NOTE: We've streamlined our website and hope you like it. Please check out our new Groups & Activities > Homeless Outreach section!
Sun. Service: 10:00 am (outdoor in summer; otherwise, indoor or Zoom) | Womynfolk: 1st Mon, 6:30 pm | Mennopints: 1st or 2nd Fri, 4:30 pm
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"Prepare the Way of the Lord"
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FCMF: Authentic, Compassionate, And Inclusive!
Here at Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship (FCMF), we practice the "radical inclusivity" of Jesus. This means working with, having compassion for, and getting to know people who, as Jesus said, are the “least of us” and are often on the margins of society. Whether it’s welcoming sexual and gender minorities into our community, helping homeless families in the Faith Family Hospitality program, welcoming homeless individuals who visit us for warmth, food, and fellowship, helping immigrants, or working for a healthcare system that benefits all, we try to walk in the footsteps of Jesus as best we can. We use our hands to do God's work, focusing on issues of social justice, peace, and helping those in need. Season of Advent!
Advent means “coming” and it is an active season. The primary actor is God, born in human likeness, into a real world. But the created world has its share of action with dramatic stories of angel visits, forced relocation, homelessness, and harrowing life and death escapes. We too are active as we long for light, seek hope, and try to restore a broken world. Together we cry out for restoration, watch for this restoration to take place, and join in God’s restorative process with all creation. Why do we do what we do?
People often ask us if we think that what we are doing at the church is really making a difference. Many suggest that we do not have the resources, skills, or staff to help everyone. Others say we are contributing to the problem. And still others urge us to close down all together.
What we want to tell the world is, “Yes, absolutely, we are making a difference . . . one person at a time and one relationship at a time!” To illustrate this, we want to share a real-life letter from the mother of a young woman we helped. She gave us permission to publish this letter. This is why we do what we do! April 11, 2022 Pastor Steve Ramer, Hello, my name is Terry Krook-Halleck. I just wanted to share my daughter Tara Krook’s successful journey story with you. It is important to us to let you and others who sponsor your program know, that it is worth every effort your program offers. The people who have found their way to your church have lost their way in life. They all have different reasons, but all have found their way to your door somehow, and I believe it is through the grace of God that our daughter Tara did. Her story starts after she had been on the streets for 2-1/2 years, before ending up in the hospital twice, for several weeks from drug abuse. She had been released from the hospital, out to the streets, with no place to go. She walked over to a curb (which happened to be in front of the church) and sat down with her plastic bag containing all her belongings. Then, like an angel, Renee saw Tara sitting there with a look of despair. Renee invited her into an already crowded dwelling [the church], full of people just like Tara. Renee assigned Tara to a spot that used to be the alter before Covid. This was Tara’s new safe home off the streets. Renee was kind, helpful, and had a great sense of humor, even though the others were down and out too. She brought a glimmer of hope to Tara. Renee helped Tara connect with other resources in the community so she could move forward. Renee also helped Tara get the courage to finally reach out to her family (me, her mom) in Minnesota. We had no idea where she was for many months. We weren’t even sure if she was alive. That reconnection led us to inviting her home for Christmas. From that visit, she decided (on her own) that it was time for her to go into treatment. She did and completed 8 months of it. Tara has been sober for 1-1/2 years. She got to go back to Fort Collins to visit her 3 kids who live with their dad. And she got to stop by and visit Renee at the church. It was such a happy reunion. Tara now has an apartment, a part-time job and 2 cats. She is happy and doing well. Renee saved her life that day. Each and every homeless person has their own story, but I am happy to be sharing that Tara is one of the lucky ones who made it through. We are thankful for this church and their generosity. I pray that more can be as thankful and lucky as Tara. There are angels amongst us. Sincerely thankful, Terry Krook-Halleck |
