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Sun. Service: 10:00 am (in-person or Zoom) | Womynfolk: 1st Mon, 6:30 pm | Mennopints: 1st or 2nd Fri, 4:30 pm | Office: (970) 658-2623
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Sunday, April 20, 2025
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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. Help Us Celebrate 50 and 500 Years of Faith and Service by Donating!
This year, Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship (FCMF) is celebrating a monumental milestone: 50 years of faithful service and compassionate outreach to our community in Fort Collins. This celebration is made even more special as 2025 also marks the 500th Anniversary of the Anabaptist movement, which inspires our commitment to peace, justice, and service. For decades, FCMF has been a beacon of hope, dedicating itself to helping those experiencing homelessness and advocating for systemic change. Through meal programs, shelter initiatives, essential hygiene resources and a ministry rooted in compassion, we have tirelessly lived out Christ’s call to love our neighbors in both word and action. However, this mission has now exceeded the financial capability of our small congregation. We want to raise $15,550 over the next 50 days to augment our existing budget for our homeless outreach so that we can provide continuous and expanded services throughout the year for this growing need. Please visit our 50-500 GoFundMe site to contribute: https://www.gofundme.com/f/celebrating-500-and-50-years-of-faith-and-service Your contribution will be used to:
We hope to find 20 individuals able and willing to give $500 and 110 additional individuals able and willing to contribute $50 to help us reach our goal. Any amount is appreciated and if you are not able to donate, please share this letter with another who may be able to help us reach our goal. FCMF believes that everyone deserves a safe place to call home, a meal to share, and a community that cares. With your support, we can continue to live out these values and mark this significant anniversary with gratitude and hope. Please visit our GoFundMe page to contribute: https://www.gofundme.com/f/celebrating-500-and-50-years-of-faith-and-service Our True Sanctuary program also made the cover of Anabaptist World Magazine: https://anabaptistworld.org/blessed-with-new-friends/ To learn more about what we do, go to our Homeless Outreach page or read our special sermon. 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 |
