Rocky Mountain High

My wife, Deb, and I had great fun recently revisiting the beautiful town of Aspen, Colorado. We had last been there 35 years ago for our honeymoon. The trip by car from Denver to this mountaintop village gives great evidence of God’s awesome creative power. I suppose it’s possible for those who live in mountainous environments to take the beauty for granted. But since Deb and I spent most of our lives in the flat lands of Illinois and Florida, time spent in the mountains is always exhilarating.

One of the places we visited along the numerous hiking trails in Aspen was a small nature sanctuary established in memory of one of Aspen’s most famous former residents … singer and songwriter John Denver. In the center of the sanctuary is a rock garden that serves as a memorial to him and his music. Several of his well-known songs are inscribed on large boulders. Reading these lyrics in this beautiful setting was as rich an experience as hearing his beautiful voice.

Our real Rocky Mountain high, however, occurred after we descended the mountain and returned to Denver. The trip down the mountain, though, became especially exciting when the warning light in our rental car signaled “low tire pressure” in the middle of Independence Pass. It’s so helpful to see this when winding around a narrow mountain road at 13,000 feet with no gas station for 70 miles! We did safely make it back to Denver where we attended a weekend of celebration for two good friends and outstanding church leaders … Don and Margaret Hinchey.

The celebration was in honor of Don’s retirement after 36 years as senior pastor of Our Father Lutheran Church in Centennial, Colorado, and the conclusion of Margaret’s over 21 years of service as Minister of Music. Don is the only senior pastor this congregation has ever known! He was called as mission developer for a new outreach in the Denver area. Today, Our Father worships an average of 500 people each weekend and has a baptized membership of over 1,300. The congregation is highly respected for its quality of worship, outstanding music ministry, attention to nurturing the faith of people of all ages, and its support for mission and service opportunities around the world. I am very grateful that one expression of this commitment to ministry is Our Father’s strong history of support for the seeding of new ministries of health and hope through Wheat Ridge Ministries!

Our Rocky Mountain high came as we observed, and got caught up in, the warmth and caring for Don and Margaret as the congregation thanked God for them and their years of ministry. It was impossible not to be captured by the outpouring of love by God’s people in this place, as people cried tears of joy and sadness at the transition of these servant leaders and as they laughed and joked and told great stories gleaned from 36 years of ministry together.

The centerpiece of the celebration weekend was a service of “remembrance, relinquishment and recommitment.” In the presence of a sanctuary filled with members and guests, including many local clergy, Don and Margaret returned to the congregation various symbols of the pastoral office, including Bible, hymnal, baptismal shell, communion vessels, keys to the sanctuary and pastoral stole. After this moving ceremony, the congregation recommitted itself to ministry in the community and to sending Don and Margaret forward on their ministry journey with their blessing. What a wonderful way to remember faithful service, to bring closure to one greatly cherished phase of the congregation’s ministry, and to acknowledge God’s presence in the days of transition ahead.

Fortunately, this weekend in Denver is but one of so many examples of congregations as caring communities expressing love and appreciation for their leaders. What wonderful signs of health and hope such occasions are in a day and age when it is all too common to hear about conflicted congregations, hurting church leaders and financial challenges. For Deb and I it was refreshing and inspiring to experience, in the short span of this weekend, one example of the church at its best. My friend Rich Bimler would call Our Father congregation, and others like it, Holy Huddles of believers whose high comes not from the Rockies or anywhere else but from God’s love and grace, which frees them to embrace leaders who have served faithfully and well, and to confidently anticipate changes ahead as the future unfolds.

Praise God for Don and Margaret and church leaders everywhere, for the natural highs that come from experiencing God’s creation, and for congregations across the globe where people experience and share health and hope in the name of our healing Christ! One more thing … in case it’s been awhile since you’ve heard John Denver sing this great song, click here. Enjoy!