From Wednesday, December 8
A night of singing, reading about, and longing for Jesus, our coming King.
in Blog
Earlier this week the Denver County Health Department issued a Public Health order requiring masks at all indoor public gatherings. Starting this Sunday, November 28th, we will be requiring masks at all Park Church gatherings.
As we have throughout the pandemic, we are following the directives of the local government and seeking to love our broader community by doing our part to slow the spread of the virus so that hospitals can have capacity to help those who need it. Below is a link to the full public health order if you would like more information. We are so thankful for this church body and we are praying for you this week.
If you were at our Family Meeting on Monday, October 25, you may remember hearing about our new Member Covenant Renewal process. In short, for the Elders and Staff of Park Church to shepherd and care for our Covenant Members well, it’s essential that we know who you are! If you are a Covenant Member at Park Church, we’re asking you to begin renewing your commitment on an annual basis.
Why are we doing this? First, this annual practice helps us organize our approach to shepherding members of our church family. Second, and even more, we’re calling ourselves to a rhythm of remembrance—remembering what Jesus has done to make us part of His family and what it practically looks like to live into this reality:
Through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus, those who trust in Him are ushered into covenant relationship with the Triune God and with the spiritual family He has created. This is the Church. While it is true that every Christian is inseparably united to Jesus and His people by the work of Jesus alone, to practically experience and actively live in this reality, we must commit to a local expression of this universal family of God—a local church.
If you are a Covenant Member of Park Church, please take a few minutes to complete the form linked below. It will walk you through the main components of our Membership Covenant—both what we commit to you as well as what you commit to the church. Lastly, there is space for you to let us know how we can more effectively come alongside you as a member of our church.
NOT CURRENTLY A COVENANT MEMBER?
Our next membership class, called Foundations, will happen in Spring of 2022. We will share more info about that class as it approaches.
HAVE QUESTIONS FIRST? NOT RENEWING?
Contact us at renew@parkchurch.org
Our artwork for the ongoing Mission of God course is an illustration by Bruce Butler. Three overlapping circles contain depictions of three cities (from top to bottom): the heavenly Jerusalem as described in Revelation 21, the “City on a Hill” as described in Matthew 5, and the Tower of Babel as described in Genesis 11. The cities are connected by a depiction of the River of Life (Revelation 22). This illustration reads in two directions—from top to bottom and from bottom to top.
Read from bottom to top, the humanity-wide quest to live a meaningful life in a broken world starts by default at the Tower of Babel. If we are not working towards God’s mission, the next mission we pursue is our own.
Although we may be able to do incredible things as individuals or as a culture, the charge to mankind was to image God in the world, not simply to image ourselves. In grace to us, God breaks up our godless work. Jesus comes with a new city in mind, a “city on a hill” that “cannot be hidden.” We are invited to be members of this city, displaying Jesus’ upside-down kingdom in the sight of all people. In ironic contrast to Babel (a city that wanted its works to be widely visible but was then abandoned at God’s decree), Jesus expressly charges the city on a hill to have its good works seen! However, it is for the glory of “your Father who is in heaven.” Lastly, we are invited higher again through Jesus’ vision to John of the heavenly Jerusalem, a “cube of meeting” that represents the holy of holies in the temple. The city on a hill of our present age ultimately becomes the heavenly Jerusalem, where heaven and earth finally meet in fullness.
Read from top-to-bottom, the River of Life flows from the heavenly Jerusalem down onto the City on a Hill. This city acts as a watershed, and a “preview” of this river is precipitated to the world through it. Two things are intended in this illustration. First, God abundantly provides from heaven for those who seek to be on His mission. For example, we have the Holy Spirit, we have His incredible promises through His Word, and we are on mission within a community and inspired by the faithful before us. Second, the world that is not yet on mission with God receives a sort of gracious, River of Life “rain” by the faithfulness of God’s people as we seek to image Him. Though far different than drinking from the river, feeling its mist makes the human heart yearn for more. “Therefore, we are ambassadors… God making His appeal…” (2 Corinthians 5:20).
