¡Si, se puede! Connect with the Vision Construction Team Rev. Lemuel Velasco

¡Si, se puede!

Toda persona, grupo familiar u organización debe de tener una visión. Quizás uno comienza con un principio, por la razón de que en todo principio uno es impulsado por lo que uno desea, sin pensar en ninguna visión, sin embargo con el transcurrir del tiempo se va creando una visión dentro de nosotros.

Considero que uno de los dones que Dios nos ha dado como individuos para visualizar las cosas, no ha sido nuestra vista sino la visión. Nuestra vista trabaja en función de los ojos pero la visión es la función del corazón. Podemos ver y no tener visión, pero gracias a Dios porque podemos mantenernos viendo aún teniendo los ojos cerrados.

Recuerdo la historia bíblica de los discípulos que caminaron con Jesús resucitado en el camino hacia Emaús (Lucas 24:13-35).

“…Para entonces ya estaban cerca de Emaús y del final del viaje. Jesús hizo como que iba a seguir adelante, pero ellos le suplicaron: «Quédate con nosotros esta noche, ya que se está haciendo tarde». Entonces los acompañó a la casa. Al sentarse a comer, tomó el pan y lo bendijo. Luego lo partió y se lo dio a ellos. De pronto, se les abrieron los ojos y lo reconocieron. Y, en ese instante, Jesús desapareció. Entonces se dijeron el uno al otro: «¿No ardía nuestro corazón cuando nos hablaba en el camino y nos explicaba las Escrituras?».”

Quiero darle gracias a Dios por todas aquellas personas que nos han antecedido. Todos aquellos que tuvieron y que han tenido la visión y la misión de llevar a cabo la obra de Dios en este Presbiterio de Denver. “Eben Ezer” hasta aquí el Señor nos ha ayudado (1º. Samuel 7:12).

Y le agradezco a Dios por esta oportunidad de participar, por cada uno de mis colegas de servir en su Reino a través del Vision Construction Team (VCT) del Presbiterio de Denver. Es un llamado, una bendición y un compromiso.

Dios está gestando en nosotros una necesidad que el desea llenar, Dios tiene palabra profética para nosotros y nos da fe. La fe produce paciencia, confiamos en que los tiempos de Dios son perfectos para su honra y gloria.

“… porque ustedes saben que, siempre que se pone a prueba la fe, la constancia tiene una oportunidad para desarrollarse. Así que dejen que crezca, pues una vez que su constancia se haya desarrollado plenamente, serán perfectos y completos, y no les faltará nada.” Santiago 1:3.4.

Pedimos que oren por nosotros, la oración es clave para sostenernos enfocados en la visión y mantenernos conectados con Dios. Sin duda alguna es la única manera de recibir fortaleza, ánimo y obtener todo lo necesario para proseguir hacia el objetivo.

Que la visión provoque en nosotros pasión y acción. Como dice el dicho popular: Ojos que no ven, corazón que no siente. Cuando veamos, que el corazón comience a palpitar en nosotros, que nos motivemos y nos volvamos activos en dirección de la visión. Dios tiene una visión para el Presbiterio de Denver, que es sobrenatural, extraordinaria y eterna.

¡Si, se puede! Presbiterio de Denver

Rev. Lemuel Velasco
Pastor de la Comunidad de Adoración Divino Salvador

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

!Si Se Puede! (YES WE CAN!)

Every person, family group and organization should have a vision. Perhaps the place to begin is with a principle, because every principle is motivated by what one wants and with time a vision begins to emerge within us.

I believe one of the greatest gifts God has given us, in order to visualize, is not our sight but our vision. Our eyesight is a physical reality, but vision is a function of the heart. It has been proven that at times one can have sight and yet have no insight and vision. Thanks be to God that even when our eyesight fails us, we can see with our heart.

This brings to mind the story in the Bible where 2 disciples were traveling on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35)

They came to the edge of the village where they were headed. He acted as if he were going on but they pressed him: “Stay and have supper with us. It’s nearly evening; the day is done.” So he went in with them. And here is what happened: He sat down at the table with them. Taking the bread, he blessed and broke and gave it to them. At that moment, open-eyed, wide-eyed, they recognized him. And then he disappeared.

