Grass fires fueled by 100-mph winds destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the Boulder, Colo., area on December 31. Photo credit: Kyle Clark, KUSA-TV 9News (Denver).
In the aftermath of a December 31 wildfire that destroyed more than 1,000 homes in the Boulder, Colo., area, Colorado EPC congregations are helping minister to local residents.
Most of the lost homes were in the towns of Louisville and Superior, suburban communities located approximately 10 miles southeast of Boulder and 20 miles northwest of downtown Denver. There are no EPC churches in the immediate vicinity. The nearest EPC congregation is in downtown Denver, and the suburban EPC churches are in the southern part of the metro area. Three additional Colorado EPC churches serve the Loveland/Fort Collins area, roughly 40 miles north of Louisville.
Greg Daniels, Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of the West and a Ruling Elder for Parker EPC (PEPC) in Parker, Colo., said donations PEPC received were being sent to Grace Commons Church (formerly First Presbyterian Church) in Boulder and Ascent Community Church in Louisville. The congregations are affiliated with ECO (A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians) and The Evangelical Covenant Church, respectively.
Doug Resler
“I know many of the leaders of both churches,” said Doug Resler, PEPC Senior Pastor. “The Pastor at Ascent was the college director at the University of Colorado for years. These are great churches doing great work in their communities.”
Resler noted that both churches have donation links on their websites.
Other EPC pastors in the region confirmed that their congregations were not affected, though many know people who were.
“We have some folks who work in the Boulder area and have co-workers now without homes,” said David Hoffelmeyer, Lead Pastor of Faith Church in Loveland.
Others who reported that their congregations emerged unscathed include Curt Brophy, Senior Pastor of Lookout Mountain Community Church in Golden, Colo., Doug Brown, Lead Pastor of Greenwood Community Church in Greenwood Springs, Colo., and Erik Ohman, Senior Pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colo.
“The fire was obviously devastating to those communities,” said Dean Weaver, EPC Stated Clerk. “But the way our Colorado EPC churches are rallying around their hurting brothers and sisters represents the best of who the EPC is. When tragedy occurs, as it too often does, to God be the glory that EPC churches embody the love of Jesus to their neighbors.”