Reflections from Our I Am Calvary Series

Summer is coming to an end (but the heat is not) and with it our I Am Calvary series has concluded. We had twelve wonderful speakers this summer, and I learned more about them and gained valuable life advice.

From Jen Jonell, I learned the value of adventure, trying new things, and finding yourself within all of it. And I was inspired by all of her hard work to become a licensed counselor while raising a family. I had never considered therapy to be a creative process before hearing Jen's story.

From Ian Cummins Jr, I was inspired by his entrepreneurial spirit and his desire to give back to cancer research. To be so young and go through something so scary is quite incredible.

From our Calvary folks who came from Aurora Community Church (Ken and Cindy DeHate, Vonda Liming, Gary and Carol Howe, Mary Jane Fox, Bill and Robyn Warren) we learned their story of their church closing. You could hear gratitude and sadness in their voices, and it was nice to honor their story, see their photos and their memories. They showed that yes, there is a lot of sadness in life events, but there is hope to be found as well since they all found a church home here at Calvary.

As a theological scripture nerd I was delighted by willow carter's talk where she presented research she's done on the baptism of the Ethiopian Eunuch and Cornelius (Acts 8 and 10 respectively) as a gender mirrored pair of parallel narratives. It reminded me how biblical interpretation is ever-expansive, and it really is dependent on our own perspective and what we’re exposed to. It’s so comforting that at Calvary there isn’t one right way of biblical interpretation.

My own talk on the complicated feelings around Fourth of July was a good exercise for me. I don't always understand my own feelings, and so taking the time to intentionally peel back the layers was helpful. Perhaps it helped you understand millennials.

I heard a lot of positive feedback after the panel with our Facing Racism group. With the panel, we had handouts on chairs with common definitions within anti-racism, CNN article about racist source of different words, and a resource (books, documentaries etc) list. Getting to share about our anti-racism journeys with the congregation was very meaningful.

Min. Angela, Matt Nelson, Alyssa Hoffmeyer-Piltz, and Sai Hkam gave a report on their trip to Quest Camp in Green Lake, Wisconsin. It was a great way for the congregation to connect with our youth ministry. Alyssa shared that hearing about other people's experiences of drifting away from God and then coming back really normalized her own faith journey.

Sau Nam Mading has an amazing story of resilience as she fought gender inequality within the Kachin Baptist Convention, particularly for women in ministry. Her activism is inspiring. No matter what doors were shut in her face, she continued to work for women's equality in ministry. For many of us who interact with female pastors regularly, we can take it for granted.

Sheryl Crockett shared her story of a career through fashion design and education, and journeying with her husband and her sister through a cancer diagnosis and death. She shared the very real effects of grief, and normalized that it's okay to struggle with tragic events that life gives us.

Sara Sieker presented her life in decades, full of action and adventure, being a teacher and raising a family, climbing 14ers and biking. I was really inspired by her very full schedule of music, volunteering, exercise. As Cindy DeHate said, I wanna be Sara when I grow up.

Bill Leonard has a great laugh, and his gratitude and positivity for his life was inspiring. His family has lived in Denver for generations, he is a business owner, and loves the Broncos. He also shared the value of being in fellowship with those you don't agree with.

Alison Matthews has a passion for living life with an international perspective and not just staying within an American perspective. One of my favorite quotes oh hers was "I think prejudice is often generated when you have no experience with the group you have prejudice towards." Alison had so amazing stories about how her prejudice, especially prejudice she wasn't aware she had, was dismantled when interacting with different groups of people.

When I'm looking at the series as a whole, I was reminded repeatedly that we often don't take the time to fully understand people or get to know them. There is a lot of potential for compassion within storytelling. And I was reminded that life is for living. Don’t just try one career or one hobby and consider yourself done. Try lots of different jobs, hobbies, or places to live.

If you'd like to re-watch a talk, or you missed one, we have most of the recordings. Email cbc@calvarydenver.org for the link.

Thanks for a great summer of storytelling,

Pastor Alice