Showing posts with label colorado. Show all posts
Showing posts with label colorado. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Priest waits out injury to resume walk across country

From Colorado-

For roughly six weeks, he walked along Kansas roads as a sore on his toe worsened from a pesky blister to a painful infection. Still, the former Episcopal priest who lives in Colorado kept going.
On Aug. 10 Peter Munson, still traveling by foot, passed into Colorado and continued until he reached Colorado Springs. The 61-year-old had walked roughly 2,100 miles by then, more than half as far as he planned to go. But the pain in his toe had grown to the point that wearing a shoe felt excruciating.

Finally, he called it quits. At least for the time being.

Munson, who’s walking from South Carolina to California to raise money for charity, canceled a planned Aug. 13 appearance in Castle Rock and paused his walking mission because of the foot injury, which required that he seek medical attention.

“Saturday it was causing me to limp,” he said on Tuesday, Aug. 12, before a doctor visit in his hometown of Arvada. “Taking this week off to see if I can get well.”

The former priest began his journey on March 4 in Charleston, South Carolina. He estimated then it would take 6 million steps to reach his final destination of San Francisco. He now believes, with 1,600 miles to go, the journey will take 7.5 million steps.

More here-

 

Saturday, May 18, 2019

The Episcopal Church in Colorado Is Getting a New Bishop

From Colorado-

On May 18, the Reverend Kimberly (Kym) Lucas will become the first female bishop, as well as the first black bishop, in the Episcopal Church in Colorado since its establishment in 1887. While Episcopalians make up only 2 percent of the state’s religious demographics, Lucas’ election is a big deal for a denomination that proclaims progressive values—most notably, their open and affirming stance on LGBTQ people—yet is led by a standing committee (the authoritative board in the diocese) that is exclusively white. 

Lucas will be leading nearly 30,000 active members across 96 worshipping communities throughout the state. While the Episcopal Church in Colorado was unable to supply state-specific data about its demographic makeup, Pew Research Center reports that nationwide, the Episcopal community is about 90 percent white, 4 percent black, and 2 percent Latino.

More here-

https://www.5280.com/2019/05/the-episcopal-church-in-colorado-is-getting-a-new-bishop/ 

and here-

https://denver.cbslocal.com/video/4087249-new-bishop-elect-kimberly-lucas-feels-awe-amazement/

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Gay Methodist clergy in Colorado vow to remain “out and loud” after church strengthens LGBTQ restrictions

From Colorado-

After the vote came down Tuesday at the United Methodist Church’s general conference in St. Louis, Greenwood Village-based Bishop Karen Oliveto looked around the room.

She saw bishops crying. Consoling one another. Praying.

The denomination’s first openly gay bishop, Oliveto saw the realization ripple around the room: The church had just voted to strengthen its ban on gay and lesbian clergy and same-sex marriages.

“The church that has nurtured us, taught us about God’s grace and unconditional love, all of a sudden is narrowing who gets to experience that love,” Oliveto told The Denver Post on Thursday.

“That’s not been our tradition.”

More here-

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/03/01/colorado-gay-methodist-clergy-lgtbq-restrictions/

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Security threats close Denver's St. John's Episcopal Cathedral Read more: Security threats close Denver's St. John's Episcopal Cathedral

From Denver-

Threats against Denver's St. John's Episcopal Cathedral led to its closure and cancellation of church events Tuesday, until further notice, Denver police said Wednesday.

"The church has received credible threats and has made the decision to cancel events both last night and today," Denver police spokesman Sonny Jackson told The Denver Post at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday. "It is an active investigation and no further information will be released at this time."

A handwritten note on a church door advised people trying to attend a meeting scheduled for Wednesday afternoon the gathering was cancelled due to "apparent gun threat at the church."

Jackson he could not confirm the nature of the threat.


More here-

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24514838/st-johns-cathedral-denver-closed-security-threat

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Love Is Stronger than Death


From The Living Church-

St. John’s Cathedral, Denver, responds to Friday morning’s news that a lone gunman killed a dozen people and wounded 50 others during a late-night premiere of the film The Dark Knight Rises:

Regarding the Tragedy in Aurora

At Saint John’s Cathedral, we are following the developing news of the Aurora shooting with sadness and concern. All involved are in our prayers.

