Sometimes, we just can’t do it on our own. Nothing has brought this lesson home to me more acutely than having an exuberant toddler in my life. If you’ve been around the church in the past few months, you may have seen little June at church. If you’ve seen her, then you know…she’s a daring little one. I think most toddlers are like this to some extent, but June likes to explore and discover, even if it means Mommy has heart palpitations a few times a day. I love her desire to go out and learn without fear, but it makes her hard to track and that can make public spaces feel more like an obstacle course than say…a mall or a doctor’s office.

Maybe that’s why so many families with young children love our community and our church? Because when you’re at church, you’re not alone. When we baptized June a few Sundays ago, I read with a new heart the congregational response “With your family, we promise to be your sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, grandmothers and grandfathers in Christ; to surround you with God’s love.” I know that when she is in our church, with her church family, she is safe. She is safe to explore, safe to wonder, safe to grow. I could not be more grateful.

As we enter into a new season of gratitude, we’ll be diving into the story of Ruth, Naomi, and Boaz, a group of people so different, yet so in need of one another to survive. May we take this time and this story as a moment of grateful reflection—that we don’t have to do it alone.

May the peace & presence of the Lord be with you this season,

Rev. Jamielee

November 7^th - COMMUNION

           Better Together: Ruth-- presented by Rev. Jamielee

           Ruth 1: 15-18

November 14^th

Better Together: Naomi—presented by Rev. Sandi

November 21^st

                       Better Together: Boaz –presented by Dana Carpenter

November 28^th – First Sunday of Advent

                       The Heart of Christmas: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . .?

I know it’s only the beginning of November but it is not too early to talk about the Children's Christmas Program. We will host our program in person this year on December 5th during our service. We want to make you aware that this will be streamed live on our Facebook and YouTube platforms. I would love to hear from families interested in participating in our program this year. Just a quick email to childrensministry@washparkumc.org would be lovely. I will also need some volunteers with our set beforehand, helping with costumes that morning, and keeping the “actors” in place until their time to “perform”. Also, plan on staying after the service for the Advent Festival.  

The Children’s Ministry team are looking for some acolytes, Sunday School leaders, and church bell ringers. If you have any questions about or would like to fill a spot, please email childrensministry@washparkumc.org. Our Sunday School lessons for the month of November will be about Thankfulness. If you are interested in printing out these worksheets and doing them at home with the kids and sharing them with us, we’d love it! Showing and giving thanks to God for which all he provides is a lesson we hope to spread by showing the children about our food collection for the first couple of weeks of November. More details are available in the Mission section of the weekly emails from WPUMC. 

Check out our biggest event for November, our annual Fall Lock-in! We will be gathering overnight from November 13^th to 14^th, beginning at 3 pm and ending after church on Sunday morning. This year we will be celebrating with Shrek, learning that just like ogres and onions, we have layers too.

We'll be gathering PROMPTLY at 3pm on the 13^th with games and our devotional. We will be talking about processing difficult emotions through prayer and a scripturally led body-scan meditation.

We will be staying in for this year’s Fall Lock-in, but still serving our community! We will be making a meal together to be delivered to our friends at the Park Hill UMC Safe Outdoor Space. 

We'll also be playing Shrek themed games (and our favorite--Sardines!) and watching Shrek on the big screen in the Sanctuary with our evening cookies and milk.

If you’re interested in participating or volunteering, please contact Rev. Jamielee at youthgroup@washparkumc.org

Stewardship is a topic many churches shy away from as some fear the topic may make its members uncomfortable or cause added strain on the congregation. We take a different approach to stewardship at WPUMC – we embrace the message and rejoice the outcomes because of all the benefits it provides not only for our WPUMC family, but to our broader community. In last week’s sermon, Reverend Sandi highlighted the impact your dollars have on the church, the programs we have been able to support, and the lasting impact our outreach has on our community – check it out…https://youtu.be/vm6ApnOXaeI.  I’ve always viewed my contribution as a ‘one-stop shop’ for many of my philanthropy objectives and we hope WPUMC’s mission fulfills yours too.

As we wrap up Stewardship month, I ask only one thing from you – please fill out your pledge card. Regardless on your contribution, it’s extremely important that we get 100% participation because this is the way in which we can accurately budget for next year. We need to have clear eyes going into our budgetary process, particularly as we work through the impact and volatility COVID has had on the church and preschool. Your pledge card can be filled out via a number of channels: 1. our website (www.washparkumc.org) 2. text “GIVE” to (720)730-5151, 3.Venmo to the handle michelle-hoskins-17, 4. mail-in to Wash Park UMC or 5. through stock donations – see website for instructions.

Online ushering is a great way to get involved and it's easy too! Each Sunday you serve you'll simply get online from wherever you might be, welcome online participants to service, provide a few important links, watch for any technical difficulties and send participants off with a parting message of peace. We'll provide you with a quick guide which includes instructions, scripts and everything you need to get started...it's that simple! We're currently looking for online ushers to serve 2nd, 3rd and 5th Sundays. If you're interested, please contact Gretchen Olson at gklolson@gmail.com.