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About Us
A Church Where People are
Known
In the 10th
chapter of the Gospel of John, Jesus
says, “I am the Good Shepherd. I
know my own and my own know me.”
From Good Shepherd’s beginnings 30
years ago in the basement of
founding Vicar Art LeClair’s home to
our current congregation of 330
families and almost 900 members,
parishioners have experienced a
church community where they are
known, loved, empowered and cared
for. Along the way Good Shepherd has
grown from a small mission
congregation on the outskirts of
south Denver to a large, bustling
suburban congregation at the heart
of one of the fastest growing
communities in America.
A Church Where People Are
Involved and Encouraged to Share
How did this
happen? One of the ways has been
through the development of faith
sharing groups such as the Alpha
program and the Good Shepherd men’s
group. Another has been by making it
easy for people to get involved in
ministries and encouraging people to
share their gifts with the parish
and the wider community. A third way
is by providing regular fellowship
events for all ages where people can
stay connected and celebrate their
common life. Last but not least, the
people of Good Shepherd have kept a
solid focus on the worship of
God…worship that features excellent
music and dynamic preaching.
A Church Where People Are
Welcoming and Inclusive
Good Shepherd
is a community where people believe
in incarnating the love of Christ in
their lives by reaching out to those
in need and welcoming those who are
different from themselves. During
the past three years, this
atmosphere of welcome and tolerance
for diversity has been tested at
Good Shepherd as Episcopalians
wrestle on a diocesan and national
level with what it means to be an
inclusive church. This time of
testing has, for most parishioners,
strengthened their commitment to be
a parish that is welcoming to all
regardless of race, ethnicity or
sexual orientation.
Come and See!
We invite you
to “come and see”….to experience
the sense of belonging, the welcome,
the worship and the commitment to
service that so many parishioners at
Good Shepherd have found here.
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Our Mission
The mission
statement of Good Shepherd Church
states that we are “a community
gathered to intentionally focus on
God, through Christ, in the power of
the Holy Spirit by:
-
Learning. Through
Scripture, tradition, and life
experience, we seek to rely on
God in the ordinary and everyday.
-
Sharing our blessings
within and beyond our doors.
-
Living the Gospel of Christ
through love, forgiveness
and peace, not judgment or
condemnation.
The people of Good Shepherd carry
out this mission in several ways:
- through
dynamic Christian education
ministries for children, youth
and adults, and small-group
faith sharing groups.
- by
supporting through time, talent
and financial resources such
ministries as the St. Francis
Center in Denver (ministry to
the homeless), Bridgeway
(shelter and support for
pregnant teens), Covenant
Cupboard and WINN
ministries (emergency food and
clothing distribution), Diocesan
Jubilee Center (after school
programs ESL programs and food
bank), Sudanese refugee
resettlement, House of Hope
(homeless women’s shelter), the
Colorado Haiti Project (Diocesan
mission to Haiti), and support
for missionaries in Tunisia and
Hungary.
- by
reaching out to parishioners and
members of the community who are
in need of pastoral care,
material support and
encouragement, and by striving
to welcome all people regardless
of race, ethnicity or sexual
orientation.
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Our Beliefs
Good Shepherd
Church is a parish of the Episcopal
Diocese of Colorado and the
Episcopal Church USA, and a member
of the world-wide Anglican
Communion. We hold to the beliefs
and worship practices that are
described in the Book of Common
Prayer of the Episcopal Church. What
binds the Episcopal Church and the
Anglican Communion together in one
fellowship is a commitment to the
following four beliefs:
SCRIPTURE
The Holy Scriptures of the Old
and New Testament are the revealed
Word of God. However, we believe
that Scripture is not always clear,
does not answer all questions, and
is not a text with which to prove
points. We therefore turn to
“tradition” – the worship, teaching,
and life of the church throughout
the ages to help guide us in our
interpretation of the Bible.
TEACHINGS/DOCTRINE
The Nicene Creed is the
sufficient statement of the
Christian Faith. As members of the
Anglican Communion and inheritors of
the catholic tradition of faith, we
do not hold our own doctrine, but
look to the historic creeds of the
Church as a summary of our beliefs,
believing that the Church gives us
freedom to explore new ways of
thinking. The primary focus of the
Nicene Creed is the belief that God
is a Trinity of persons – Father,
Son and Holy Spirit- and that Jesus
is the incarnation of God….the human
face of God who died on the cross
for our salvation.
WORSHIP
The two sacraments – Baptism and
Holy Eucharist – were instituted by
Jesus Christ as our initiation into
the Christian faith and as
nourishment for our spiritual
journeys. In the Episcopal Church
baptism is administered at any age
and all baptized Christians are
welcome to receive communion at
God’s altar.
CHURCH GOVERNANCE
The historic Episcopate. In the
Episcopal Church, administrative and
spiritual authority is vested in
bishops who are elected
democratically at Diocesan
convention. In the Episcopal Church,
like the Orthodox churches, bishops
have sole authority in their own
dioceses and are not subject to the
authority of the Pope, as in the
Roman Catholic Church. Authority to
minister in local congregations is
handed down from bishops to priests
through the rite of ordination and
clergy are subject to the authority
of their diocesan bishop in all
matters of worship, pastoral care,
financial administration and
doctrine.
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