ST. LUKE’S Episcopal Church

Denver, Colorado November 2016 Volume 23 Issue 11

The Lark

R ector’s Remarks

When we have midweek services, in the place of the usual Prayer of Thanksgiving, I often invite people to share their own thanksgivings. There is usually an incredible variety in our thanks, from friends and family, to healing, to the blessings of the day. I conclude the prayers with our praise for Jesus Christ, the greatest blessing of all. As we approach Thanksgiving Day (the last, unspoiled holiday), we can all recite our lists of thanksgivings – we have so much for which we should be grateful. On Thanksgiving Day, it has been our tradition at St. Luke’s to invite people to offer their thanksgivings out loud, through the microphone, to everyone gathered – in place of the sermon. There was always a beautiful assortment of prayers. One could count on Fred Jeffries offering his thanks for the framers of the United States Constitution and those who had the courage to create, sign, and stand by the Declaration of Independence. Jennifer Abraham would command control of the microphone at least four

understood the Easter Question, it is among the people of St. Luke’s where we understand, “We know the resurrection happened because we experience the presence of the Risen Lord in our midst today.” That kind of sums it all up. Thank you. I welcome your thanks in return. And if we listen very carefully, I believe we can hear Jesus say, “Thank you, too!”

Faithfully, Fr. Doug +

times, prefacing each returning remark by saying, “Oh, wait…I just thought of something else.” Peter Bowes, in his later years, liked to offer a song as he played his guitar. Someone, smelling the turkeys cooking in the kitchen, would give thanks for our food. Someone else would give thanks for a good report from the doctor. Here are a couple more thanksgivings from me. First, I am grateful that we live in a free land. We can often argue and disagree, and our disagreements often take us places we don’t mean to go. But we usually return to that place where we ask forgiveness. We return to that place where our common humanity and shared values speak for more than the issues that divide. I am grateful for your patience and forgiveness for me. Through the years at St. Luke’s, you have been “kind to the kid.” You have been gracious and kind, and in a dance where we have stepped on each other’s toes, we have given each other latitude and room. And mercy. And I am grateful for Jesus. If there was ever a people and a place that

N ovember Events

16th Doug’s Farewell

24th Thanksgiving Day

27th 1st Sunday in advent

I n this Issue… 2. Youth News 3. Transformations 4. High Plains News 5. Pledge Campaign 5. Where does the time go? 6. Staff Information & Service Times

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“I felt God when I scored 17 points in my basketball game.” Isn’t it amazing when you find yourself tapping into something that feels so much bigger than yourself and you end up doing things you would not have thought possible. Something happens inside of us when we experience this kind of connection with…something. Maybe we were swept away in a storm of inspiration and the painting lying before us after a few minutes almost feels like it created itself through us, rather than us creating it. Maybe you are on a hike in the mountains when suddenly, out of nowhere, a few lines of poetry come to you and you have to write them down. Or maybe all that work at practice primed you for that moment when you tap into the flow of the game and you sink 17 points, a personal record! Christianity teaches a Trinitarian understanding of God. God exists as the essence of relationship, as is represented by Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—Three in One. God is not stagnant, a man sitting on a

throne creating love, life, passion, etc. God is here with us! God is present within that love, life, and passion! Sometimes we overcomplicate it. Our youth struggle to answer the question, “Where did you feel God this week?” But then they light up when you affirm what they were thinking—that their passion, the passion that led to that epic game, was God. The inspiration to write that song, paint that picture, weep with the grieving friend. It’s all God. God is with us. And as always, all Middle and High School students are welcome to join us at St. Luke’s on Sundays 10:15-11:30am! Peace. Ben Edwards bedwards1985@gmail.com

Y outh

T ime for goodbyes and pizza

When Father Doug concludes the service on Thanksgiving Day, he will load up his prayer book, his big green chasuble and ride his trusty scooter off into the sunset (technically south on Quebec Street.) However, he definitely wants to spend time with the flock and he doesn’t want to do it at a formal gathering in a restaurant or hotel ballroom. He wants us to gather where we always have, in the Parish Hall. You are all invited to a Pizza Party with Father Doug and family on Wednesday, November 16th with pizza from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm., Eucharist at 6:00 pm and final goodbye hugs at 7:00 pm. He would especially like to take the time to say goodbye to the children of the parish, so please bring them for this event. Please call the office, 303.355.2331, by noon on November 14 and let Mike L. know how many in your family will be attending.