At times like these, our emotions come swirling to the surface, with all our questions: shock, anger, grief, wonderment; why did this happen? How could it have been prevented? What does it mean? Where was God?

There are no easy answers. This shooting is a terrible tragedy, and it is a great loss that senseless killing has become a part of our national life in recent decades. Yet this is not an occasion to abandon hope. It is not an occasion to break faith. It is rather an occasion to renew our commitment to love: to love our neighbors, both close and distant, who are suffering; to love our enemies, who have wounded us so grievously; and to love God, who does not abandon us in tragedy, but chose to enter death itself, that life might be wrested from bondage in the tomb.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/love-stronger-death

Monday, June 11, 2012

History of Springs Episcopal church gains national attention

From Colorado-

Sitting in the choir section of Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church, Marianna McJimsey can’t help but get excited when she talks about the history of the place.

The former Colorado College professor and head of the church’s archival project can spout off facts for hours if given the prompt. She’s not the only one who finds the church significant.

The church was recently placed on the National Register of Historic Places, becoming one of a small handful of churches in El Paso County on the list.

On Sunday afternoon, the sound of McJimsey’s voice in the empty church bounced off of the high arches in the sanctuary – a rare example of gothic revival architecture in Colorado Springs. The light streams in through dozens of intricate stained glass windows, each with a story and commissioned by former parishioners as far back as 1899. And behind her is the large historic organ donated to the church by Alice Bemis Taylor, who also helped create the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center.

Read more:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/church-140018-episcopal-gains.html#ixzz1xTlvzQFu

Monday, March 5, 2012

First Presbyterian mulls split from national organization today


From Colorado-

First Presbyterian Church Colorado Springs will vote Sunday on whether to proceed with efforts to leave its national organization.

The church, one of the first in Colorado Springs, was founded in 1872.

With about 4,000 members it is one of the largest in the country that belongs to the Presbyterian Church (USA). It may seek to join the conservative Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO).

Nationally, Presbyterians have been battling over same-sex marriage and ordination of homosexuals since last spring, when PCUSA agreed to allow gays and lesbians to be ordained ministers.

The Colorado Springs congregation will take what it termed a non-technical vote at 3 p.m. Sunday in the downtown sanctuary. Depending on that outcome, there could be an official vote later. A team from the regional Pueblo Presbytery, which oversees First Presbyterian and 25 other churches, will be at the meeting.

The local governing board voted in January to recommend that the congregation request dismissal from PCUSA.

Pastor Jim Singleton was not available Friday for comment.

First Presbyterian staff leader Alison Murray said there are many complicated theological issues that the congregation must consider.

Read more:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/presbyterian-134487-first-colorado.html#ixzz1oF8UPTHu

Monday, November 7, 2011

Every window tells a story at Grace and St. Stephens


From Colorado Springs-

When Spot Holmes steps into Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church downtown, the windows are always the first things she notices.

Some are towering two-story high windows taking up almost an entire wall of the gothic building. Others are small and hidden high in the rafters. Depending on the angle of the sun, there is always something newly illuminated– perhaps a face of a saint, or an angel or a small symbol almost hidden among the colors and shapes.

To Holmes, those windows aren’t just art, they’re history. One of the glass artists at the church also made more than 3,000 windows at Yale University. One window, which depicts several stories of healing in the Bible, was dedicated in 1906 to a local doctor who came to Colorado Springs to help tuberculosis sufferers. Another window was commissioned by a former pastor in memory of his late 2-year-old daughter.

“They are all full of history,” said Holmes, who helped research a new book, released Sunday, titled the “Windows of Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church.”

The book tells the story of each of the windows of the church. It’s full of pictures that show the hidden details that easily could be missed.


Read more:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/story-128012-windows-grace.html#ixzz1d1ginvCD

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Pedal for Nets - bringing Skeeter Cheaters to Africa


From Colorado- (with video)

The inaugural Pedal for Nets charity bike ride is hoping to start something big with a small piece of netting. All they need are some cyclists who believe the same.

Pedal for Nets takes place Aug. 14 to 16 around the Longmont area. Riders have the option of riding all three days (140 miles), one or two days, or being a virtual rider. No matter the choice, riders register for $100, all of which goes to buy mosquito nets.

