Building a Beloved Community in Colorado
by Samara Fay – Secretary, NECW
The Diocese of Colorado is a patchwork of communities, some diverse, some homogeneous. The diocese has many efforts aimed at loving, inclusive membership among all people. Many small, rural communities are mostly white, so the majority of the ministries of inclusion are in the large metropolitan area of Denver and its suburbs.
The Jubilee Ministry in Colorado is part of a nationwide network that serves immigrants, Native Americans, children and other vulnerable populations according to the admonition in Matthew 25:35 to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, care for the sick and visit the imprisoned. They strive after the vision in Micah 6:8 to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly before your god.
In Denver one of the programs is the St. Francis Center, a daytime shelter that provides services for homeless men and women. For Sudanese refugees, the Sudanese Community Church meets on Sunday afternoons in a chapel in St. John’s Cathedral. The people are given relocation support, parenting skills training, English as a second language, budget management and computer training. There are many feeding programs provided by local churches, as well as prison ministries. Miles away, in the mountain resort town of Breckenridge, St. John the Baptist Church provides assistance to local DACA recipients, young people brought here illegally as children who now face possible deportation from the country they regard as home.
There are various multicultural ministries that have as their goal, according to diocesan information, to create full partnership and participation with African, Native American, Asian, Arab and Latino descent communities. This is done in partnership with the Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA. The diocese employs a Latino priest as the Latino/Hispanic missioner for the Episcopal Church in Colorado. Churches in at least three cities provide services in Spanish: Denver, Thornton and the old mining town of Leadville.
The Race Task Force, formed by the diocese in 2017, helps churches seeking to become Beloved Communities and eliminate racial injustice and oppression.
Finally, Bishop Kym Lucas explicitly gives solid support and acceptance to LGBTQIA people in Colorado. Are there too many new letters in that acronym? It means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual.
“Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, ¡todos son bienvenidos!” Cantando, yo marche por primera vez, al lado de Episcopales y luteranos, en la Marcha del orgullo Gay llevada a cabo en Syracuse, Nueva York, el 16 de junio de 2018. Marchando sobre el área renovada de la ciudad, donde rebosaban pancartas del orgullo Gay, globos hacienda alusión a lo mismo, sombreros, y paraguas que fueron abundantemente visibles, y a la vez usados por los asistentes y el clero de diversas orientaciones sexuales, de ambas denominaciones. El Reverendo Peter Williams, rector de la iglesia de la Gracia y El Espíritu Santo en Cortland, New York, una congregación episcopal y luterana, fue el gran representante de la marcha del Orgullo Gay del 20218. Una gran Multitud de personas llenaban las calles que caminamos.
“One, two, three, four, all are welcome at our door!” Chanting and cheering, I marched for the first time along with Episcopalians and Lutherans in the CNY Pride annual parade held in Syracuse, New York on June 16, 2018. Parading through the newly revitalized Inner Harbor area of the city, rainbow banners and balloon arches, umbrellas, hats, and clergy stoles were abundantly visible, carried and worn by participating clergy and laypeople, of all sexual orientations, from both denominations. The Rev. Peter Williams, rector of Grace and Holy Spirit Church in Cortland, New York, an Episcopal/Lutheran congregation, was the grand marshal of the 2018 Pride Parade. A large crowd lined the streets we walked.