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T rans ormations F Gordon C. Tucker Jr., Director of Christian Formation

Monthly Feature: Advent

The first Sunday of Advent is November

27. This begins a four-week preparation

for the celebration of the birth of Jesus at

Christmas. The term comes from the Latin

word adventus, which means “coming.” The

liturgical colors change from green to purple.

Update on Adult Formation:

“Avenues and Intersections” We are preparing to collaborate again

with our Jewish brothers and sisters from

Congregation Rodef Shalom on an exciting

Adult Education program entitled

“Avenues and Intersections.” As People of

God, we are on spiritual journeys that

often parallel each other and occasionally

intersect. These intersections provide

opportunities for Jews and Christians to

explore the commonalities and

distinctions between our two faith communities. We are planning to

meet on four Wednesday evenings in November and December from 7 to

8 p.m. During each session, we will engage in an in-depth discussion of a

topic of great interest to both faith traditions. Please join us for these

discussions that promise to be engaging and inspiring. We will not meet

on November 16 in order to celebrate Fr. Doug’s retirement, and

November 23 is the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Worship at Montclair United

Methodist Church.

The schedule is as follows:

Update on Church School: Advent During Advent in Godly Play, we rejoice

that a King is coming soon, but we

acknowledge that he is not the kind of

king that people thought was coming.

This King was a baby who was born in a

barn. The Church learned a long time ago

that people need a way to get ready to enter or

even come close to a mystery like Christmas and

set aside four weeks to get ready. We journey

with the prophets, the Holy Family, the

shepherds, the angels, and the Magi on a

journey to Bethlehem where the King will be

born.

DATE TOPIC LOCATION FACILITATOR

11/2/2016 Jesus St. Luke’s Gordy Tucker

11/9/2016 Anti-Semitism Rodef Shalom Rabbi Bernie

11/16/2016 No Class

11/23/2016 No Class

11/30/2016 Offices St. Luke’s Gordy Tucker

12/7/2016 Movements & Denominations

Rodef Shalom Rabbi Bernie

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S aying Farewell...

Fabian Gilchrist,

Parish Administrator

By the time you read this, I will have

ended my time as St. Luke’s Parish

Administrator and turned the ministry

over to the ‘Two Mikes.’ I am grateful

for the last 18 years with you. I have

learned a lot about the human

condition; made a bunch of friends, and

been in awe of the grace and mercy

shown to me. I have been blessed to

have worked with a staff like no other.

I can’t begin to tell you all what you

mean to me, so I will simply say… See

you in January when I come back as just

a parishioner in the pew. I look forward

to our new journey together!

Many, many, many blessings, Fabian

To my sisters, Sandy Davis and Suzanne

Bady; thank you. You are just the best.

To my brothers Doug and Gordy; many

blessings. To my little brother Ben; too

brief. To my sister Laura, you’re gold. To

my brother Tom; you’re a really good

sport(!) The choir leaders are incredible

talents, and I will miss Laura (who

cleans for us) and all of our volunteers

who lend a hand. The two Mikes have

stepped up to be there for you all. We

are blessed to have them; be gentle

with them.

