iHOPE

Vacation

  I'm going to be on vacation for the next couple weeks, so there won't be any new posts until after August 10. 

Favorite Sports Films

  The sermon series this August is called, "The Game of Life."  It is part of our annual 'Moving Pictures' series and this year we are using sports movies to explore the challenges and resources we have for winning at the Game of Life.

  Finding just the right clip is not easy, but coming up with a list of favorite sports movies was fun. Being on this list does not mean these will be part of the series. It just means they are favorites of mine:

• Field of Dreams
• The Natural
• Chariots of Fire
• Rudy
• Bull Durham

   It wasn't easy to narrow it down to five, but there they are. How about you? What are your favorite sports movies?

General Assembly at 'Full Tilt', Too

  Our General Assembly is meeting this week in San Jose, California.  It is a bi-annual event that gathers delegates from every presbytery around the nation. I think there will be more than 3,500 people in attendance (though not all are delegates).  They will consider a wide spectrum of issues: social, political, theological and ecclesiastical. It is hard to understand all the work that is being invested and people who attend consistently talk about being impressed with the wide scope of issues, opinions and decisions that are considered, offered and made.
  Being impressed however, doesn't mean everyone is going to like what issues are considered, opinions are offered and decisions that are made.  So far, most of the work has been done in the background by separate committees assigned to work on a particular aspect. Those committees are finishing up their work and are now making recommendation to the whole Assembly. It is the next couple of days that will produce the decisions that we will hear about in the media as well as back in our presbytery meetings.
  If you'd like to know what has happened so far, you can click on this link: General Assembly News.
  Check it out. If you're experience is typical, you will find some actions you agree with, some you disagree with, and some you never heard about before this (i.e., did you know that there was something called the Belhar Confession? Belhar Confession).
  It's easy to dismiss the work of General Assembly as having nothing to do with (or even make it harder on) the 'real world' of the local congregation (Lord knows, I have expressed that thought many times!). Over the years I have come to appreciate more this (now) bi-annual cascade of pronouncements and actions. This is what the church does when it is trying to be faithful to who God is and what we perceive God is doing in our world. We may get it right, we may get it wrong. Either way, we'll get to pray about it, talk about it and come back in another two years to do it again. It is never simple, but then again, there is nothing simple about trying to keep up with God.

Sermon Preparation

  This week I will be out of the office and out of town. Once a year I take off for a week to plan sermons for the coming year and this is that week.

  I do this planning with a buddy named Rich Gantenbein. He is the minister at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Sonoma, California. You can get a glimpse of his church here: St. Andrew

  I've known Rich almost 30 years (we served in the same church for awhile) and this is the 18th year that we have worked on sermons together. We typically plan the topics we want to cover over a year and then develop series for those topics. Sometimes we are preaching the same series at the same time (this past series on The 'I Ams' of John is an example) and sometimes we will preach a similar series, but at a different time (this spring will be an example). Either way, I can't imagine trying to plan, prepare and preach without this kind of collaboration.

  I mention this for a few reasons:

1. I wanted you to know why I'm not around this week and why this will be a quiet week for iHope.
2. I wanted to let you know about Rich and what I am working on this week.
3. If you don't like a particular sermon, we'll just blame Rich!

 

Lomagundi Clinic

  The Internet is an amazing thing. It allows people to transcend distance and time zones.

  The latest example is what some folks in our Presbytery did to promote a new partnership in Zimbabwe. Much as we have done in the Murewa district (in northeast Zimbabwe), several churches are trying to do in the western part of the country around Chenyoi. 

  How do you get the word out in a way that people can quickly and easily see and hear?  How do you let the people of that region speak for themselves?  The answer is below.

  Julia Henderson is part of the Brighton congregation and she has done some tremendous things over the years to connect with the people and their needs in Zimbabwe. She currently chairs a committee I serve on called, the "Partnership of Zimbabwe and Denver Presbyteries" (PZDP).  The last time she was in Zimbabwe, she brought her video camera.  When she got home, a neighbor edited into a short video presentation.  In order to get it out to the most people in the least amount of time, they used YouTube. I love the creativity that constantly seeks to find ways to get the message out. More than that, I love the indomitable spirit of our brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe who find ways to 'do more' when others want to give up.

  Because it is 13 minutes long, it had to be broken into two segments. Click on the links below to see what is going on in the Lomagundi Clinic.

