For Immediate Release

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church to Feed 5,000

Highlands Ranch, Colo. – Sept. 5, 2007 – St. Luke's United Methodist Church is hosting a huge community event at Civic Green Park, “Feeding of the 5,000: The Miracle is in the Sharing,” on Sunday, Sept. 9 from 1 – 8 p.m. The event is a part of St. Luke’s year-long “Got Community” campaign to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

St. Luke’s invites the entire community to come and enjoy a fun-filled day of activities, entertainment and a barbeque meal, sponsored by Wingin’ It. In order to participate, St. Luke’s simply asks each person to donate non-perishable goods for at least one meal for one person. The goal is to collect enough food to actually feed 5,000 people in the Denver area and take the food to local food banks such as Denver Urban Ministries.

“We not only want people from St. Luke's to participate, but more importantly want the community of Highlands Ranch and its neighbors to participate,” said Reverend Janet Forbes, senior pastor at St. Luke’s. “The primary goal of this event is to engage and call our community to act against hunger in our own backyard.”

Activities being held throughout the day include games, bouncy castles, food, entertainment and much more. Music from 1 – 4 p.m. will include St. Luke’s Youth Jazz Orchestra, Ministers of Swing, Sonrise and a Musical Review (featuring songs from a few of St. Luke’s past musicals including: “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “Godspell,” and their upcoming production of “The Music Man”). Following the meal at 5 p.m., will be a special concert featuring the Denver-based Christian rock group Three Cord Wonder.

People can also make a cash donation instead of bringing food items. All items and cash collected will be distributed to the food banks.

Denver Urban Ministries, DenUM, was organized in 1981 as a 501(c)(3) human service agency to provide emergency and stabilization services in Denver’s most impoverished neighborhoods supplying clothing and food, www.denum.org.

Guided by the spirit of God, St. Luke’s UMC is an inclusive community of faith, seeking to meet people where they are, growing together toward full humanity, through living the teachings of Jesus: Love, Acceptance, Justice, and Hope. St. Luke’s is located at 8817 South Broadway in Highlands Ranch, one-quarter mile south of C-470. Regular office hours are 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Sunday services, led by Rev. Janet Forbes, are held at  8:00, 9:30 and 11:00 a.m. Sunday school and free child care are available during the 9:30 and 11:00 services. For more information visit www.stlukeshr.com.

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