Christ Church opens a door of hospitality
to the world around us
through ministries to the community
and to newcomers in faith and fellowship
Alpha
Ministries
The Alpha Course is designed to help participants explore
the Christian faith while experiencing Christian community.
Alpha focuses on those new to the church, and not yet in
the church, encouraging all questions and respecting all
view-points while plainly presenting the elements of a
faithful, healthy Christian life. Alpha is also an
excellent place for any Christian to examine the faith and
experience Christian community. The initial teachings are
given by Nicky Gumbel (very humorous and down to earth) in
a 15 week video series coupled with a small group
discussion. Depending on the time of day offered, a light
meal may be provided. This course is offered at least once
a year, and more often if there is enough interest. We
encourage everyone to attend the Alpha Course as part of
their life at Christ Church.
Many volunteers make the work for this ministry more
manageable for everyone. We have broken the tasks down into
four areas.
Set Up: One hour before each meeting to set tables,
help organize food, etc.
Clean Up: One hour after the video presentation to
clear tables, put away tables and chairs.
Meal Preparation: Several groups take on the task of
preparing a simple meal each week.
Small Group Facilitators: The number of group
leaders varies based on the number of attendees. We like to
have 2 leaders per small group. Preferable commitment is
for the full 15 weeks. First time attendees do not
volunteer. They attend the teaching and the small groups.
Schuyler Totman
The Bridge
The Bridge is a ministry for young adults, both single and
married. It meets the 1st and 3rd Thursday evenings, from
6:30—9:30 p.m. for dinner and Bible study and on the
4th Thursday for a social evening. The Bridge provides a
place of welcome, a place to connect with others and Christ
Church, a place to "plant," and a place to find community.
It serves as a transitioning place into the larger church
and provides basic discipleship in the Christian faith.
Members of the group take turns cooking dinner, setting up
and cleaning up for the meal. Members are encouraged to
practice facilitating the Bible Study as part of the
discipleship process. Basic pastoral care for members is
also a shared responsibility.
Amy Parker / Fr. Tom Danitschek
Children's Welcomers
Family-friendly, knowledgeable adults stationed at various
doors to the church to welcome families and children to
direct them to appropriate places on Sunday morning. One
Sunday a month at the service of your choice.
Kay Harlan
DU Ministry
Many young people are searching for meaning during the
college years, and are open to making changes in their
lives, which is an excellent time to reach out to them with
the Good News. Since Christ Church is less than two miles
from the University of Denver (DU), providing a church home
for out of town students is important. This ministry is
still in the developmental stages. If you are interested in
helping to develop a vision for working with college
students please contact the ministry leaders.
Jen Smaldone / Michael James / Hilary Burg
Funeral Coordinator
This is a ministry of welcome and support to bereaved
family and friends who are attending a funeral at Christ
Church. The funeral coordinators act as liaisons between
the priests and mortuary personnel and the family. They
take care of the non-service details and assist mortuary
people in understanding nuances of our denomination
service. They meet family at the door and are available to
them for any needs or requests they may have. More
volunteers are needed at this time. Since notice of
funerals is short, volunteers are not always available. A
larger pool of names to draw from would be helpful. Funeral
Coordinators arrive 1 – 1-1/2 hours prior to
the funeral beginning and remain for 1-1/2 - 2 hours after
the funeral.
Alice Quist
Funeral Reception Coordinator
This is a ministry to bereaved family and friends of Christ
Church members when there is need for a reception following
a funeral at the church. Notice is usually short and the
Team must make arrangements, do the setup, serve the people
attending, and then do the clean up. At this time there are
only three people on this team. The ideal would be to have
three to six more people which would allow for one or two
more teams which could rotate this duty. On the day of the
funeral, the team spends approximately six hours at the
church.
Jerry Mille / Mary Eleanor Cockerham / Gladys
Waggener
Greeters
Greeters are charged with welcoming parishioners, newcomers
and visitors at the regular Sunday services. Volunteers
answer questions regarding the events happening at Christ
Church and help people find their way to classes and
services. These volunteers staff the newcomers and welcome
tables and help with nametags. Preferred commitment is
quarterly, one Sunday a month at the service of your
choice. Training is available as needed.
