create a whole and holistic approach to all our
justice work and building on the intersections where marginalized and oppressed
people meet one another, especially out of the leading justice towards LGBTQ
people, which this congregation excels at doing. The Reconciling and Social
Action teams merged into one committee called Social Justice, which is tasked
with leading all our justice ministries.
TRUSTEES
contributed by John Jaruzel
Christ Church Trustees had a sometimes good, sometimes challenging year in 2014.
As the congregation continues its growth, and with our building sitting proudly at the
busy intersection at 7th and Colorado, the Trustees work to keep things working
smoothly.
We had a very successful clean up day after worship during the summer. Plenty of
work was completed and a time to get to know new people at the church. We
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
TRUSTEES, continued
redesigned the Narthex and Naylor Study, moved the library into the Naylor Study,
washed windows, cleaned baseboards, painted handrails in the stairwell, and cleaned
and organized the children’s ministry closet. We hope to repeat this in 2015. New
signs and banners posted along Colorado Blvd. helped bring in new visitors. This is
an area that we will continue to explore.
We have some new guests in the building. Current renters include Anne in the south
apartment and Bill in the north apartment. Rocky Mountain Arts Association
continues to use the building for their various singing groups, including the Denver
Gay Men’s Choir, as well as their business offices. A new company, The Encore
Partners, are using offices in the Church to run their property development company.
Blackberry Academy, a child care organization, is moving in to the old Montessori
rooms. We miss our friends with Montessori, they moved on to their new Lowry
campus in June.
A reminder of the age of our building hit, as we deal with an expensive repair to the
elevator. Trustees are investigating installing public showers in the building for
visiting group use. As much as we love to open our doors to outside youth or nonprofit groups, lack of showers has made this a difficult proposition. Hopefully this
will change in the near future. Small plumbing, electrical and carpentry jobs always
pop up to keep us busy.
As we look to the future, we see our building as a major asset, although sometimes
costly in upkeep. With an eye on responsible finances, we continue to keep 690
Colorado Blvd a great place of worship.
STAFF PARISH RELATIONS
contributed by Zac Nelson
Leadership searched for a chair for the first seven months of 2014 and believes it will
be able to deal with issues more rapidly now that a Chair has been selected and
working effectively.
The successes we had: We hired an interim accompanist, Dr. Carol Ann Barry, who
we are hopeful will remain in that position for the foreseeable future. Also, we
approved two candidates for ministry: Brian Wilmoth and Angela Heesacker.
The failures or challenges we experienced: We searched for and interviewed 3
candidates to be our organist, although we didn't hire any of the three. The candidate
best suited for the position took a position at another church. In addition, we lost
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
STAFF PARISH RELATIONS, continued
Caran Ware Joseph as our Director of Children/Youth in December. She was an
integral part of our congregation for over 2 years.
What we learned: In the first few months as chair of SPR I learned just how many
different aspects of the church are affected by SPR and the decisions the
committee makes. This committee is critical to the day to day, as well as long
term, operations at Christ Church UMC.
PERMANENT ENDOWMENT
contributed by Brent Westrop
How did 2014 go for our committee?
 Background: The December 11, 2011 All-Church Conference approved a Charter
for the Church’s Permanent Endowment Fund.
 The Permanent Endowment Committee was formed at the beginning of 2012 and
this past year consisted of 6 members: Charky Tucker, Jane Smith, Andy
Blackmun, Glenn Ray, Brent Westrop and Rev. Eric Strader.
 This past year, we were able to make a distribution, educate Ad. Council and
begin to plan for the future.
Successes:
 In May 2014, $7,500 was distributed from the Endowment
 The Committee reviewed our current investment portfolio and determined that we
are well-diversified and at a reasonable level of risk
 The Committee educated Ad. Council around the role of the Endowment and how
the previous two distributions ($30,000 in 2013 and $7,500 in 2014) were
calculated.
Failures & What we Learned:
 We discovered that there is a lot of confusion around the purpose of the
Endowment, how distributions are made, and what those funds can be used for.
 We learned that 2013’s large distribution created expectations that a similar
amount will be distributed each year. While that is the hope, market conditions
play a role each year, as we do not want to distribute from principal, only from
income/gain.
 Going forward, the Committee needs to work to educate the Congregation,
promote the Endowment Fund, and encourage opportunities for giving.