The ride is being organized by St Stephen's Episcopal Church in Longmont because of the need to protect men, women and children from malaria in Africa. Malaria is a deadly mosquito-borne disease that affects millions each year in Africa and around the world. Nearly one million people die from malaria each year, mostly children younger than five years old. Just one $12 insecticide-treated net can save three people from suffering or possible death caused by malaria.

More here-

http://www.9news.com/sports/article/211976/295/Pedal-for-Nets---bringing-Skeeter-Cheaters-to-Africa-

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Christ Church offers new community service


From Colorado-

It will not be like other services.

“We had some folk in the parish who were looking for a different kind of worship experience than our normal service,” said Christ Episcopal Church Father Mark Meyer. “We’re willing to help provide that.”

As of May, the Episcopal Church began to offer Journey, a community worship service, at 5 p.m. Sundays in the Chapel of Christ Church at Eighth and Harrison.

After looking at several possibilities, they learned of a service at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral in Denver, which offers a new different worship experience, called The Wilderness after the building’s namesake, St. John in the Wilderness.

“We’ve incorporated some of the elements of that, like the prayer stations,” Meyer said. “Then there were other folk in the parish that wanted a contemplative experience.”

Once a month, the church will offer this experience, where some of the elements from a Taize service also will be incorporated into it.

“One of the things they do at the Wilderness is they allow people to get up and walk around anytime during the service,” Meyer said.

More here-

http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/community/community-story.asp?ID=16717

Monday, May 23, 2011

Long, winding road brought new pastor to St. Charles Church


From Colorado-

It has been a long and winding road that brought Lyn Burns from her birthplace in South Africa to her new post as pastor of St. Charles Episcopal Church in Fort Morgan.

She left South Africa in her late 20s to get away from apartheid.

Burns is far from unique in that; apartheid and reverse apartheid have resulted in a "brain drain" in the country, she said.

"The South African situation has split more families than you can imagine," she declared.

Two of her sisters and a brother also left the country and now live in New Zealand.

"I consider myself more Coloradan than anything else," Burns said, noting that she lived in Boulder for a number of years and served in La Veta and Alamosa before coming to St. Charles.

She also has two grown childen, a son and a daughter, living in Colorado.

Ordained in Denver in 2006 after going to Virginia Theological Seminary, Burns spent a year as a chaplain at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, then served in La Veta three years and six months in Alamosa.

Some members of St. Charles have asked her what she thinks of living in a small town; she replies, "This isn`t small."

She has been in towns with dirt roads and one traffic light, she said -- and she likes to go to the country to find peace.

More here-

http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/ci_18104464

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Pastor turns heads by blending tradition and irreverence


From Denver-

Lutheran pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber is a dichotomy wrapped in a paradox covered in tattoos.

Creation, Advent, Christmas, Lent, Good Friday, Easter and Pentecost — practically the entire liturgical year — unfurl in technicolor ink from her shoulder to her wrist.

That's just her left arm. Mary Magdalene and Lazarus rising from the dead are on the long right arm of this 6-foot-1 Christian billboard.

The 42-year-old came to Jesus later in life but then pursued a vocation in Christ full throttle. In a state where Focus on the Family and other strands of evangelical Christianity have long grabbed most headlines, a progressive Lutheran is now stealing the marquee.

On the strength of her preaching, Bolz-Weber received the invitation to sermonize Sunday at Easter sunrise services for roughly 10,000 people at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

In the few years since ordination in late 2008, she has become famous within her denomination, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and achieved international acclaim.

She has a wide audience for her sermons and blogs, touted by the likes of progressive Christianity torch-bearer Jim Wallis. Her blog is under the heading "Sarcastic Lutheran: The cranky spirituality of a postmodern Gal. Emerging church ala Luther."

Read more:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17912633

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Cooley a ‘spiritual rock’


From Colorado- (Andrew and I worked together at Convention on Dispatch- God's Blessings Andrew)

He has been credited with reaching out to other faiths, welcoming gays and lesbians and playing a pivotal role on the national stage of his denomination. And after 16 years, the Rev. Andrew Cooley, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, will preach his last sermon in Durango on May 1.

“This is totally my initiative to do this,” he said. “There’s no rule for how long to stay, but I’ve seen too many clergy who have been in one place too long, and I didn’t want that to be me.”

When he came to St. Mark’s, Cooley wanted to stay until he was 50 and his daughter had graduated from high school. He’s now 54, and she is graduating from college right after he leaves Durango.

