“Surely the Presence of the Lord is in This Place”  ~ L. Wolfe

CtK Currently Remains Closed. . .

Orders from the governor’s office and recommendations from the Office of the Bishop have led us to continue  suspension of in-person worship services and meetings until further notice.  At this time, worship services for Wednesdays at 6pm and Sundays at 9:15am (worship, then fellowship) are offered online via Zoom; Thursday Noon Bible Study is also offered online each week.  It is hoped that the form of these online services will be meaningful to you.  (*For more information on Zoom webinars, please refer to the webinar links list below).

Christ the King Lutheran Church continues to need your financial support, especially in this time of need. Giving financially to Christ the King Lutheran Church is vital to continue these ministries that work to sustain and strengthen you and your faith in these trying times. You can give to Christ the King Lutheran Church in many ways. Visit https://www.ctkdurango.org/learn-more/give for more information and links to give online.

During this unprecedented time in our lives, you are encouraged to do whatever you can to promote the public health, especially for those who are most vulnerable. If you are healthy and are able to help with grocery shopping, to run errands, or help in any other way, please email  pastortim@ctkdurango.org.  He will do his best to connect those who have needs to those who have offered their help.

Remember to take care of yourselves. Go for walks. Laugh and talk with neighbors (from a safe distance and wearing your facemask). Wash your hands well and often. Enjoy the beauty of creation in which we live. Get off your computer and away from news and just read a book for a while. Play a board game. Take part in fun faith formation resources that we have available to you online at www.ctkdurango.org   Be patient, kind, and compassionate as always. Remember that this hardship will come to an end. Pray that it comes quickly.

 

* Webinar Links

Each Sunday until further notice, at 9:15am please join Pastor Tim for Sunday’s Worship Webinar and Fellowship. You can access Sunday’s worship webinar by clicking this link:   https://zoom.us/j/530311237

Fellowship Time after ALL of our worship services (Wednesdays and Sundays) can be accessed by clicking this link:  https://zoom.us/j/3445934929.

Each Thursday at Noon please join me for our Thursday Bible Study, where we are just finishing up our study on 2 Thessalonians. You can join me for that Bible Study by clicking this link:  https://zoom.us/j/698922754.

If you have any trouble accessing these meeting sites, please let me know. You can email me at pastortim@ctkdurango.org, or call at 970-426-9681.

Important Events:

NOTE:  Given the current pandemic crisis, the following dates are “tentative.”  Please continue to check our CtK Website  for updates.   Unless otherwise noted, all worship services in June will be via Zoom — see above “Webinar Links” for more info, or email  pastortim@ctkdurango.org    Thank you!

 

Monday, July 6th thru Friday, July 10thCtK Day Camp at Home: details to follow!

CtK’s Garden Suites’ Tenant – The La Plata Family Centers

The La Plata Family Center – Our Roots and Our Dreams

The La Plata Family Centers Coalition (LPFCC) began in Durango, Colorado in 1984 as a volunteer created and managed Mothers’ Center where mothers and their children met for peer support, developmentally appropriate childcare, parenting education and career development/exploration.

The center’s developmental timeline highlighting growth and expansion of needed services:

  • 1993 – The Mothers’ Center transformed into the Parents Center. During that reorganization, the Parents Center expanded to sites in Bayfield, Ignacio, and Fort Lewis Mesa.
  • 2014 – LPFCC expanded the Access to Healthcare Program into Archuleta County and began co-locating staff at the La Plata Department of Human Services.
  • 2015 – LPFCC added Archuleta County to offer the Colorado Community Response (CCR) program. LPFCC also houses a Family Advocate within the Department of Human Services in Archuleta County who provides Family Support Services (FSS). I
  • 2017 – LPFCC expanded the Colorado Community Response (CCR) program to La Plata and San Juan counties in partnership with the La Plata County Department of Human Services.
  • 2017 – LPFCC consolidated the Bayfield and Durango offices within walking distance of La Plata County Department of Human Services.

The overarching goal of LPFCC is to create a connected community supporting healthy children and thriving families. The staff partners with families to:

  • increase parenting skills through education and family support
  • provide preschool literacy and school-readiness opportunities
  • promote family growth through goal-setting which is measured over time by the Colorado Family Support Assessment instrument
  • assist with concrete supports including access to health coverage
  • promote positive youth development through exercise, nutrition and quality afterschool care and summer camps
  • build social connections and networking by facilitating monthly group gatherings for families and individuals

LPFCC serves families, many of whom experience multi-generational poverty, in rural communities in Southwest Colorado including La Plata, Archuleta and San Juan counties. In 2019, 46.0% of families who reported their income made less than $25,000 per year. The center endorses the two generation approach by working with parents to attain self-chosen goals for economic well-being and healthy relationships with their children. During fiscal year 2018-2019, the Family Center provided: 9,509 services to 792 unduplicated families and 1,852 unduplicated participants.

The following historical perspective illustrates the roots, heart and vision for the ever evolving Family Center:

 

The Mothers’ Center of Durango – The Early Years

By Lauren Patterson

Over thirty-five years ago, my friend Jacquelyn Strickland saw an article in a parenting magazine about Mothers’ Centers and remarked how Durango could really use this type of resource. Just like the two of us, many of our friends were new parents without the benefit of extended family nearby to help us navigate this phase of life. There really is no amount of reading to prepare young families for what it really takes day by day to rear happy, healthy children and for parents to feel supported, valued and self-fulfilled.

Starting out in homes and then in classrooms within the First Presbyterian Church, by the mid 80s, the Mothers’ Center was in full swing. Based on the National Mothers’ Center’s model of mothers helping mothers, the center was a true learning lab for over 115 members by the early 1990s. Between 1990 and 1991, twenty mothers took peer facilitation training to lead peer groups that included groups like Moms and Babes, How to Talk so Kids Will Listen, and a myriad of other topics that women were interested in knowing about. Some of these were multi-session peer groups and some were presented as single session topics like brain development by the renowned local artist and Fort Lewis College professor, Stanton Englehart.

During this time, programs included peer facilitator training, parenting workshops, children’s programs, Steering Committee/Leadership training, developmental childcare on site, career labs and a full day of rotating workshops called Parent University. Eight working committees ran the center: Steering, Social Action, Childcare, Finance/fundraising, Publicity, Peer Facilitator, Newsletter and Programs. Over time we learned how to write grants and had paid center coordinators who were typically member mothers. Many women who are now prominent members of our community proudly and fondly recall the education they received by helping each other learn how to grow healthy families and to simultaneously work on their own self-development.