H igh Plains Region News

High Plain Region Focus: Community, Community, Community Terry McGugan, Rector, Christ Church, Denver When you are talking Real Estate the motto is “Location, Location, Location”. In church life, the motto should be “Community, Community, Community” because without authentic community there are not the life giving relationship which hold us together in unity. Deep abiding relationship can stand the test of time, tragedy, trials and tribulation. Authentic relationship among believers inoculates us from isolation, backbiting and division. Authentic relationship builds trust, cooperation and community. When we live in this way our witness to the world is most compelling and attractive. If that is true, and we believe it to be so, our challenge is how we develop authentic relationship and community among the clergy, lay leaders and churches of the High Plains Region (HPR). We believe God wants to do something through the churches of the High Plains Region for his glory, the building up of the Church and the

other in doing the ministry of the church. The bottom line is we are better, stronger and more effective together than apart. Just image what it would look like if the four clusters of the HPR were to develop deep and abiding relationships and authentic community. What could we do together for the glory of God the building up of the church and the ushering in of his kingdom? When the clusters start putting forward initiatives, please participate! Because it is all about “Community, Community, Community”.

ushering in of his kingdom. But with 25 churches, spanning from Sterling to Castle Rock, it would seem an impossible task. How do you build authentic relationship and community among churches in such a large and diverse context? The answer is “Clusters, Clusters, Clusters”. And we are not talking about a breakfast cereal. Cluster groups are groups of churches in the region arranged by geography. Being close to each other, regardless of size or composition, gives us the capacity to be together more readily. So we took the churches of High Plains Region and broke them into four clusters of about 6-8 congregations. We have assigned each cluster to 2-3 members of the HPR board to be the conveners. Our hope and desire is to gather the clergy of the clusters together a minimum of 6 times a year to build friendships, collaboration and community. Once we get some traction with the clergy then our plan is to expand to lay leaders, such as senior wardens, church musicians, etc. The idea is to get folks together to build relationship and community so we can help, encourage, equip and collaborate with each

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P ledge Campaign Update

The following comments were gleaned from the presenters of our “Ministry Minutes”

On the way to my office downtown, I drive Colfax Avenue. Denver Urban Ministries (DenUM) often catches my eye. As I gaze out of my office window (which happens only occasionally!), I can see the St. Francis Center, the only day shelter in the Denver area for people experiencing homelessness. At both of these times, I am reminded of how fortunate my family is to have discovered St. Luke’s.

Quite honestly, the story of how we discovered St. Luke’s is not particularly interesting: we live near the church. St. Luke’s caught our eye because it is a beautiful, historic, and small church. It also reminds me of the church my grandparents attended when I was a child—and where my grandfather was laid to rest.

It almost seemed too good to be true that St. Luke’s would be a good “fit” for our family.

If you haven’t, I hope this article will encourage you to do so. If that envelope with your name on it is still sitting around your house, mail it in or drop it at the church (there is a nifty mailbox near the kitchen and welcome center). You can also leave pennies in the Penny Jar in the front of the church. Every 5th Sunday.

Anything you can give is a welcome addition to the campaign.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to Christ’s work!

Bradley Pearce, Stewardship Chair

Imagine my surprise when we encountered such a welcoming, friendly congregation. A priest who has a sense of humor. Wonderful programs for our children. And a commitment to service that supports the organizations to which I have dedicated my work life.

I work as a housing consultant, helping cities and states identify housing and human service needs and finding ways to address these needs. I’ve surveyed the many people that organizations like DenUM and the St. Francis Center help. And I am proud to be part of a church that not only supports these wonderful organizations, but also promotes compassion and understanding of those in great need.

Your support of St. Luke’s is critical to furthering its mission of doing Christ’s work in the world. If you already have pledged your support of St. Luke’s-thank you! Thanks to 132 of you!

Relax; don’t panic! Here’s the scoop! Mike LeClaire, Parish Administrator, will be in office on Mondays from 7:00 am until 3:00 pm. Tuesday through Thursday he will be in from 9:00 am until 1:00 pm. His contact information is adminmike@lukeonline.org. Mike Kallas, Financial Administrator, will not be as visible. He’ll be in early and late after

normal office hours, however, you may contact him at financemike@lukeonline.org with any financial questions. You can also leave a message for either Mike at 303-355-2331.