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”

I want to thank God for those believers who have come before us. I thank God for all those who have had the vision and the mission to proclaim the Gospel in the Presbytery of Denver. “Eben Ezer” “God has helped us This far.” (1 Samuel 7:12).

In addition, I thank God for the opportunity to participate in this current visioning process. I thank God for each of my peers as we have worked in the Vision Construction Team (VCT) of the Denver Presbytery. It is a call, a blessing, and a commitment.

God is making us aware of His will for this presbytery, with this revelation God also empowers us with faith to do His will. I am confident that God’s timing is perfect, to His honor and Glory!

Pray for us that we may continue focused on God’s will and vision for this presbytery. May we continue connected to God that we might find the strength, creativity, and fortitude to continue until our task is finished.

May this emerging vision provoke in us passion and action for without a vision we will perish! Friends, let us see not just with the eyes but with the heart as well. And may our hearts warmly and eagerly beat in us that we may be motivated and actively participate in God’s vision for this presbytery. If the vision is of God, than we can be sure that it is supernatural, extraordinary and of eternal value!

As was the rallying cry of the United Farm Workers, so to it should be ours, “!Si Se Puede!”

Rev. Lemuel Velasco
Pastor New Worshiping Community Divino Salvador

Pathways Prayers for Citizenship

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has advocated for a pathway to citizenship for many years. At the General Assembly in 2012, the assembly passed “On Advocating for comprehensive Immigration Reform,” which urged church members along with other community members to advocate for immigration reform that included “making family unity a priority” and “providing a reasonable and inclusive path for undocumented migrants presently living in the United States to eventually gain citizenship.”

Learn how you can urge your Congressional leaders to act courageously and justly in passing legislation to make pathways to citizenship accessible to undocumented community members!

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Each Monday during August (9, 16, 23 and 30), the Interfaith Immigration Coalition is hosting a Prayers for Citizenship event. Join by Zoom at 10 am MDT for a time of prayer, a time to hear from at-risk communities, and a time to learn how to participate in actions.

On Monday, August 16, the PC(USA) Office of Immigration Issues will host the Prayers for Citizenship event. The office has invited a person who holds Temporary Protected Status and who is seeking a call in the PCUSA to tell her story. Please join to hear her moving story which clearly points to the reasons we need pathways for folks to access citizenship.

Register for the weekly August events at here. Spanish interpretation will be available.

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) is a 55-member coalition consisting of faith-based organizations focused on just and humane immigration policy. The PCUSA is a steering committee member. The IIC has created a Pathways Prayer toolkit that provides weekly prayers and actions. There is also an action toolkit for citizenship that includes more information, ways to get involved, and ways to invite others to join the efforts.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 19th @ 3 PM MDT

The Presbyterian Church (USA) continues its webinar series, Welcoming the Stranger Webinar Series, with a Pathways to Citizenship episode on Thursday August 19th at 5 pm ET/2 pm, PT.

In this webinar, we will hear from national and local leaders about why citizenship for all is important and how you can engage. We will hear from national leaders engaged in national efforts to gain Congressional support, and we will hear from local leaders who are engaged in local efforts directly tied to community support.

PRESENTERS
Jung Woo Kim, Organizing Director for NAKASEC (National Korean American Service & Education Consortium) is a national leader in the Citizenship for All campaign hosting the first 100 days efforts to draw attention to the need to pass a legislative solution for the undocumented community.

Joseph Fleming, Senior Advisor, Faith Leadership Strategies for Faith In Action is an interfaith organization lifting the voices of faith communities in support of this work. They have state and local affiliates that work directly with at-risk communities. They have led the #WeAreEssential campaign and Fast for Freedom effort.

Iolando Spinola, Immigration Team Co-Chair of Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC) is a local affiliate of Faith in Action in Brockton, MA. BIC includes many immigrant and migrant members who continue to urge the organization to focus on advocacy efforts for pathways to citizenship. They will share how they work to address issues more locally.

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With the Congressional August Recess upon us, the Office of Immigration Issues has released Immigration Asks for 2021 to help you advocate for immigration policy with your elected officials.

Some of us are hesitant to call our elected officials because we have not reached out to them before. Presbyterian Church (USA) Rev. Heidi Worthen-Gamble, Mission Catalyst for Presbytery of the Pacific, provides step-by-step instructions on how to do this well. Watch her video to gain tips for calling your Members of Congress. And then be sure to call urging them to vote for pathways to citizenship!

