Community events play an important role in our goal of creating whole-life disciples of Christ. Here are some of the highlights from 2023.

SUMMER IN THE SPIRIT

Over the summer we embarked on a parish partnership with St. Gabriel’s Cherry Hills and Epiphany Denver which centered around the Holy Spirit, entitled Summer in the Spirit. Sunday liturgies featured preaching and teaching on the Holy Spirit as revealed to us in Scripture and the life of the church. The three-month series also included pulpit swaps, with pastors from collaborating parishes visiting one another! It all culminated with a joint worship service on August 27, 2023 at Christ Church. What a great way to learn to create a sense of community while learning about the Holy Spirit.

EL HOGAR TRIP

The Christ Church 2023 team was the first group El Hogar welcomed to its campuses since the pandemic. Eight of us (two teens and six adults) spent a very full week in Honduras and were blessed beyond measure by El Hogar’s hospitality. Highlights include playing games with middle and high school students, listening to mothers of the younger students share their stories, and visiting the neighborhoods where El Hogar day students live. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, we prayed with and for a young woman who works on behalf of forgotten children in Honduras. In return, we humbly received the prayers of an El Hogar alum who blessed us on our last day. Our perspectives and understanding of poverty in Honduras shifted. Our capacity to care increased. And we came away inspired by the work of El Hogar and enchanted by the beauty and culture in Honduras. The added bonus was the opportunity to live in Christian community with members of our Christ Church Denver family.

WEEKEND AWAY

Over 170 people joined this year’s annual all church retreat in Buena Vista, CO. Our 2023 theme was Community: Living Life and Faith Together. We explored Belonging, Sharing, Growing, Transforming with Fr. Terry and Unity + Maturity with Fr. Joseph. It was another weekend of amazing worship with Dan and the Band, campfires, s’mores, poolside chats and relaxing at Trail West Young Life Camp.

This weekend could not be possible without the many volunteers who offer their talents to make this event happen. Bob Hodges led an amazing team of work crew who worked behind the scenes facilitating our meal times. Adam Pierson and Zack Ruybal made magic in the tech booth running our general sessions, talent show and Sunday’s live stream. Tammie and her team had exciting programs for the kids. Carol Hard did an amazing job with the housing puzzle. Dennis and Shirley Ridgley assembled our prayer team. Linda Hodges was our camp nurse. And, as always, the Christ Church family showed up at the talent show for a night of hilarious, and sometimes serious, entertainment.

Thank you to all who attended and made the weekend happen. We look forward to another amazing weekend in 2024.

Submitted by Michele Pierson

JESUS THROUGH MEDIEVAL EYES

Dr. Grace Hamman is a writer, speaker, and scholar with a passion for sharing the beauty and truth found in old books . . . AND, she just happens to be a Christ Church parishioner! We were blessed to have her guide us on our October 2023 Denver Art Museum tour. The tour melded the art history expertise of DAM’s docents with theological reflections from Grace and Fr. Joseph. Participants interacted with art in a whole new way, deepening their spiritual lives while learning the value of seeing Jesus ‘through medieval eyes’.

ADVENT QUIET DAY

In December, the Daughters of the King from both Christ Church and St. Gabriel’s worked together to host an Advent Quiet Day at St. Gabe’s featuring Dr. Kathleen Mulhern. Over 60 people from both parishes turned out to prepare their hearts for the coming of Jesus. Drawing on the O Antiphons, the morning showcased reflections, images, silence, and sharing which helped strengthen participants prayers in the weeks before the celebration of the Incarnation.