Bob Melhoff
Guild of the Christ Child
This ministry draws a connection between the parish family
into which an infant has been baptized and that child. A
welcome packet, relevant literature and cards are sent to
the child on eight different occasions during the first
three years after baptism.
Director: Someone who oversees the ministry and maintains
and updates the list of children.
Correspondents
People who write the cards and mails them.
Intercessors
People who commit to pray for the children and their
families.
Peggy Bridgforth
MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers)
MOPS is a support group for mothers of young children 0-5
years of age. They meet at 9:00 am on the 2nd and 4th
Thursdays each month during the school calendar year. There
is a craft and a guest speaker at each meeting, as well as
small group discussions. Christian fellowship is provided
and mothers enjoy a stimulating speaker as well as
FINISHING a craft project. Nursery care and children's
programs are provided at every meeting. In addition, they
have planned summer activities to keep the moms in touch
and provide planned activities for the children. Nursery
care-givers and Moppets teachers are paid professionals.
Any mom of a 0-5 year old is eligible to attend MOPS. There
is a small fee involved, but the first meeting is free.
Mentor Moms serve as resources and good listeners to the
moms' group.
Current Mentors Moms are Mary Day, Jennie Freeman, Kay
Harlan, Stephanie Carpenter and Heather Moran
Newcomers Ministry
The Newcomers Ministry is the process of inviting and
welcoming people into the church community so they may
discover if Christ Church is their home, and then become
integrated into the community. It also involves getting
newcomers "connected" to different activities and
ministries within the Christ Church community.
Hospitality: Newcomers brunches, dinners, classes,
newcomer recognition ceremonies
Membership: Database administration, membership
mailings
Public relations: Bulletin announcements, signage,
press releases, Good News articles, t-shirt sales, etc.
Collateral: Brochures
Jen Smaldone
Scrapbook Fellowship
This is a small group opportunity open to anyone to work
together on their photo albums with support and time to
socialize. It is a great way to get to know people, and an
easy way to introduce friends to the church. We meet
approximately once a month on the last Friday evening or
Saturday afternoon of the month, depending on space
availability. Set-up and Take-Down before or after an
event: This would involve coming about 20 minutes before a
crop, or staying afterwards to help cleanup.
Kim Moon / Lisa McFarland
Summer Friends and Fun
A three to four week summer program Bible study-based and
designed to welcome neighbors and friends. It offers a
place for neighborhood children and their families to enjoy
summer friends and activities. This program is for children
three years old to fifth grade. Activities include Bible
stories, drama, games, music, snacks and water play. This
is a fun way to develop new friends.
Many volunteers are needed to make this program work
smoothly. We need: Classroom Assistants, Music Staff, Drama
Staff, Snack Coordinators, and Game Coordinators. Preferred
commitment: four mornings a week, 3-4 weeks in July, from
9:00 am to noon. (Two week minimum.)
Kay Harlan
Treasureland Ministries
Treasureland Preschool opened its doors in 1956 and
has been offering quality childhood education to the
community ever since. Recently Christ Church has expanded
its mid-week educational opportunities to young children by
adding a Transitional Kindergarten and Wee Treasures, a
parents day out program. These programs are licensed by the
State of Colorado, and for the past 3 years Treasureland
has been accredited by the National Association for the
Education of Young Children (NAEYC). All classes are
staffed by teachers trained and certified in early
childhood education.
Our goal is to manifest God's love to families
– to children and parents alike. Fellowship
groups and individual support are byproducts of the
programs that fill the needs of families and children to be
connected to others experiencing the same challenges and
decisions.
Wee Treasures (Parents Day Out)
A four-day-a-week program for one and two year olds. 9:00
am -1:00 pm. Teacher student ratio is 1-5.
Treasureland Preschool
Two classes:
Three-year-olds attend Monday and Wednesday, 9:00
am—11:30 am. Teacher student ratio is 1-10.