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS

The Endowment is a great blessing for the Church, so we need to be sure that
going forward, the Endowment continues to grow, that endowment funds are used
effectively and that the benefits we receive from the Endowment are celebrated.
STEWARDSHIP
The Stewardship Committee had a successful
year, even though there was only one
member on this committee. Rev. Eric was
helpful in filling in to make the
responsibilities of the area realized. We
dynamically addressed stewardship during
services every other month to remind the
community of the five aspects and Christ
Church participation: prayers, presence,
gifts, service, and witness.
contributed by Suzie Brauer
This year the financial aspect (Gifts) of
Stewardship was a tremendous success with
99% of pledged dollar amount realized. This
is an increase of 15% over 2013 and 19% above 2012. The church also saw an
increase of 10 giving units for the 2015 year and an additional $5000, or 4.5%, in
giving for 2015. Our stewardship pledge campaign, Chasing the Miracles, began with
a budget deficit fundraiser with five bicycles and riders on the chancel area.
In the area of Service we had members participating within the church in a variety of
areas. The Social Action report lists the many community activities the congregation
participated in. We also saw increased Presence in our church services and greeted
new members to our church.
The failures in this area were small. We had six people leave the church and not
fulfill their pledge.
Stewardship must be talked about openly
within the church. We cannot just talk about
the importance of this once or twice a year. It
would be helpful to start planning the
financial aspect of stewardship earlier in the
year and have increased membership on the
committee.
R.O.C.K. clothing distribution.
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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
FINANCE
contributed by Richard Myers
How did 2014 go for your committee?
 It was a year of transition - we have made important first steps at gaining
knowledge and control of the CCUM finances.
What successes did you have?
 We put together a much more financially sound and rigorous budget compared to
prior years.
 We started documenting the processes and functions for CCUM finance
operations, starting with the counting process, and will continue to do so in 2015.
 We continued on the path towards a balanced budget in the years ahead.
What failures did you experience?
 We learned that communication between finance, administration, and others who
interact with finance need to be improved.
 Initial documentation of some financial transactions were incomplete,
necessitating extra work to circle back and fully document/understand those
transactions.
What did you learn?
 We need to have better communication within/beyond finance.
 Further understanding/determination of finance roles/responsibilities/processes
needs to occur.
 Additional reporting is required to adequately track budgeting vs. actuals,
monthly expenses, facility usage income, and so forth.
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2014 FINANCIAL
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2014 FINANCIAL
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2014 FINANCIAL
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2014 FINANCIAL
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
RECONCILING
contributed by Lauren Fortmiller and Pamela Thiele
Inclusion is now the responsibility of the Social
Justice Ministry. The only remaining ongoing
activity of the group concerned specifically
with gay equality is to maintain the Equality
bulletin board.
Last year, in accordance with the
congregation’s support of Altar for All, the
committee sent letters to the Council of
Bishops, the College of Bishops, and the
Bishop of the Rocky Mountain Conference.
Leaders of the congregation, longtime members
Marriage and Equality Rally
and the upcoming generation all signed those
letters. This year, the committee received responses from the College of Bishops and
the Conference of Bishops. The committee supported the Youth Group in organizing
participation in the Pride Parade and ordered a new banner sized for marching. When
Colorado offered civil marriage to gay families, Pam and Lauren spoke to the
congregation and acknowledged gay couples in the congregation. Reconciling
Ministries Network requested a write-up of our congregation’s process in preparing
the vote for Altar for All, which Pamela provided. The committee proposed to the
Church Council that funds not used as travel expenses for the speaker on Reconciling
Sunday serve as a donation from Christ Church to support homeless gay youth in
Denver and the statewide program of OneColorado to support the safety of LGBT
children in Colorado Schools. Even
though the Reconciling Committee was
unable to carry out the program of
Invisible Differences after the departure of
its professional advisors Tonya Whaley
and Sandy Houston, Pamela and Lauren
did attend the UMC’s day-long
symposium on disabilities, which yielded
the language in the service, “Please stand
as you are able or sit in spirit.”
2014 Pride Parade
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
SOCIAL ACTION
2014 was a mixed bag for the Social Action Committee. Membership and action
within the committee itself dwindled. CCUM as a whole was still active in the
ministries that are described below, but we had few new sustained activities
developed.