Lastly, the circles overlap as a way to illustrate that we are truly “residents” of all three cities. We often pursue our own missions like the people of Babel, and the “rain” of the River of Life is for our coming-to. We likewise often join Jesus in His mission and demonstrate Him to the world, empowered by heaven and its King. Ultimately, “we seek the city that is to come” (Hebrews 13:13), to which we belong as a result of Jesus’ work, enjoying Him and His completed mission until we drink straight from the river with all the redeemed.
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Gary and Kaitlin sit down in the sanctuary at the Highlands Building to discuss how their families observe the Sabbath. Their conversation on the Sabbath includes the ups and the downs, pizza on paper plates, standing on chairs, and experiencing a God-given rhythm that is well worth its sacrifice.
Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.
Person: James Stukenberg
James Stukenberg is a photographer based in Denver. Since relocating to Colorado from Wisconsin in 2018 he has freelanced, photographing editorial and commercial assignments. He and his wife, Anne, have a daughter, Henrietta, and are expecting another child in December.Piece: Photography
Upon first look, Psalm 119 may simply read as a straightforward declaration of the beauty and truth of the Word of God—an unwavering devotion from someone brimming with confidence in their Creator. But these praises aren’t offered lightly by someone who has been handed a life of ease. The psalmist is enveloped in struggle—struggle with his own brokenness and struggle with the brokenness of the world that surrounds him. He senses the threat of succumbing to these forces.
I’m drawn to the tension between the psalmist’s firm belief in God’s goodness towards him and his broken-life experience that causes him to approach God in vulnerability, crying out “Do not utterly forsake me!” I identify with the position of the psalmist as I wade through my own season of struggle—questioning my purpose and identity, feeling isolated and unknown, longing for a sense of home and wholeness. Engaging with the corresponding darker emotions with a raw honesty towards self and God is the first step toward hope and healing.
The process of making these photos was reflective and instinctive—as I read and considered Psalm 119, I let it inform my thinking and seeing, intuitively making images that resonate with this emotional state shared with the psalmist. This short series overlaps with a larger ongoing body of work, visible at the link below.
See complete series
Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.
Person: Tamara Carey
I am a wife and mama learning with my husband and our children about God and the world He made. I am privileged to walk alongside others as we together seek to know and love Him more, ever aware that we are all sheep in need of our Good Shepherd.Piece: Mixed Media
Imagine a shepherd beginning to write this song as he watches his sheep, writing the Hebrew alphabet and capturing his love for God’s words, panting for the Word and earnestly desiring to walk in it. His sheep are close by and even wandering across this piece after he sets it down to seek after a lost lamb.
Psalm 119 is beautiful. It is daunting. We see an author’s absolute love for the Word of God and his to walk in God’s commandments with his whole heart,.Yet we also see a keen awareness of his inclination not to do so, requiring complete reliance on his Shepherd.
I wanted to do a rough, raw piece, helping us imagine the potential roots of this psalm.
It has been a gift to gather in-person again after a long and often lonely season. We are so thankful for this, yet we also recognize that this pandemic is not over. We are all working through how to live in that difficult tension.
Given the updated CDC and City of Denver guidelines and in accordance with local school districts, as of Sunday, August 15 we are:
- Requesting that everyone wear a mask during Sunday worship gatherings
- Requiring that everyone wear a mask in all Park Kids areas
- We are not taking temperatures, requiring registration, or enforcing social distancing.
Our mask policy for Sunday worship gatherings is a “request” because, although wearing a mask is a personal choice (and one that we will honor), we want to be a community that sacrificially loves others around us. We see this as an easy and important way to do that, helping prevent further spread of the disease in our area and taking special consideration for those in our community that have weakened immune systems.
Our mask policy for all Park Kids areas is a requirement because children under 12 cannot yet be vaccinated.
