Last week I had the opportunity to visit Plains and Peaks Presbytery, which covers Northeastern Colorado and Western Nebraska. I was anticipating this trip because it was the first time I ever visited Colorado. Upon landing at the Denver airport, I was picked up by Sharon Cely, the new Presbytery Moderator who drove me to Fort Collins and the Holiday Inn Express, my home for the next two nights. Then I headed to Harmony Presbyterian Church where the two-day stated presbytery meeting was to take place. I had lunch with the Committee on Preparation for Ministry before the meeting. I had the opportunity to meet Larry Kunter, the pastor who has served there for 30 years. The church began as a new church development and Larry was the organizing pastor. It is a neat church that focuses on being led by the Holy Spirit. I began my time with an hour Q & A about my Vice-Moderator experiences then later on that evening I preached for the Presbytery's worship service and commissioning of their GA commissioners and Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD). The meeting's theme was "The Marks of the Church: The Church is One" and I preached on Ephesians 4:1-16. After worship, I was invited to Elder and Commissioned Lay Pastor (CLP) Bob Gump's home with other CLP's, family and staff for discussion about the PCUSA and the role of CLP's in the denomination. It was a great way to wind down and relax after a long day.
The next day the presbytery meeting went until noon and two of the highlights of the meeting were the Presbyterian Praise Puppetry and a delegation from the Chawama Presbyterian Church of Lusaka, Zambia attended as a part of their relationship with Central Presbyterian Church in Longmont, CO. They led the presbytery in a great traditional African Christian song! !
I had lunch with the staff of the presbytery at The Olive Garden. Dan Saperstein, Executive Presbyter, and I drove up to the mountains where we visited Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center. Maria Shupe is the Executive Director and we met last year at the Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center Association (PCCCA) annual gathering in Little Rock, AR. It is a beautiful facility and I hope you have the opportunity to visit sometime. We also went through the resort town of Estes Park and headed to dinner at the Bent Fork Grill in Loveland for dinner with Dan's wife along with Nathan and Jennifer Soule-Hill, the new co-pastors of Family of Christ Presbyterian Church in Greeley. They are a great young couple pastoring a very progressive and missional congregation. I had a great time talking with them and wish them well in the new call.
The next day I preached the 9:30 a.m. traditional service at Mountain View Presbyterian Church in Loveland, CO where Gary LeTourneau is the pastor. At the same time, Associate Pastor Jim Webb leads a Contemporary Worship service so you get to have your choice of worship style. Afterward I had another Q & A session in the Sanctuary, was taken to lunch at 3 Margaritas and taken back to the airport to fly back to Raleigh.
I had a great time with the people of Plains and Peaks. They had some great stories to share and I really found out that we are a denomination of small churches - I heard about some churches in Eastern Co. - Western Nebraska that were tiny but are faithful to fulfilling God's mission. Special thanks to Moderator Sharon Cely, Stated Clerk Lynn Smit, Executive Presbyter Dan Saperstein and to Bob and Sylvia Dooling for all their help and assistance. I hope to come back soon!
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