In his next life stage, Cooley will serve as an interim rector at churches in the process of finding a replacement priest.

“I’ll probably do this for the next 10 or 15 years until I retire,” he said. “I’m eager to take the skills I’ve learned here of dealing with people in the midst of anxiety and stress and being an agent of healing and hope.”

An interim pastor will be assigned to St. Mark’s, and the vestry committee will begin a search for a new rector, which will probably take a year to 18 months.

‘Always makes you think’

More here-

http://durangoherald.com/article/20110226/NEWS01/702269985/-1/s/Cooley-a-‘spiritual-rock’

Friday, February 25, 2011

Armstrong claims he skipped raises to put kids through college


From Colorado Springs-

Rev. Donald Armstrong used church funds for his two children’s college tuition in lieu of getting any pay raises for several years, his attorney argued Thursday.

But prosecutors countered they were unable to find documentation of any such arrangement that the former rector claimed he had with Grace and St. Stephen’s Church in Colorado Springs.

The arguments came at the outset of a two-day hearing to determine whether Armstrong must repay the church for restitution.

About 35 church members gathered for the hearing, leading officials to move it to a larger courtroom. Some in the audience had arrived more than an hour before the hearing began, knitting while they waited.

The hearing continues Friday, when 4th Judicial District Gregory R. Werner is scheduled to sentence Armstrong for his plea of no contest to one count of felony theft and a similar plea to one count of misdemeanor theft.

Special prosecutor Stephen Jones of the Pueblo District Attorney’s office told Werner that his office is seeking repayment of only funds used for unauthorized tuition payments. A forensic accountant who testified at the hearing pegged those costs to be $291,000 between 1999 and 2006.

Read more:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/armstrong-113497-children-through.html#ixzz1EyPFxhBm


Also here-

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/friends-in-high-places/Content?oid=2065682

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Judgment day for the Rev. Armstrong


An in depth piece from Colorado Springs-

For the Rev. Don Armstrong, life appears to have rolled along smoothly these past five months.

The rector at St. George's Anglican Church in northwest Colorado Springs has exuded total self-confidence, giving every outward impression that he has weathered the judicial storm over how he handled parish finances during his 20-year reign at Grace and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.

The 61-year-old is as comfortable as ever in pushing his conservative theology from the pulpit, as in his most recent sermon three Sundays ago when Armstrong chastised the daughters of George W. Bush and John McCain for "speaking out in favor of same-sex marriage," adding, "how quickly we should see it as human-centered thinking, not God's teaching."

Though his tone has grown more strident as the years have progressed, parishioners say, this self-assuredness is vintage Armstrong.

While continuing as rector at St. George's, Armstrong has downplayed any negative ramifications from his plea agreement last September, when he gave a no-contest plea to a felony theft charge and what's known as an Alford plea to a misdemeanor allegation. (An Alford plea is similar to no-contest, wherein you don't admit guilt but acknowledge the case against you.) That was the end result of a 20-count indictment from 2009, which focused on $291,000 in allegedly mishandled Grace Church funds that mostly paid college expenses for Armstrong's children over a seven-year period.

More here-

http://www.csindy.com/colorado/judgement-day/Content?oid=2065670

Monday, January 17, 2011

Brother, can you spare a dime?


From Durango- (Andrew and I have worked together at General Convention)

As the new reality in poverty's changing statistics takes hold, local families' financial hardships have gone from “crisis to chronic” through no fault of their own, said the Rev. Andrew Cooley of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and countless others in the community who run social service programs.

“There is an illusion in Durango among some people and agencies that helping a family one time can keep them from falling off the brink,” Cooley said.

The illusion sometimes leads to a lack of compassion in the community for families who need more than a small sum to get through or require help repeatedly, he said.

The shame of it all

Many families the Herald interviewed said they felt blamed and belittled for seeking help.

More here-

http://durangoherald.com/article/20110117/NEWS01/701179929/-1/s

Friday, December 17, 2010

Prosecutors seek restitution from breakaway pastor


From Colorado via San-Antonio-

Prosecutors say they are seeking about $291,000 in restitution from the pastor of a dissident Anglican church.

Don Armstrong of St. George's Anglican Church in Colorado Springs previously led Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen's Parish but left the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado in 2007 after allegations of financial misconduct surfaced.