We will continue to provide updates if and when guidelines change. We also understand not everyone will agree with these requests, but we pray that, even so, we will all move forward with a spirit of graciousness towards and preference for one another’s interests as we are encouraged in Philippians 2:4.
Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.
Person: John Forney
I am a graphic designer and musician from the East Coast. I came out to Colorado 20 years ago and have been here ever since. My wife, Veronica, and I can often be found riding trains throughout Colorado with our 10-year old, Grayson. I’m a self-taught black and white photographer shooting with old school 8×10 large-format and medium-format cameras.Piece: Photography
The longest chapter in the Bible is continuously focused on the Word of God. His Word is our light. It’s full of promise. It’s our path. It preserves us. It’s our delight. The Word of God is precious. It brings hope. It’s sweeter than honey.
This image was taken on a hot summer afternoon during a tornado warning. It reminds me that at all times, and especially in dark stormy times, His Word is our light and hope.
Learn more about Christ in the Psalms weekly artwork and see previous pieces here.
Person: Danielle Damrell
Hello! I’m Danielle Damrell, a local artist and creative motivator based out of Aurora, Colorado. Creating has always played a key role in guiding me through processing both trauma and pain as well as joy and freedom. God has recently been guiding me through a journey of discovering how I can share the messages and tools He has taught me over the past many years. I hold a B.A. degree from Colorado Christian University in Communication focused specifically in public speaking because I have felt a calling to use my voice to point others towards His freedom since I was young. In June I launched a podcast called Created Worthy where I provide a platform for women to share their stories. Together we discover the threads of creative processing that already exist in all of our lives. This is an exciting part of this journey God has ordained. He has used it to merge my passion and business of creating with my calling of connecting and sharing testimonies of God’s grace, forgiveness, and redemption. There is NOTHING God cannot redeem, and I pray that my life serves as evidence of this truth.Piece: Mixed Media
Psalm 118 is a beautiful Psalm that reminds me of the comfort and peace that God alone can provide. When I began to process Psalm 118 to create this piece, I just felt like the image that came to mind was that of darkness closing in around us, specifically as believers. This world is constantly filled with messages and distractions that may look tempting and beautiful but only lead to places of destruction.
All the nations surrounded me; in the name of the Lord, I cut them off!They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side; in the name of the Lord I cut them off!I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” (vv10–11; 13–14)
My plan for this piece was actually to paint a much more detailed scene but I felt the Lord saying: “STOP—My message for my people is simple. This is my world, but darkness lives within it. I am at the center, however, and when you choose me, you experience protection that no darkness can infiltrate. As long as I am the King of your heart, you will be strong enough to withstand everything you go through in this life. Do you understand that it’s my steadfast love that endures FOREVER? I am with you. FOREVER.”
The gold around the edges of the piece represent His presence that is everywhere; this is HIS world.
The blue “blobs” represent the darkness and pain that each one of experience throughout life. Sometimes is gets really hard and hits extremely close to our hearts. Sometimes it looks dynamic, light, and beautiful, but it’s those temptations that take us the furthest from our center—King Jesus. The gold chain heart represents our hearts when we choose Jesus. The gold crown in the middle represents Jesus, our stability, strength, and our song.
This is a mixed media piece made up of acrylic paint, metal chain, clay, and gold leafing. The process of creating this piece was an incredible blessing to my life. I painted this on Mother’s Day, a day that is typically very painful for me. I set the scene to do some intentional creative processing on this day—My incredible husband and daughter gave me the house to my self and I channeled all the darkness and pain in my heart into each brush stroke. Slowly but surely the pain turned to joy and the darkness turned to light. I sat with my Bible open to Psalm 118 and turned worship music on as loud as possible. My singing became louder and louder as I began to experience the freedom found in seeking Jesus while simultaneously creating space for my trauma to surface and release. This painting represents so much more than I could ever put into words, but the message of His steadfast love enduring forever became more clear than ever before. I “give thanks to the Lord, for HE IS GOOD; for his STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!” (v29)