Some of our successes: because of the request by Jeannette Vizguerra for sanctuary in
January, the congregation had a series of conversations in the spring and summer
around immigration and the status of undocumented immigrants currently living in
the US. These were important conversations that hopefully set the stage for later,
more active participation in finding a just resolution to this crisis.
CCUM collected 1,610.5 lbs of food for DenUM through the year which includes the
889 lbs collected for Super Bowl “United in Orange” but doesn’t include the
Thanksgiving Ingathering.
CCUM continued to sponsor Ingrid Juana Pérez Tol, a young girl in school in
Guatemala, through our Koins for Kids collection, with the excess going towards
Angel House Orphanage in Tanzania and UMCOR’s Ebola efforts.
CCUM committed to give $15,000 to Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver over the
next three years.
CCUM staff and one church member protested outside the ICE Administrative Office
on behalf of Jeanette Vizguerra. The presence of the protesters helped Jeanette obtain
a further stay of her deportation order.
Some failures we experienced: CCUM offered two workdays with Habitat for
Humanity in 2014, but only three different people attended each event. Also, Jeanette
Vizguerra’s request for sanctuary prompted important conversations, but CCUM as a
congregation was unable to come to a consensus agreement to take her in.
Fortunately, another local congregation was able to accept her request.
Social Action learned there is still significant energy around familiar social action
activities, but new activities, particularly controversial ones like participating in the
New Sanctuary movement, take a great deal of conversation and study to answer all
questions and reach consensus before the congregation as a whole will participate.
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
2014 BENEVOLENCES
Koins 4 Kids
Angel House Orphanage, Tanzania
UMCOR - EBOLA
Pura Vida - Ingrid Education Support
$105.00
$149.02
$450.00
Local
Inner City Parish
DenUM
Warren Village
Habitat for Humanity
The Interfaith-Alliance (Sponsor Church)
One Colorado Center for Education Fund
Rainbow Alley
$225.00
$398.00
$155.00
$5000.00
$250.00
$700.00
$700.00
Global
NarSarah UMC Clinic, Sierra Leone
(EBOLA)
EBOLA UMCOR
Native American Ministries
One Great Hour of Sharing
$1,700.00
$292.00
$50.00
$385.00
Annual Conference
Apportionments
$23,774.15
Total 2014 Benevolences
$34,333.17
$704.02
$7,428.00
Koins 4 Kids
Local Missions
$2,427.00
Global Missions
Apportionments
$23,774.15
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
WORSHIP & THE ARTS
contributed by John W. Simmons
We understand worship to be our foundation as we seek to work together as a
community. It can occur with others at 7th and Colorado on Sunday or at other times
during the week as we come and go in our daily lives. But Sunday is the day we strive
to bring it into the central part of our thinking. So, we put much effort into making the
Sunday morning worship service a high point and we work to provide both the
continuity of tradition and the expanding element of mind-stretching surprise
throughout the year.
Art. How does that fit with worship? Let your mind wander and think of worship as
an art form. It begins with the purpose and meaning that underscores what happens
next, the way the art is expressed. We try to do that, not only in the worship service in
the sanctuary, but throughout the building inside and out. It is drama when we join in
a line to receive the bread and juice of Holy Communion, or when we sing hymns
together. It is drama when youth present a play to lead us into deeper thought. It is art
around the building, with photographs and bulletin boards. It is the paraments on the
altar. It is the colors we choose to express the community we call church inside and
outside the building. It is our communication via the written and spoken word. It is so
much more.
Where have we come from? Where are we
going? Look around our place on the corner
with fresh eyes. Whether in worship or
elsewhere, look for something you haven’t
seen before or a place you haven’t explored
before. Or do something you haven’t done
before. You will see our windfalls and our
shortfalls. Sure, we may see things
differently, but it is our spirit that brings us
together, and that is the work of community,
the art of community. That is the work we do.
Sanctuary at Christmas
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
HOLY C.O.W.
contributed by Margaret Simmons
(Hospitality, Community, Outreach, Welcoming)
Welcoming those who come to worship continues to be a recognized value for Christ
Church. During 2014, at least 30-35 different members of the congregation served as
greeters, many of who served many times. Many thanks to each and every one!
