While back I saw a post on Facebook about, essentially, how tasteless and just plain bad cantaloupes taste. My first reaction was "What?! Cantaloupes are amazing!" Then I remembered that for most of my life I was pretty meh about cantaloupe. I found it bland and flabby, even waxy. Then I tried a cantaloupe from Dixon Melons, a farm that sells in farmers markets all over Western Montana. If you don't already, a good, fresh, locally grown melon will make you believe in God. It turns out that when a cantaloupe is grown by a family farm who really know what they are doing and are picked fresh and at peak and perfect ripeness then sold that day they are unbelievably delicious. That made me reflect on all the other fruits and vegetables, like oranges and tomatoes, that I didn't understand the appeal of until I had them fresh from the fields. There’s a reason for that. Grocery store fruits and veggies have been raised, picked and processed to all look the same and to be available on demand, all year round, even if they have to come from literally the other side of the planet. But foods done the old way, with care and with occasional blemishes and available only in the proper season, taste so much better. 

Perhaps there's a lesson there that speaks to something more than just our food systems. Conformity and convenience are two things that inform more than just the ways we eat. We engage in "fast fashion," buying clothes that are made by poorly paid workers in developing countries at enough scale that they can be easily discarded in the next season. If we want entertainment it is all at our fingertips, all the time, for a price. We can have anything we want delivered to our door in two days or less, though don’t stop to question what happens to the workers who rush to meet this deadline. 

I think it is interesting that God often encourages God’s people to slow down, to fast, to consider the things we accumulate. The ancient Hebrews were commanded to take one day a week to rest, to do nothing but spend time with one another and worship God. Most major religions, including Christianity, have holidays that encourage fasting, eating less or abstaining from certain things as a way of remembering that getting as everything we want, as much as we want, anytime we want is perhaps not the blessing our modern society thinks it is. Jesus draws a hard line to his followers, telling them that if they have two of something to give one away. 

Hot take: I think God is on to something. Let this be a reminder, should you need it, to slow down a bit. Make a meal from scratch, prayerfully contemplating all those who had a hand in bringing the ingredients to your pantry. Take a long walk in the sunshine, paying attention to the breeze and bird songs. Have a game night with friends or family, putting phones and tablets in a cupboard somewhere so you can be fully present. Embrace ways that a life lived deliberately, aware of the goodness of God found in friends, family, nature, and a ripe cantaloupe brings new flavor to life. 

Sunday services can be viewed live at 9:30am on Facebook AND YouTube, or afterwards with the links found on the website and weekly newsletter.

Click here to view our worship on YouTube.



Reminder! Rally day is THIS WEEKEND! Shirts have been ordered, but we have plenty of extra to pick up on Sunday :)

Please remember to bring food for our family reunion pot luck - sign up here!

Youth Group Registration for 2025-2026 School Year!



If you have a 6th - 12th grader that is interested in our WPUMC youth group activities, share or fill out this form! Our Kick-Off Gathering will be Sunday, September 14th from 10:30-noon to plan our fall! Contact Rev. Sandi with questions - pastor@washparkumc.org

Join us for our last Food Truck Night of the Summer! September 10, 2025 from 5-8pm.

Truck: Farm to Truck

Dessert: Denver Pops

Music: Schoolboys (Steve Bondy's Band!)

A note from Rev. Seth O’Kegley at Grace UMC:

I wanted to share a neat event that we have coming up at Grace next month. One of our late members, Leonard McPherson had a passion for bluegrass music and began coordinating a summer concert. After his death, his wife Suzanne has dreamed this into an Appalachian-style “convention” in his honor. It starts at 2 pm on September 6th and is free. Please share if you have friends or parishioners who love bluegrass!

Check it out here!

Help our preschool and enjoy some Chipotle on September 17th at the 1644 Evans Location! Use code 9ANJH4K to earn 25% back for the preschool! Thank you!!

Mark your calendars! Fall Festival on Saturday, October 25, 2025. Food, fun, and games! We are also offering free table space for family and friends to showcase their business, craft, or passion project. See flyer below, and sign up here!

Jesus had a great summer - thanks for your participation!!

Habitat Is Building Hope for Angie’s Family

Building more than homes—building hope. Each year, Wash Park UMC joins with churches of many denominations to support Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver, uniting faith communities in a shared mission to create lasting change. There are a few more opportunities to help this season:

*Sat., Sept. 6 from 8:00 AM – 11:30 AM (3.5 hours) – Another opportunity to paint siding

and move painted items in Habitat’s air-conditioned Production Shop

Click here to register for one of these opportunities.

Now read more about Angie’s family who recently moved into their new Habitat home:

“I want to pay it forward by sharing my story and show others that it’s possible to buy your

own home,” shares Angie. Adrionna, a freshman in college, is co-owner of the home.  

For the last six years, Angie, Adrionna and Angie’s 11-year-old daughter, Alyssa, lived at

BeyondHome, a non-profit transitional housing program in Arvada that helps families become self-sufficient through professional counseling, life skills training, education, and mental health services. “I loved living there and being a community partner,” shares Angie, who grew up in Denver. “I’m proud of being one of their success stories.” 

BeyondHome, which partners with Habitat Metro Denver, helped Angie finish high school, get job training and complete a college degree. With those skills and experience, she was in a position to apply for and buy a Habitat home. Angie heard about Habitat when she volunteered at a fundraiser at Metropolitan State University, and applied to Habitat several times before she qualified. 

Angie is now a program coordinator at Thrive, a nonprofit support program that provides

training and coaching to help impoverished individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency. “I get to help people I can really relate to,” she shares. She also works a second job as an assistant conference director and manager at a nonprofit. And she helps her mother, who is an incomplete paraplegic and lives close to Angie’s new Habitat home. 

“I wanted to be near my mom, and I asked for a wheel-chair accessible back door,” shares

Angie. For their sweat equity, Angie and Adrionna worked at the ReStores stocking, labeling, and organizing products. They enjoyed Habitat’s homeowner classes, which helped them prepare for homeownership. “I didn’t know what escrow was or earnest money. I didn’t know about homeowner insurance,” shares Angie. 

She is looking forward to hosting a housewarming party for family and friends, holding summer birthday parties at the nearby park, and hosting Thanksgiving for the first time. 

“Thank you to Habitat for offering affordable homes to people who could not afford to buy a house otherwise,” shares Angie. “We’re so grateful.” 

Note: Angie’s story was copied from Habitat Metro Denver’s blog. Click here to read more

incredible stories about homeowners.

If you’d like to learn more about how you can support Habitat, please contact Carol at

customtrainingllc@Q.com.

Altar Flowers 2025

If you’d like to sponsor Sunday morning altar flowers in honor of an occasion or in memory of someone, please sign up for a date below. The arrangements cost $45 ($35 for seniors) and you can take them home or give them away after service. We just ask that you return the vases to the Tea Kitchen so that we can reuse them. Make checks out to WPUMC and put altar flowers in the memo line or pay via Venmo @Michelle-Hoskins-17.

Please enter the occasion or person to be honored in the My Comment field after you click Sign Up.

Click HERE to sign up.