Zimbabwe Clinic: Part 1

Zimbabwe Clinic: Part 2

The Ripple Effect

  On Tuesday, January 22, our Presbytery will consider approving several overtures to our General Assembly for their consideration this summer.  There is nothing particularly noteworthy about that except that one of the overtures that will almost certainly be approved, concerns Zimbabwe. The short is that the Presbyterian Church (USA) will:

1. Call upon Southern African Development Community (SADC) heads of state to use their influence to stabilize the chaos in Zimbabwe and demand free and fair elections.
2. Encourage the US to increase its humanitarian aid to Zimbabwe
3. Support the work of the  congregations and church groups that labor so faithfully there
4. Establish a Day of Prayer for the people of Zimbabwe.

  This overture came from the Partnership of the Zimbabwe and Denver Presbyteries (PZDP) which was formed as part of the 'sister relationship' we have with the Presbytery of Zimbabwe.  This relationship came as an extension of the work of the Zimbabwe Mission Partnership (ZMP) that focuses on the needs in a northeaster province of Zimbabwe.  The ZMP consists of 7 congregations in our Presbytery who wanted to partner with New Hope's efforts in Zimbabwe.  New Hope initiated this partnership because it was obvious the needs in Nyamashato were too big for just one congregation to address.  Our congregation got involved because Ralph & Roberta Pippitt got involved. Ralph and Roberta got involved because  a friend told them about the needs of a school in Zimbabwe.

  Its a long road from a chance conversation with a friend to a whole denomination acting on a resolution with global impact.  Then again, maybe it's not that long a road when you consider Who is behind it and that  there was nothing 'chance' about the conversation or the one million other details that are a part of this story.

  All of this is a reminder to me that:

1. We have a Big God
2. Its important to keep our ears and hearts open so we can hear and respond the next time a 'chance' conversation  comes our way.

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is a favorite hymn not only at New Hope but across the world. We have talked about some of the history in the past, but here is a video clip (thanks, Nola!) that explains the history of the words and the music. I think you'll enjoy it. Click on the link below:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=DMF_24cQqT0

Travis Dowdy's Funeral

  Travis' funeral will be Thursday (November 29) at noon at the Horan & McConaty Funeral Home.  There are several locations around the Denver area.  This one is off County Line Road.  The address is:

5303 County Line, Centennial

You can getmore details by going to their web site:

http://www.horanandmcconaty.com/aboutus/locations_englewood.html

  There will be a viewing on Wednesday evening and again on Thursday morning before the funeral.  After the funeral, Travis will be taken to the Fort Logan National Cememtery for burial. The graveside service will begin at 2:30.

Vacation

I am going to be on vacation for the next couple weeks.  Lee Ann and I are going to spend a week in the mountains, enjoying the Rocky Mountain National Park.  Unless I am feeling particularly eloquent, I don't anticipate logging on for the next couple weeks.  I'll be back in the office and back on line after Labor Day.

New Hope History: pt. 2

Click on the picture to enlarge it.  When you do, you'll see some significant things.  These were taken from our roof about 8-9 years ago.   Actually, its the things you won't see that are most significant. 

  First, you won't see Prairie Hawk Drive.  The 'road' used to end with our driveway.

  Second, you won't see the Fire Station. There was no need for one back then, because there weren't that many houses.

  Third, there is no Fellowship Hall there.  The church facility ended with the back wall of the sanctuary.

  It is common to talk about how fast things change around here.  Sometimes it helps to have a picture so we can see the changes.

  In 2000, we dedicated the new Fellowship Hall, CE Area, Welcome area and Kitchen.  In the process, we doubled the square footage of the church.  We thought it would take a long time to 'fill-up' those spaces with people.  It took about a year.

  Not long after, the Fire Station and Prairie Hawk Drive showed up.  The population in our area needed more roads and a Fire Station close by. People keep coming and now the Town has plans to widen Prairie Hawk to four lanes. 

  On July 10, Session made the decision to approve the expansion project that will again almost double the square footage of the church.  It is a huge undertaking. It is easily the biggest change for New Hope since the decision was made to create New Hope less than 20 years ago.  It will affect us and our community for decades to come.

  We are taking pictures again from our roof top. I wonder how different this  community will look in another 8 years.  I'm sure it will be better because there is a church that exists to help people, Find a Home, Build a Life and Make a Difference.