He was accused of stealing about $400,000 from his former church to fund his children's education. Armstrong has said it was a bookkeeping issue and that no money disappeared.

He pleaded no contest to felony theft in September and entered an Alford plea to a misdemeanor theft count, acknowledging a jury might convict him. He and his new church still say he's innocent.

Sentencing is set for February.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Prosecutors-seek-restitution-from-breakaway-pastor-903904.php

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Lutheran church latest to split over ordination of gays


From Colorado-

The ordination of gay clergy continues to create tension within Christian denominations in America.

The Presbyterian Church (USA), United Methodist Church, United Church of Christ, Episcopal Church, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the American Baptist Church USA have experienced tremendous internal discord over the issue.

But perhaps the most dynamic schism today involving gay ordination is within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Last month, St. Luke’s Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs publicly announced it had left the ELCA. Bethel Lutheran and Faith Lutheran have also quit the denomination.

“The ELCA was going in a different direction,” Bethel Lutheran pastor John Witkop said. “The ordination of gay clergy got us talking (about leaving).”

The ELCA has about 10,000 U.S. churches, and since early 2009, 291 have left to align with other Lutheran denominations, according to ELCA records.

While the number is relatively small, ELCA defectors have moved faster than any other dissenting group to re-organize.

Read more:

http://www.gazette.com/articles/church-109401-lutheran-united.html#ixzz17tltyQy9

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Priest and Pueblo attorney general interpret plea agreement in different ways


From Denver-

The Rev. Don Armstrong, who founded St. George's Anglican Church after he and his congregation lost the battle for the Grace Church building in Colorado Springs, called the disposition Friday of his criminal theft case "divine intervention."

Pueblo District Attorney Bill Thiebaut, whose office provided a special prosecutor, called the disposition "just." And the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, which last year took back Grace Church in civil court from Armstrong after he became an Anglican priest, said the end of the criminal case would bring "healing to all those harmed by Armstrong's actions."

Yet reports and interpretation of the plea deal have created confusion.

Since 2009 Armstrong had faced 20 counts of felony theft, totaling $392,000, allegedly taken from his own Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish.

The diocese accused him of criminal conduct, but most St. Stephen's parishioners supported Armstrong's denials of wrongdoing. Most also joined him in breaking away from the Episcopal Church in May 2007 to join theologically conservative Anglicans opposed to the ordination of openly gay or lesbian priests and same-sex marriage.

Armstrong, 61, and his attorney, Dennis Hartley, have said in statements and interviews recently that the charges were reduced to one "fictitious" count of misdemeanor theft. They called it close to a dismissal.

"It is still his contention he did nothing wrong," Hartley said Monday.


Read more:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16128975#ixzz10A8kjb12

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Ex-Episcopal priest from Colorado Springs pleads no contest to theft


From Colorado Springs- The parish (St. George's) is a CANA congregation listed on the ACNA web site.

Pueblo special prosecutor Stephen Jones announced Friday that former Episcopal priest Donald Armstrong, ex-pastor of Grace Church in Colorado Springs, has entered a "no-contest" plea to felony theft in exchange for a deferred judgment and sentence.

Armstrong, 61, indicted by a 4th Judicial District grand jury in 2009 on 20 counts of felony theft, was accused of embezzling almost $300,000 from church and trust funds over eight years to pay for his two children's college.

Armstrong and his loyal congregation already lost a civil trial last year to determine who owned Grace Church and St. Stephen's Parish, a historic downtown property valued at about $17 million. The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado won back the church that Armstrong's congregation had been occupying.

"The recent actions taken by the court in the criminal proceedings against Don Armstrong bring closure to a very sad chapter in the life of this diocese," Bishop Robert J. O'Neill said.
Armstrong, theologically more conservative than the Episcopal Church had become, broke away in May 2007 to form a new Anglican congregation.

An Ecceliastical Trial Court in 2007 removed him as an Episcopal priest of the diocese after finding him guilty of stealing a total of $392,000 from parish-controlled coffers.

Armstrong denied the charges and stayed put in the Grace Church building. After a civil court judge ordered him to give it back to the diocese, Armstrong and his breakaway congregation moved to a new building they called St. George's Anglican Church.


Read more:

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_16107170#ixzz0zsnSr5Lo