Our Stories: Mountain View United Church has been working on a plan!

For the last 3.5+ years Mountain View United Church has been working on a plan on how to use our 2-acre vacant lot next to the church to provide affordable for working families. As we all know, there is a critical shortage of affordable housing across the entire metro area. Believing that this land is a gift given to us by God to be used in love of our neighbor and not for our own profit we embrace the vision of the prophets, a vision of Shalom, where "everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid." A vision of where all have homes. A vision further affirmed by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights which declares housing as a human right, like the right to food and clothing.

In the fall of 2017 we were the first faith community to begin working with the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado's "Congregation Land Campaign" (CLC). The CLC was formed to work with congregations and nonprofits to provide technical assistance to utilize the over 5,000 acres of undeveloped congregation land to address the affordable housing crisis.

After 18 months of visioning, investigating numerous possibilities, and designing several different options we entered into a formal partnership with Habitat For Humanity Metro Denver to construct 20 owner-occupied affordable homes for working families, many of whom are essential workers. on the property. See the attached info sheet. Please visit our web site at https://mountainviewcommunityhomes.com to see the details of the proposed development.

We are now in the midst of gaining approval from the Aurora Planning and Zoning Commission for the rezoning of the land to make this vision a reality. That will be followed by approval from the City Council, we hope, sometime in September.

As both we and Habitat expected there is strong opposition from the surrounding neighbors that we are working through. To that end, we are asking faith communities, faith leaders, and individuals who share our vision of providing affordable home as fulfilling the command to love our neighbor to lend their support to the project by writing letters of endorsement / support to Aurora City Council. I am happy to provide instructions on how to craft the letters and who to send them to, sample letter templates, and talking points. I can be contacted at pastorwaynelaws@comcast.net. In addition, we will be sending out a call in late Aug/early Sep for people of faith to testify in support of the project at the City Council hearing.

Scripture teaches us that it takes community to build and nurture Shalom and we invite our kin folk in the faith community to join us in our vision to take what is now a weed covered vacant lot and transform it into place of God's vision for society.

In Peace,

Rev. Wayne A. Laws
(He/His/Him)
Minister of Social Justice & Mission
Mountain View United Church

O' boy, what kind of commitment would be required of me?

When I was asked to participate with the Vision Construction Team, my first thought was, "what kind of name is that for a church committee?" Then my thoughts went to, "O’ boy, what are they constructing?" Now, here is the bigger O’ boy, "what kind of commitment would be required of me?"

After a few conversations with Pastor Amo and others from Presbytery, I said "yes," still wondering about this Vision Construction Team concept.

Well, I believe this is now my 15th Saturday morning meeting “Faithfully” -- and I do mean faithfully-- attending our meetings. The Team even has two Denver Presbytery Assemblies under our belts. This Vision Construction Team has created a surprising amount of work for me to do, but that is what a “vision” does. It requires a lot of imagination, a lot of revealing of the heart, mind and soul. Visioning, exposes and uncovers the hard work it takes to be a follower of Jesus Christ, because...let's face it...as a human, I like things simple and uncomplicated. But, between the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit “easy” was not part of the plan.

Our VCT forages forward "to encourage, equip, and challenge congregations, broader faith expressions, covenant partners, and their leaders, as they share the love and shalom of Jesus Christ." And the vision to become a "diverse, hospitable, innovative presbytery where ministries can thrive, servant leaders grow, and communities are engaged."

We encourage you to read, devotionally pray with, and discuss with your fellow disciples, the Mission, Vision and Values we shared with the DenPres Assembly on May 25 and are moving forward with.

We are always open to comments, questions, hopes, and aspirations. You can message us at VCT@denpres.org

Together in Christ,

Ruling Elder Daphne Rice-Allen
Vision Construction Team

The wind of the Spirit has blown...

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The wind of the Spirit has blown once again in my life.  Golden Presbyterian Church has called me to serve as their new Senior Pastor and we have accepted.  All the votes are in and I will start June 16th.  I have been discerning God’s call back into parish ministry for some time and sensed the Spirit’s invitation to apply to Golden.  This is such a great fit and both the church and my family are very encouraged and excited to see what God has for us moving forward!

