Faith in Action: Finding Common Ground
Kindness Begets Kindness, In Words And Action
By Pastor Leslie Richardson
Special to the GPHN
I Love Park Hill! Our ministry, My Father’s House International Christian Discipleship Center, has just hit our 21th year of ministry in the Denver Metro area.
We first moved the ministry into the community in October, 2011, and became property owners of our location at 3590 Grape St. on Dec. 15, 2015. Shortly after that, one of the members of our congregation locked her keys in the car. We were blessed to receive service from Fire Station 26. When the firefighters came over to assist us, it touched my heart to see how these men and women in the fire truck were servants in our community, just like us.
I wanted to reciprocate their kindness in some way. So I suggested to them that we would love to minister to them, by providing some of the best barbecue brisket around. They laughed and graciously accepted the offer, and asked for me to let them know when it was ready.
We have all been inundated with the news of police officers killing young black men in various cities of our nation. As a black man and very aware of the racial tension, along with the “Black Lives Matter” initiatives, I thought it would be the right time to reach out to our fellow servants at Fire Station 26.
The desire was not just to serve the firemen who responded to the locked car keys, but to the fellow police officers in our community. Our hope was to let them know that there was a church family who appreciates what they do, and were and are praying for them as they work to keep our communities safe.
I contacted the Holly Precinct on 38th Ave, and the Fire Station on 26th in Stapleton and invited them to a brunch on Sept. 11, 2016. Officer Sharon Avendaño, the community police liaison, was very gracious to receive our offer, and opened up the community room for us to come and serve the officers and firefighters.
When all was said and done, about 25 members of our congregation served about 50 to 60 people. We had a ball, and the food was great – from the brisket all the way down to all the fixings. Mom Vinnie’s peach cobbler was a huge hit!
It is our prayer that our community will come to a place of healing and really begin the process of healing, through just simply loving on each other. We have a saying in our discipleship center: ”love is what love does.”
We recognize there is a lot of work to be done in our community of Park Hill, but if we all pull together we can create a community that demonstrates love. Not just talking about it, but being about it.
As a Christian pastor, I have a strong conviction about Jesus Christ, and who He is to me. I have lived long enough to recognize that no two people agree 100 percent of the time. However, if I can find common ground where we do believe and respect one another for our convictions, I believe God is pleased. The bible tells us that with loving kindness, we are drawn to God.
This year I want to encourage more of our community to join us in our outreach, to adopt a precinct/fire station program where we can serve our community. I would love to see more churches reach out to their local precincts and fire stations as well.
What if people of all walks of life and backgrounds, would wake up and come to understand God loves for all humanity? What if we could truly demonstrate the love of God by doing one kind thing for somebody else, once a day without looking for anything in return?
It’s time to recognize that all people are our people and we are all better together than apart. It’s time to lay down our differences, and learn to walk hand in hand for the greater good of mankind. Not only will Park Hill be a stronger and better community, but a benchmark for the world where the Love of God overflows from our hearts. I challenge you to not just read about it, but be about it for the betterment of mankind.
Leslie D. Richardson is pastor of My Father’s House in Park Hill (website MyFathersHouseICDC.com). He can be reached at 720-443-2812, or email info@MyFatherHouseICDC.com.