Our Ancestors of Faith
In our reading Sunday from 2 Timothy, we read encouragement to Timothy to persevere and stick with it. The author of the letter beckons back to Lois and Eunice, who were TImothy’s mother and grandmother, and apparently truly modeled the way of a life in faith. This is a great reminder that children learn from their parents and grandparents. I wonder who it is in your life who modeled the way of a life in faith for you?
We also read from the prophet Habakkuk, who lamented to God, “Why do you force me to look at violence and evil?” I can really relate to Habakkuk. It seems like everywhere we look there are terrible things, violent things, awful things. And I think that as we focus on them all the time, it becomes more and more difficult to us to see the positive and to persevere in our own faith. The ending of the reading from Habakkuk reminded us that God is coming, with good news, and when we receive it we must take it and run with it, sharing it with anyone with ears to listen.
We have a great opportunity to model a life in faith for all of the children and young adults who walk into this building. They have been seeing adults behaving badly in this country and across the globe. We can present a different side of things here as we seek to share a foretaste of the Kingdom of God . We model this by being kind to one another, being interested in each other’s lives, and by sharing the love and peace of God with each other. And I don’t mean just our friends and the ones we are comfortable with, I mean every person, old or young, who walks in those big wooden doors.
Sunday was World Communion Sunday, where Christians across the globe celebrate Eucharist on the same day. We had an opportunity to experience how beautiful the whole world could be on Sunday morning, as we traveled from station to station around the sanctuary, where different continents were represented with textiles, artwork, and regional bread. I saw a beautiful example of healthy, faithful interaction between the adults and the youth who were making their way around the room, tasting bread and touching the fabrics and sculptures on display.
I think that is how we can change the Church and the world. Starting here — we invest ourselves in each other. We show interest and love to one another in the spirit of Christ who commanded us to “Serve one another in love.”
Kudos to everyone who worked so hard to pull off this tremendous feast. It was a beautiful example of what the Kingdom of God can be like, and I feel so privileged to have seen it with my own eyes, and to serve a congregation who is so willing to invest themselves in each other.
In Celebration of Your Love to Each Other,
Rev. Paula
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CEH Extravagant Generosity Stewardship
In the parable of the Samaritan Jesus is calling us to “re-imagine the world” in a whole new way. Jesus is calling us NOW, to a re-imagined world of unconditional, open hearts, open minds, open arms compassion towards all. He expects us to go, now.
A re-imagined world of compassion is our call to stewardship today at Church of the Eternal Hills.
How do we show this type of compassion to all?
Through our Mission to Youth:
To put it simply, youth ministries at Church of the Eternal Hills are AWESOME! We provide a place for youth to grow, build friendships, volunteer, develop individual religious beliefs, and have a BLAST! Activities include youTHursdays, Bible Study Breakfast, bonfires, camp-outs, lock-ins, chapel praise band, game nights, hiking, biking, skiing, community service projects, and mission trips.
youTHursday: youTHursday meets every Thursday at 6:30 PM – 9:00 PM.
We start with a delicious, home-cooked dinner provided by church members. During dinner, youth share their “Lows and Highs” from the previous week. It’s a great time to learn about what is going on in each other’s lives, and support each other in our lows (the worst part of our week) and our highs (the best part of our week).
After dinner we have a meditative chapel time, filled with music, a short bible lesson and reflection, and prayer time.
Chapel is followed by our actual “Youth Group” time. We have a Middle School Group, led by Maggie Rainwater and an adult volunteer, and the High School Group, led by Pastor Paula and an adult volunteer. The focus for our youth group time is on life-application of our faith.
Youth Leadership Team: Students can apply to be part of the leadership team for youTHursdays. Our Leadership team gets to help plan games, activities, special events, and help our adult leaders choose topics to study. They also help with the set-up and clean-up for youTHursday and other events.
Tuesday Morning Bible Study: High School students are welcome to join Pastor Paula for a Bible Study and devotional time over breakfast at 7 AM on Tuesdays. Transportation to school is provided by Pastor Paula for non-driving students.
Grand Mission Experience: For the past two summers, our high school students have participated in service projects across Grand County. During this week long experience, the youth learn about poverty in our rural resort area and the non-profit and government agencies that are set up to assist. Along with games and good food, the youth gain an appreciation for these non-profit organizations as well as learn how they can assist those in need across our county.
Service Projects: our youth are great helpers around the church. Whether it be through re-stocking the food pantry with the donations from church members, or laying down mulch on our “Prayer Path,” the youth learn that they can be the hands and feet of Christ, and follow Jesus’ mandate to “Serve one another in love.” We keep in contact with our college aged students through sending them “Cram Boxes” packed with goodies to help them get through finals weeks in the fall and the spring.
Service Station: High School students will enjoy participating and even helping to lead the Service Station at 9 on Sunday mornings.
Praise Band: High School students with musical gifts are invited to help plan and play for the youth chapel band and can also play with our Sunday morning praise band.
