Missions

Adult Mission Trip Planned for August 2010

McCurdy School has been an important ministry of the whole United Methodist Church for almost one hundred years. It is a K-12 school that meets the educational needs of a community with limited economic resources.

The mission committee decided on McCurdy School for our first mission trip because it is relatively close, inexpensive, and is a ministry that needs the support of the UMC.

The work we’ll be doing will most likely not be determined until we get there. Some probable tasks that may engage us are building maintenance, repairs, and improvement work. We may also do work on the grounds such as landscaping or basic yard work. Sometimes there are off-campus projects at one of the nearby churches. As this is a volunteer project, we’ll be able to find work to suit the abilities of anyone who comes. The main thing to keep in mind is to stay flexible so that we can do what’s most needed for the school and community.

The work we’ll be doing is crucial to keeping McCurdy’s costs down, helping the school to focus its resources on education and student services.

The best part of going on this trip is the experience we’ll have as a group. We’ll develop as a church community and have a lot of fun. It’s a chance to really get to know people in the church and have new experiences together. We’ll also have some time to do a little exploring in the area.

Park Hill Church Community Garden Needs Your Help!

You may have noticed two new additions to the Park Hill UMC landscape lately - the new flower garden located on the corner of Forest and Montview, and the new vegetable garden located on the south lawn just inside the fence.

The vegetable garden will provide fresh, organic produce that will be used in our feeding programs. The produce will also be sold to the congregation to provide funding for our mission work. Take a look out there and you will see tomatoes, squash, collard greens, cucumbers, green beans and fresh herbs growing. The flower garden utilizes native grasses and flowering plants.

The Green Committee worked very hard to make the garden as "green" as possible by using organic seeds, and mulch that was provided by the City of Denver and made of recycled Christmas trees.

Grab some garden gloves and a trowel, bring the family and join in in the upkeep of these two gardens! Both gardens need to be weeded and tended to regularly. This is another excellent opportunity to join in the Mission Work of Park Hill UMC, and a fun family activity!

Park Hill UMC Community Dinner lifted up Nationally by the United Methodist Church!

On Saturday, April 24, Park Hill UMC served their 2nd Community Dinner which was held on "Change The World" weekend, a weekend in which United Methodist Churches throughout the world worked to provide positive change in their own communities. Click here to read about the Community Dinner and to view pictures.

Our effort was recognized by United Methodist Church Communications, which published an article on it! Click here to read their story.

Park Hill UMC Takes It To The Streets to Change the World

On Saturday, April 24, Park Hill UMC Mission Committee served their 2nd Community Dinner which was held on "Change The World" weekend, a weekend in which United Methodist Churches throughout the world worked to provide positive change in their own communities.

We set up for 200 guests, and sent a bus down to our first designated pickup location, where a solitary man, Tyrone, waited. Not discouraged, we brought him back to the church for our delicious taco dinner. We sent the bus to our second pick-up location, and there wasn't a single person. However, Judy O, who was driving the bus, noticed a park across the street from the Rescue Mission filled with people waiting to form a line for the evening, and thought we might try something different.

When Judy got back to the church, she announced that we were "Taking it to the street!" We started packing food into take-out clamshells, labeling the meals (which consisted of beef, chicken, or pork tacos with rice and beans, and different kinds of cake), loaded the meals onto the bus and took our dinner to Triangle Park. We had given out all of our meals within five minutes, and there were still hungry people, so we went back to the church, reloaded, and did it again.

We learned a few things. Sometimes when you work hard to plan something, God has other plans. Although we wanted to be wonderful hosts and bring the community into our building, it isn't always easy for people to do that - perhaps risk losing a place in line for a spot for the night, or having to carry all of your possessions onto a bus and into a building discourages people from coming to you. Sometimes you just have to go to the people. That is what we did, and as a result, we have decided that we need to do it again every 3 months (in addition to the two monthly feeding programs at off-site locations that we already have). On Saturday we put "Rethink Church" into action and as a result, have grown as a church community.

Mission

The Missions Team of Park Hill UMC works continuously to provide community outreach and global responsibility. Click here to read the most recent Mission Ministry Minutes.

Park Hill UMC has two established feeding programs, and a newly formed "Green Ministries Committee" to help us as a church community to reduce our carbon footprint.

We have two feeding programs that provide nutritious meals once a month, separately, to the VOA Senior Resource Center and at the Agape Christian Church in downtown Denver. In 2010 we will host a "Celebration Supper" for the community, and hope to expand our feeding programs. Join us!

Click here for information on the Agape Meal Program.

Click here for information on the VOA Senior Meal Program.

Click here for information on the Green Ministries Committee.