Fellowship Time after worship is also part of our hospitality and outreach and it
continues to be well attended and appreciated, especially by the children. We
continue our commitments to being ecological by not using or at least severely
limiting our use of disposable products like Styrofoam cups and to being mindful by
using Equal Exchange coffee and day-old contributed bagels. Some additional people
and many of the same wonderful people who take turns as greeters also volunteer to
set up, serve and clean up for fellowship time. Many thanks to each of these faithful
people as well!
Initially, there was a successful effort to have congregants sign up to take care of
fellowship, greeting, ushering and other “regular” tasks. SignUp Genius was
developed and is in place. Church publications regularly encourage everyone to sign
up. Unfortunately, fewer and fewer people respond and it has become more difficult
to cover all the positions needed on an on-going basis. Without frequent, specific,
targeted email recruitment (begging?), there would be no one for these positions on
some Sundays. Perhaps we need to look at these tasks and/or how the positions are
filled fifty-two weeks a year!
Volunteers have kept the bulletin boards in the narthex and hallway and the
“community” board in Fellowship Hall varied, current and timely. Response from the
congregation has been mixed—sometimes people add their own thoughts when
solicited, sometimes not, sometimes there are comments and sometimes one wonders
if anyone notices them at all.
The elected Holy COW team members for 2014 did not meet as a group.
MAVERICK CARE TEAM
contributed by Jane Smith
2014 was an active year for the Mavericks. We continued to make visits (usually 4-5
per month) to parishioners who might want personal contact and directed prayer.
These were most often (but not always) people on the “prayer request” list.
One 2014 success was the addition of semi-annual pastor-directed homebound
communion for shut-ins. Staff input has been valuable in directing efforts.
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
MAVERICK CARE TEAM, continued
An unmet 2014 challenge was adding to the limited number of Mavericks for the
ongoing paired-person encounters. CCUM parishioners could benefit from a larger
stable of Mavericks.
Over the 2014 year, we learned that folks respond to faith-directed dialogue in an
intimate setting. The Mavericks themselves grew in friendship and faith.
UMW
contributed by Margaret Simmons, President
Each year United Methodist Women support ministry with and advocate for women,
children and youth. Through the generosity of our members, during 2014 we were
able to send $1700 to national and global missions through our national organization,
$1050 to local missions (Denver Urban Ministries, Denver Inner City Parish, Metro
CareRing, Safe House and Warren Village) and provide some discretionary funds to
the pastor for emergencies. A one-time gift allowed us to distribute another $1000 to
those same services. Many of our members helped with R.O.C.K. this summer and
we spearheaded collection of mittens, gloves, hats and other warm clothing and
blankets for Ecumenical Refugee and Immigration Services.
Another important aspect of United
Methodist Women is providing
supportive fellowship and
opportunities for women in the church
to get to know each other. We
gathered for special occasions: a
beautiful, successful Valentine Tea; a
brunch to honor the dedicated
Christian Educators of Christ Church
and their families; the enlightening
summer
brunch; inclusive-all-church
UMW Valentine Tea for all the women of CCUM.
International Potluck; and festive, fun
Christmas potluck and ornament exchange. We seek to enrich our faith and learn
from each other. At the brunch, Kenita Gibbins and her friend, Susan Kuruvila, from
India, not only shared Kenita’s incredible photos of her travels in India but involved
us in lively discussion of cultural differences.
Our two circles are also key to supportive fellowship. VIBE (Vision, Inspiration,
Belief, Empowerment) meets the third Monday evening each month September
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ENGAGING TEAM REPORTS
UMW, continued
through May. The wide variety of programs for VIBE are chosen by the member
doing the presentation. Sunshine Circle meets the third Thursday morning each
month. This year we toured Warren Village and learned about the many life-changing
training and services provided there. In 2015, Sunshine will be sharing programs
based on one of the Reading Program books, The End of Your Life Book Club by Will
Schwalbe.
United Methodist Women also serve the local church by organizing receptions for
memorial services and other occasions, cleaning the kitchen, etc. Of course you’ll
also find many members of United Methodist Women on other teams and helping in
all aspects of church life! Two of our members are on the Metropolitan District UMW
Leadership Team. Three members attended National Assembly in Louisville,
Kentucky. Several members, including two youth, attended the Spiritual Life Retreat
in Estes Park.
