Happy Christmas friends,
Greetings from San Diego! I hope this week has been full of good news for you. Yesterday, my family received word that my youngest brother and his spouse welcomed their first child, Evelyn. Along with that news, I heard my cousin, Tim, proposed and is now engaged to his fiancee, Kati.
On behalf of the Simpson UMC staff, I wanted to express our deep gratitude for your generous Christmas gifts and kind notes.
We will have worship on Sunday, December 31st at 10 AM, led by Rev. Megan. She will preach on one of my favorite pieces of Scripture and lead us in exploring the power of ritual to renew our courage and joy to face the future. Following worship, we will begin putting away the Christmas decorations. I would greatly appreciate it if you could help.
Thank you,
Rev. Brian
This Week’s Announcements
- Sunday Morning Worship on December 31st – Please join us in person or by Zoom for a Lessons and Carols service at 10 AM on December 31st. The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/
87520951862?pwd= VUZ1QkNMd2ZvSTZYVVd0eElIUVZkQT 09. - Christmas Decorations – Following worship on December 31st and January 7th, we will begin to put away the Christmas decorations, and your help would be appreciated. If you are available to help, it would be greatly appreciated.
- Sock Tree – Simpson will collect new or gently used winter adult socks for Mission Arvada’s clothing bank. Socks are one of the most requested items at homeless shelters. Throughout Advent, please bring the socks and hang them on the tree in the Narthex.
- Breakfast Casseroles for Mission Arvada – Everyone is welcome to come to the kitchen at 8:30 AM on January 14th to help make breakfast casseroles for Mission Arvada. These breakfast casseroles are a hardy part of the free breakfast that Mission Arvada provides to our houseless neighbors. If you want to be a leader in this effort, please get in touch with Rev. Brian.
- December Newsletter is now available – The December newsletter can be downloaded here.
- End-of-Year Gifts – As we approach the end of 2023, this is a friendly reminder to send in your end-of-year gifts soon so they are postmarked on or before December 31st, 2023, to be credited as 2023 contributions.
- Pastoral Care for Week of December 25th – Rev. Brian will be out of town the week of December 25th. He will be returning on January 1st, 2024. If you need pastoral care, please get in touch with Rev. Megan at 303-917-5208 or RevMegan@
WestminsterUnitedMethodist. org.
Community Prayers
- If you want to share prayers with the Simpson community, please contact Rev. Brian at revbrian@simpsonumc.com or request a prayer request.
Upcoming Events
- Call for AANHPI Artists – The Denver Asian American Pacific Islander Commission (DAAPIC), in collaboration with other Colorado AAPI organizations, is proudly hosting a free, family-friendly Lunar New Year celebration. They are seeking Colorado-based Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) artists to submit work for a one-day art show, “Reclaiming and Celebrating AANHPI Identity,” as part of the community Lunar New Year celebrations at McNichols Center in Denver, Colorado. The submission deadline is Monday, January 1st, 2024. You can read the submission guidelines here and submit your application here. Please share this opportunity with AANHPI artists you know.
Other Items
- Asian Camp – The dates for Asian Camp have been announced. For incoming 6th-9th graders, Junior High Camp will be at Camp Lodestar from June 23rd to June 28th, 2024. For incoming 10th-grade to sophomores in college, Asian Camp will be at Camp Gilmore from July 14th to July 19th, 2024. For more information about Asian Camp, please visit their website and check out their FAQ.
- Loveland Museum Exhibits – The Loveland Museum has two exhibits of interest that will close on January 14th, 2024. The first one is Manzanar: The Wartime Photographs of Ansel Adams, a photographic exhibition showing Adams’s work that protested the treatment of Japanese Americans. The second one is Witness to Wartime: The Painted Diary of Takuichi Fujii, an art exhibit showing Fujii’s illustrated diary during his incarceration at Minidoka. Another exhibit of interest is Living at Amache, which will close on March 3rd, 2024. This exhibit will present historical information and objects related to the gardens grown at Amache and the silk screen shop that produced 250,000 posters.
- Simpson Community Questions – In November, Rev. Brian hosted a town hall to ask the Simpson community three questions. You can fill out this online form if you couldn’t attend and would like to respond to Rev. Brian’s questions.
- Church Calendar – The calendar on Simpson’s website is now updated! Please visit it to see what’s going on at Simpson. Please email events@simpsonumc.com if you would like to add events and programs hosted at Simpson to the calendar so that others can be a part of things.