H ow do I get in touch with the Mikes???!

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Mary Wamsley, Senior Warden We’ve all wondered where the time goes, childhood spent roaming freely in the summer then begrudgingly settling back into the school year, the joy of watching your child’s first steps, one’s first accomplishments at work, first love; it all goes so fast. But what about the last 23 years, our time with Doug Dunn? May, 1993 to now, to this time? In 1993, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” was number one on the Billboard chart, “Schindler’s List” won the Best Picture Oscar, the Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series (!) Bill Clinton was elected President, the Dow Jones Industrial Average showed a 13.72% gain (for a comparison that we all remem-ber with horror the DJIA closed down -33.84% in 2008) and in May “Kiss of the Spider Woman” opened on Broadway and in May the Reverend Douglas Dunn became the Rector of St. Luke’s. Doug and Jan Dunn packed up the boys, left Wisconsin and came to Denver and into the life of this congregation where they dedicated themselves to being a part of this family for a generation. What does that level of dedication look like, beyond their obvious commit-ment, enthusiasm, perseverance and good humor at being with us? Reviewing 23 years of the monthly rector’s report that Father Doug provides to the vestry shows his activities from May of 1993 to August, 2016 to have been:

Parish family visits 2010

Visits to hospitals and care facilities 1552

Counseling visits 2739

Attending or leading parish meetings 2978

Pre-marital or baptismal meetings 889

Sunday services 2406

Weekday services 2753

Funerals, committals and weddings 412

Miles traveled for parish business 81,241 miles

That is a minimum of over 15,700 contact events with people and to our knowledge not a single re-straining order was issued against him, but you can be certain there were at least 15,000 hugs included. Think of it, if on a Sunday 100 parishioners attended the services then Father Doug touched the lives of 240,600 people. Amazing. The number of miles he has traveled on our behalf is equally amazing, why I got rid of at least two cars that had fewer miles; and as an educational moment he has traveled the equivalent of three times around the earth with enough miles left over for a side trip to Tierra del Fuego. In reading his notes, 2000 seemed to have been a good year as there were more weddings than funerals and in 2012 there were three baptisms in one day at St. Clare’s! It isn’t often that one absorbs the life work of some-one in such a concrete context and it is impressive. And, humbling. How many of us retire with such an exemplary record of love, joy and humanitarianism? How blessed and fortunate are we that Doug Dunn was our priest, rector, counselor, playmate, role model and friend for so long. For all that he gave us, that still abides with us, all we can give back is our deep and sincere thanks. Good Luck and Love to you, Doug and Jan.

May joy and peace surround you, Contentment latch your door,

And happiness be with you now, And bless you evermore.

Celtic Prayer

J ust exactly where does the time go?

Do you have information to share with the Parish? Is there a special celebration coming up in your life? Get it into the office by the 15th of the month for inclusion in the Lark.

The Lark is Published Monthly

Our Mission “To restore all people to unity with God and each other in Jesus Christ.”

S t. Luke’s Staff:

The Rev. Dr. Douglas R. Dunn, Rector

The Rev. Sandy Blake, Assisting Priest

Thomas Strickland, Director of Music Ministries

Mike LeClaire, Parish Administrator

Mike Kallas, Finance Administration

Suzanne Bady, Bulletin Coordinator

Gordon Tucker, Director of Christian Formation

Ben Edwards, Youth Director

Laura Olivanti, Nursery Supervisor

Phone 303-355-2331 Fax 303-355-5388

S ervice Times:

Sunday 7:45 a.m. & 10:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist

9:00 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. Coffee Time

10:15 Youth Group

Tuesday 9:30 a.m. Contemplative Prayer

10:00 a.m. Worship

Wednesday See the November Schedule