These, then, were our successes in 2014. Looking ahead, we have chosen to promote
a “One UMW/One Book” effort to encourage all members to read The Round House
by Louise Erdrich (another Reading Program book). Pamela Thiele has agreed to lead
our discussion at both circle meetings in September 2015, so we hope many at-large
members and others from the church community will also participate in those special
events! Other plans for 2015 have not been finalized, but we anticipate continuing our
traditional summer brunch and Christmas get-togethers; we will continue to support
missions, spiritual growth, and fellowship for all women who support our purpose.
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EDUCATION REPORTS
ADULT SEMINAR
contributed by Seminar Coordinators: Patricia and
William Dean, Carol Everett, Joan Foster, Jane and Don Smith, Gene Tucker
The Adult Seminar continues the decades-long Christ Church tradition of providing a
venue for free and open discussion that, as noted in our mission statement, “aims to
reflect on what is ultimately important in life” and in so doing to “facilitate the
religious understanding and moral practices of those in attendance.”
This year’s seminar consisted of 30 sessions with 20 different presenters, 11 of whom
were from CCUM and 8 of whom were from academic institutions. Attendance was
typically 15-20 CCUM members along with a smattering of individuals from
elsewhere. Discussions were uniformly robust and insightful.
Among the topics discussed were these:
 Aging: Biological, Psychological and Socioeconomic Perspectives
 Understanding the Challenges of Neurologically Impaired Persons
 Unity and Diversity Within and Between our Churches
 Praying in Public
 Jonah: Misconceptions and Questions
 Experience and the Threshold of Faith
 Finding Ourselves in the Bible
 Happiness and the Christian Life
 Human Relationships and the Law
 Islam and the Spirit of Our Times
 Islam, Judaism, and Christianity
 Islam, the Caliphate, and Non-Muslims
 Sand Creek Massacre and the UMC
 Symbols and the Meaning of Faith
 The Spiritual in Art
 UMC History in Colorado
 Women's Health and Politics
If you’ve never experienced the Adult Seminar, we encourage you to give it a try. It is
where an ancient faith and a modern world view meet in respectful dialogue.
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EDUCATION REPORTS
POTTHOFF LECTURE
The January 2014 Potthoff Lecturer was Rev. Jay
Rundell, President of Methodist School of Theology in
Ohio, and former Pastor of Christ Church. Jay’s
conversations weaved both the challenges of progressive
communities and histories of the Christ Church past,
especially some encounters with Rev. Hr. Harvey
Potthoff, whose legacy gift continues this lecture
ministry. There were 25 participants Friday evening and
12 Saturday morning. Jay also spoke during the Adult
Seminar and preached Sunday morning.
ANIMATE
The adult Animate Sunday School class typically watches a short video then spends
the remaining class time in discussion of ideas and issues in response to the video.
In 2014 we went through the Sparkhouse Animate:Bible series, a seven session adult
exploration of the Bible with topics such as History: Parchment to Pixel and Gospels:
Unexpected Good News. We also enjoyed the Animate:Practices curricula, which
covered the central practices of the Christian faith. This series included topics such as
Sacraments: A Tapestry of Traditions, Service: The Needs Right in Front of You, and
Food: Eating, with Jesus.
Our class also did a study of immigration issues using the Who is My Neighbor? A
Faith Conversation on Immigration course and had an Advent study using A Thrill Of
Hope series which discussed the Christmas story through the artwork of John August
Swanson.
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EDUCATION REPORTS
CONFIRMATION
Christ Church welcomed five new
youth into the life of the community.
The process of confirmation this year
included weekly classes, exploration
of beliefs, writing creeds, and a final
weekend retreat creating stoles and a
banner.
The successes of the confirmation
class were: opens to questions and
perspective, curriculum that invited
youth into deeper conversation, retreat
that helped connect beliefs with the
symbols of faith, and a Confirmation Sunday that used ritual and symbols to celebrate
this rite of passage. During the final weekend retreat the congregation was invited to
work with fabric artist, Grace Cox-Johnson, to create the confirmation stoles and
parament. The two sided stoles, one side
designed by the youth, the other side made by the
congregation, was very symbolic of the youth
retaining their individuality while becoming part
of the whole community.
Items we want to be attentive next season: recruit
and coordinate mentors, add some additional
field trips and encounters, highlight in
technological or visual ways the variety of beliefs
on any single Christian doctrine, and connect
confirmation process again later in high
school as beliefs change.