This means my last working day with the Denver Presbytery as Associate for Congregations will be May 27th.  I will then use some of my continuing education and vacation time before I start with Golden.  

In the meantime, our Council and the Vision Construction team believe it's wise not to search for anyone to fill this position and wait for the Vision Construction Team to assess staffing models. So if you have any pastoral care needs please do not hesitate to contact the Pastoral Care Team led by Honorably Retired Bill Sanders.  Contact information is available on our Presbytery website under the Committee of Ministry tab, click here.  

It has been both a joy and a challenge to serve the Denver Presbytery.  I am grateful for this season and the relationships we have grown together.  And I am also thankful for the ways God has grown and shaped me in this last year and a half.  It is good to know that I will be able to continue to be in the Presbytery and continue these relationships.  We have so many wonderful pastors, and leaders throughout our Presbytery.  You are our greatest asset!

Lastly, as I make this transition back into one of our local congregations, I am very encouraged by the work of the Vision Construction team and like you will continue to hold them in my heart and prayer as they faithfully carry out the work appointed to them.  

See you around!  

Gratefully in Christ,

Joel Adams

Alone in the wilderness: An update from the Vision Team

My daughter had the unfortunate pleasure of being in four different schools in five years. And for a couple months, at the beginning of each year, she needed her mom or her dad to stay with her right up until the bell rang for school. The playground seemed like an uncertain and potentially dangerous place. In that setting the worst thing she could imagine was being left alone.  

It makes me think of the Israelites in the wilderness. They knew what it means to live in uncertainty and potential danger. They left all that they knew in Egypt: shelter, food, water. Even though Egypt wasn’t ideal, the wilderness seemed more perilous still. Perhaps it is not surprising that the last verse in the book of Exodus describes in vivid detail the presence of God among them. “ For the cloud of the Lord was on the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, before the eyes of all the house of Israel at each stage of their journey.”

There is an assurance in this text that the very presence of God will abide continually, reliably, enduringly. It is visible and identifiable. It provides the community with the assurance that God’s presence is with them. Even in the uncertainty and unsustainability of the wilderness.

That must have been reassuring. Imagine that every time you faced danger or fear or uncertainty, you could look up and literally see the presence of the one who had delivered you from Egypt right in front of you. The obvious power of God was right there; all you had to do was raise your eyes.

Friends, in the last 10 years I have heard Christians, good, honest, faithful Christian people, proclaim with fear and sorrow in their heart, the death of the Church. Most of us have noticed declining numbers and declining budgets, how the world is changing, how the tried-and-true ways of engaging our world and our neighbor seem ineffectual. It’s an uncertain and potentially dangerous time. It’s almost like we’re in the wilderness.

But we are not anymore alone in the wilderness that the Israelites were. Like the Israelites we are tempted to look back to the place from which we have come and assume that the familiar is where we will find safety. But the place from which we have come is not where the pillar of God leads. The pillar of God is always out in front, taking us on to the Promised Land. And no matter how scary or unknown the wilderness may be to us, God is undaunted. God does not lead us out into the wilderness to abandon us and see if we can survive.

The pillar of cloud signifies God’s presence, but it also signifies God’s leadership and guidance. And in a world that is changing as fast as ours is, we need both. We need the promise of God’s presence. We need the reliable, constant, enduring presence of God. We need that reassurance; we need that comfort. We are transformed and made new by God’s presence. But God never intends for us to sit comfortably in God’s presence. The cloud never settles for long.

Just as we need God’s presence, we need God’s guidance. We need God to lead us into the wilderness, to lead us fearlessly into the unknown. When we rest in God’s presence, we are transformed; when we rise and follow God’s guidance, we participate in the transformation of the world. And the world around us is desperately in need of presence. God’s presence, and ours. So, we, as the Church, must be sure to sink into the presence of God that we can be centered and transformed. And then we must follow the itinerant God, whose home is a tent, out into the world.

I’m excited that God is still out in front, that God’s presence is never behind us, but is always out in front leading us on to the Promised Land. As we seek to discern God’s direction for Denver Presbytery let us never forget to follow that cloud.

Rev. Dr. Christopher Spotts