Weekly Words - 2/23/17

Dear FBCD Family & Friends:

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

These words from Maya Angelou’s larger poem, And Still I Rise, inspire me every time I read them. In a significant way, they remind me of our story here at First Baptist Church of Denver. Over the next couple of weeks, our attention, liturgically speaking, will turn from the season of Epiphany, to that of Lent and then to Easter. The divine, liturgical drama we will remember and reenact tells us once more about the power of resurrection hope.

We will read soon again how the early disciples struggled with the news of Jesus’ resurrection. Folk wondered and wandered for a period. The New Testament testimony though continues to tell us how within the course of time, the movement of peace and justice that Jesus initiated took off and before long momentum and energy spread and the early church evolved into thriving communities of people.

It seems to me that First Baptist Church of Denver is entering a season where in due course, our sense of mission and expansion of ministry will evolve significantly more than we’ve experienced to-date. Still we’ll rise. Over the course of the next several weeks many things will be taking place at FBCD. How might you connect on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights? In what ways can you volunteer for service and ministry? If you’re looking for a way to serve, please don’t hesitate to ask me to help you identify an opportunity that can fit your schedule.

The FBCD Choir will be back again for another season of music ministry. As a Christian community we will be challenged to stand in solidarity with those for whom justice is being denied. It will be important and helpful for us to be together in community as much as possible. As you plan to attend services and events, will you consider family and folk you can invite to join us on a weekly basis? Together, we will continue to rise.

Know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. I look forward to the times ahead as we grow in faith, passion, and numbers.

With resurrection hope, I hope to see you Sunday!

Peace,

First Baptist Church of Denver is a welcoming and affirming, inclusive Christian community that embraces diversity, engages personal faith, and serves with compassion.

Weekly Words - 2/16/17

Dear FBCD Family & Friends:

As I continue to remember and honor Black History Month, the words of those that have gone before us provide for me daily inspiration. Today, I remember the contributions of Rosa Parks who said, "I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” I know for myself as an individual, as a parent, a pastor, as a friend, I have entered into 2017 with my mind made up on the fact that this will be a good year.


My prayer for our congregation is that we may follow the courage, fortitude, persistence, bravery, and humility of Rosa Parks and keep our congregational mind focused on all things that will create a positive and life-affirming energy for all who interact with us over the seasons ahead.

There is plenty happening in our country and world that can cause us to cower in fear and frustration; or...we can, in the words of Mahatma Gandhi, "...[b]e the change [we] wish to see in the world."

With gratefulness for the good place our congregation is finding itself and for the hope and potential ahead...let’s stay upbeat and encouraged. Let’s keep our mind made up!

Hope to see you on Sunday at 10:30.

Peace,

First Baptist Church of Denver is a welcoming and affirming, inclusive Christian community that embraces diversity, engages personal faith, and serves with compassion.

Weekly Words - 2/9/17

Dear First Baptist Church of Denver Family & Friends:

The following quotes have been on my mind this week...

"If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live...” ― Deuteronomy 30:16

“The life of a nation is secure only while the nation is honest, truthful, and virtuous.” ― Frederick Douglass

The month of February is Black History month which invites us to remember the contributions of African Americans throughout the history of our country. In an embarrassing moment last week, the person in the office of the President of the United States did not know who Frederick Douglass was.

Frederick Douglass lived during the nineteenth century and was "an African-American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writings."

Thinking about Frederick Douglass took me to his words above as well as to the words of the writer of Deuteronomy which will provide the basis of this Sunday’s sermon.

In these times, and in this social, political, and religious season, we’re reminded that at the core of our faith is the challenge to love God and love neighbor. Frederick Douglass reminds us too that “alternative-facts” have no place in a country such as ours...or any other country for that matter.

While these days are challenging for many of us, my prayer is that we will strive to be people of faith, love, humility, grace, hope, and peace.

I hope to see you in service at 10:30 on Sunday!

Sincerely,

First Baptist Church of Denver is a welcoming and affirming, inclusive Christian community that embraces diversity, engages personal faith, and serves with compassion.