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MINISTRY REPORTS
MUSIC MINISTRY
contributed by Neal Wegener, Director of Music
Thank you to all who have been a part of the music ministry at Christ Church United
Methodist in 2014. Your sharing of your talents has indeed blessed and enriched our
community and worship experience! Choir attendance at both rehearsals and worship
services has doubled this past year! Continued improvements and updates are being
made to the music library. We were blessed with guest instrumentalists on Easter
Sunday, our September Rally Sunday, and our Christmas Eve service, and with guest
dancers who shared with us in worship this past summer.
The Adult Chancel Choir has continued to provide wonderful music each week for
the 10:15 a.m. service, with the excellent collaboration of organist/pianist Tom
Brumley, and successive guest organists/pianists Dr.Tamara Schmiege, and Dr. Carol
Ann Barry. Special thanks to vocal ensembles and soloists from the congregation and
choir for their excellent music during the summer
months as well!
The Children’s Choir, under the fine direction of Caran
Ware Joseph, was an integral part of the worship
service throughout the year, including the Palm Sunday
service and the wonderful Children’s Christmas
Pageant in December. Special thanks to both the choir
and the “choir moms” for their many contributions to
the success of these special services!!!
Thanks to John Jaruzel for the updates to the Choir
Palm Sunday procession.
Room; to Rebecca Bourgeois for all of her outstanding
administrative support; and to Larry Bourgeois for all his tech support!!
Thanks to Rev. Eric and to Caran Ware Joseph for their delightful creativity, support
and guidance throughout the church year!
Very special thanks to John and Margaret Simmons for all of their hard work in
overseeing the completion of the renovation and updating of the Reuter pipe organ in
our sanctuary. Thank you to all who contributed to making this fine instrument both
musically and technologically excellent, and to preserving this great legacy at Christ
Church. An event celebrating and sharing this fine instrument with the Denver
Chapter of the American Guild of Organists was held on Sunday, February 16, 2014.
Thanks again to all of you who have so richly blessed our congregation with your
musical contributions to our worship throughout the year!
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MINISTRY REPORTS
SEASONAL MINISTRY TEAMS
Contra Dancing in summer
The ministry teams this year planned new
and innovative ministries while also
valuing the traditions of our faith. The
strategy around our new ministry team
initiative is to find both fruitfulness and
effectiveness in how ministry happens.
This shift in structures eliminated most
program committees and focuses on
seasonal planning teams: Advent, Lent,
Pentecost, Ordinary Time I, and Ordinary
Time II.
Events over the last year have included:
 Holy Week Services including: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy
Saturday
 Cardboard cut-outs in the sanctuary telling the Jacob story
 Immigration class during the winter and summer
 Calendar fundraiser featuring children as social justice heroes
 Student, educator, and backpack blessing
 Daily Lenten devotional
 Pentecost doves
 Outdoor Fellowship Hour
 Contra dance and cookout
 Neighborhood prayer walk
 Spirit hike
 Child Night Out
Two of the
 Cupcake Food Truck
children from the
 Blue Christmas Service
heroes calendar.
 Children’s Christmas pageant
 New member classes
Each of these events provides a short glimpse into the new ways we are being church.
The process moving forward is to begin evaluating the season and these events to
determine their effectiveness.
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MINISTRY REPORTS
CHILDREN AND YOUTH MINISTRY
Children and youth continued to be an
active part of our community. During
Sunday worship services they hear a
special message during the Children’s
Moment.
Sometimes they helped share the day’s
scripture through artwork.
Following the Children’s Moment, our youngest
children head to Chapel Time and
continue their worship with a time
to reflect on and respond to their
Sunday School or Children’s
Moment message.
The older students remain in the worship
service and serve as acolytes, ushers, and
Lay Readers. Our older youth led worship
on Confirmation Sunday, including
preaching a wonderful sermon.
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MINISTRY REPORTS
On Rally Sunday to welcome the return
of education classes students and
educators of all ages received a special
blessing from Pastor Eric. Following
worship the celebration continued with
a cupcake truck, DenUM
reverse food truck,
games and photo booth
complete with props.
Children, youth and their families brought their
animals, real and stuffed, to a Blessing of the
Animals. Two even dressed like St. Francis!
Our annual Children’s
Christmas pageant was A
Charlie Brown Christmas
Revisited.
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