Four-year-olds attend Tuesday, Thursday and Friday,
9:00 am—11:30 am. Teacher student ratio is 1-10.
Transitional Kindergarten
Five-year-olds attend Monday through Friday, 9:00
am–noon. Teacher student ratio is 1-10.
1. Work Group: Two to three times a year this group
would help clean-up the playground and classrooms in
preparation for new classes. This group would work with the
staff to implement any changes that are needed.
2. Clerical Help: There is a constant need for help
with filing, photocopying, collating, and preparing
materials for all three ministries. Hours are flexible and
some work can be done at home.
3. Annual Bake Sale: Bakers are needed who would
like to donate cookies, cakes, or other goodies to this
annual fund raiser.
4. Financial Support: Since its inception,
Treasureland has offered scholarships to families with
demonstrated needs as well as the children of clergy,
missionaries. Donations to the Mickey Riddell Scholarship
Fund cover the expenses of these children. All support is
very much appreciated.
Tina Wise
Ushers
This is a ministry to all people who attend any service at
Christ Church. The ushers greet people, answer questions,
pass out bulletins, help with seating, take the
collections, and assist with Holy Communion by providing
the clergy with a count of parishioners present, bringing
the gifts of bread and wine forward and helping with the
logistics of the parishioners coming to the rail to receive
the Communion. There is currently a need for ushers at the
7:30 am. and 9:00 am services. Training is done on the job.
Ushers are asked to arrive 15 minutes before their assigned
service and remain for approximately 10 minutes after to
remove bulletins, etc. from the pews. Ushers are scheduled
to serve approximately once per month and are needed for
holiday services and occasionally for funerals.
Spence Flournoy
Website Webmaster
In this computer age, maintaining an informative and
inviting presence on the web is one way we reach out to
newcomers. We need to be constantly updating and improving
our webpage at christchurchdenver.org. We are looking for a
few experienced techies who will take on the responsibility
of maintaining our webpage. This position requires computer
and communication skills.
Rick Schock
Wedding Team Coordinators
The Wedding Coordinators facilitate a group of volunteers
to insure that bride/groom and families follow Church/Book
of Common Prayer guidelines for wedding ceremonies and
receptions. They also assist the bride/groom with any
special needs or requests. This is an outreach to members
of the parish and their families and assists in making the
wedding flow smoothly. The hope is that weddings will be a
joyful experience for all involved. This is a way of
showing Christ's love to one another. Training is done on
the job as trainees work with experienced wedding
coordinators. Weddings are worked with a team of two. A
wedding schedule for the year is sent out to members and
they indicate which wedding(s) they can help with. The time
commitment varies with each wedding but the average is to
spend two hours the night of the rehearsal. On the day of
the wedding the wedding coordinators arrive approximately
two hours ahead of the scheduled wedding time to open the
church, greet the participants, etc. They remain through
the wedding ceremony itself and they for approximately 45
minutes afterwards while the pictures are being taken.
Kellee Jentz
* The following are "Dream" Ministries--ministries
Christ Church would like to implement in the future.
*Baptism Coordinator
Our dream is to create a team, modeled on the Funeral
Coordinators, that would help the staff prior to and during
Baptisms. These people would act as hosts to families,
attending to their needs, and other tasks as defined by the
clergy and staff. Since baptisms are scheduled in advance,
this team could rotate according to availability and
service preference. Volunteers would need to arrive early
to welcome and assist families and stay a short time after
the service to attend to any last minute needs.
Lisa McFarland
*Drop off, Decompress, Recharge Ministry
It is the dream of our staff that deal with families during
the week to have a gathering place, with coffee, for
parents to socialize after dropping off their children at
Treasureland classes. This ministry would be an outreach to
parents and create a place for them to build relationships,
share concerns, and offer support to other parents. A place
would need to be created near the north wing and be stocked
with all the supplies needed for a coffee-type ministry.
Any ideas?
Kay Harlan / Tina Wise