Spotlight on Mission

Earth Day Celebration

Acknowledging that God is the creator of the earth and that God has called us to care for all creation, the Kirk of Bonnie Brae will celebrate its 3rd annual Earth Day on Sunday April 25.

Ride-your-bike-to-church Sunday:
If you are able and willing, consider riding your bike to church on April 25. We have a number of individuals and families who do this on occasion. Let's save some auto emissions!

Special Presentation:
During both worship services, Paul K. will give a special "Moment for Mission" on how to save energy in your own home. Paul's business works with Xcel Energy, and he suggest that you bring your latest Xcel bill with you to church. That way you can immediately compare your own personal information with the facts that he presents. Save the planet! Save money!

Other Activities:
We will also offer a special liturgy, Children's Moment and sermon during worship. In addition, we will update you on the Kirk's own recycling efforts, including our new electronic recycling project sponsored by Zone 68. And, who know what other surprises might be in store . . .

Habitat News:

Last Chance to Help Build at Bails

The Kirk has only two more build dates at the Bails Neighborhood Project. If you would like to volunteer, please go to the website http://ffn.volunteerhub.com and sign up under the Kirk for either April 17 or April 30. Please make this commitment by Easter Sunday, April 4, so that we will know how many folks we can count on. If we cannot fill our slots, we need to release them in a timely manner so that others will have a chance to build. Anyone can build if open slots are available on Wednesday or Thursday. Check the Metro Denver website at http://denver.volunteerhub.com to volunteer for these days. Thus far the Kirk has donated 18 people days to the incredible project.

• January 6 - May 1 -Habitat for Humanity Project

Whiz Kids

Starting mid-October, a group of kids will whiz from Ellis Elementary School every Thursday after school, to the site of their Whiz Kids tutoring program at nearby Kirk of Bonnie Brae United Church of Christ. Whiz Kids Tutoring is a nonprofit organization now in twelve states, with tutors from over 150 various Protestant and Catholic churches serving children of many faiths. It is open to all and respects all. Whiz Kids Tutoring partners with schools, each of which has a liaison teacher involved. In Denver Whiz Kids also is part of the Mayor’s “Road Home” initiative and Youth Mentoring Collaborative.

Ellis School is a veritable mini-United Nations, with children of some fifty different ethnicities. Most of the Whiz Kid tutees are in the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Thursday afternoons from 3-4:30 pm. they’ll concentrate with a tutor on their work for an hour, and have a half-hour of Whiz Kid Club snacks, songs, and stories based on Christian values, the importance of learning, making good choices, and raising self-esteem. Occasional outings for all Metro Area Whiz Kid groups are planned (such as Slam-Dunk at Pepsi Center, Rodeo at National Western complex). Parental permission is required. Of the 41 sites in the Denver-Suburban area, the Ellis/Kirk site, 1201 S. Steele St., is the only one in the SE Denver quadrant. Results in improved reading scores are impressive.

Tutors are Needed! The group from Ellis can be as large as the number of Tutors who volunteer to spend an hour and a half Thursday afternoons with the children. Tutors have training, and are carefully screened. They commit to a full season, October-April. To learn more about Whiz Kids, and sign up to be a tutor, visit www.whizkidstutoring.com or call 303-504-0449, or contact Sandy Stokely at Ellis School or Susan Sirnic at the Kirk, 303-777-0343.

Thank you to all of you who participated in our annual SERRV Sale and Alternative Gift Gair. And thank you to the Zone 68 youth who presented their specific projects! While this activity is not a fundraiser for the church, it does help people around the world who struggle with hunger, poverty, environmental issues, Etc. And it is a great learning experience!

Proceeds from the SERRV Sale totaled $633.75, while the Alternative Gift Market totaled $626.00.

Habitat News

More exciting news!! Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver has now selected the family who will receive the home that we are helping to build. The Mahmoud family of four is currently living in a cramped, one-bedroom apartment in Aurora. Khalid and Nadia emigrated from Sudan and Pakistan, and met in Denver where they have since started a family. Khalid and Nadia have worked hard to provide for their two year old twin daughters. Khalid has worked as a taxi driver while he has pursued his license to practice medicine in the U.S. Nadia works as a triage coordinator for the Musculorskeletal Transplant Foundation. Over the past four years, the Mahmoud family has lived in an unsafe apartment complex off Monaco Parkway. They have seen their neighborhood undergo a high number of robberies and their car has been broken into on several occasions. In addition, the traffic from Monaco Parkway continually wakes up the children. But, in 2010, the Mahmoud's will achieve their dream of home ownership and a safe place for their daughters to thrive.

If you have not already, check out our fun house on display in front of the church. Raffle sales for the fun house will be donated to our "Matching Gift Campaign." Heartfelt thanks to all of you, children and adults, who have participated in this project.