We all have heard that when one door shuts another one opens. This is a good metaphor for what we just experienced during Holy week. A loss and an unknown.

We felt the pain of his followers who lost the time of experiencing the physical touch of Jesus. Over his ministry they got to be in the presence of someone who brought hope to the hopeless. They heard, they saw, they experienced not only transformation but also a transition to a new relationship to all in the world. With this teacher by their side, it was possible to believe that the power of love can change who is in charge. With one’s love given freely, no one is in charge, and at the same time, we are all in charge. Following Jesus mile after mile, eating with him at table, and being in his embrace drove this lesson deeper into their beings.

The jealousy of those who did not have this connection to the people provided the energy to slam the door shut. A loss for Jesus’ followers, and a bigger loss for them, since they would never have the chance to know Jesus face to face. The movement from me to we was over. Or so they believed. If Jesus’ life ended with his death at the crucifixion, their hopes might have come to pass.

But the resurrection did happen. A doorway to eternal life was opened on Easter day. From the open door, we can see the risen Jesus. We now have a choice to make. Do we embrace this Holy form and rush through the door throwing caution to the wind? Do we accept this Holy form and enter into this new space with questions? Do we doubt this Holy form and stay in the hallway?

All these questions are valid when approaching the unknown. To help you find your answer, we now enter the season of Eastertide. You have a 40-day period to follow the Risen Jesus. We will do this exploration together with those who were there. Know that as we walk this journey together with love in our hearts, you are in a family that accepts and respects all answers.

Do not doubt your answer. For, at this time, this is your truth. Embrace it with love and be open to following where the Spirit will take you in the future.

From Our Sr. Warden

From our Vestry

The St. Joseph Vestry wanted to share the following news from their March 24th meeting.

1. In an effort to better manage our funds, the Vestry approved increasing our church insurance deductible from $1,000 to $5,000. This will result in an annual savings of $1,175 in church insurance premiums.

2. Fire safety systems are required to upgrade to radio-based systems sometime in 2027. Our current vendor, Johnson Controls, has provided a quote to do that for $9,000. Last year, while still in his Jr. Warden role, Peter started researching other options. Thanks to our partnership with St. John Chrysostom, their Sr. Warden Jenni Marcols recommended we contact their vendor. That lead resulted in a quote of around $3,000, a savings of around $6,000.

3. The Vestry has begun the process of reviewing and revising our By-Laws. The last updates were done in 2019, before COVID. A lot of things have changed since then and our By-Laws need to be revised to reflect those changes.

Congregational Care

If you need to contact Fr. Doug he can be reached at sjcpreverend@icloud.com or (720) 786-7077. 

Parish Admin office hours at St. Joseph:
Tuesday 9am - 2pm
Wednesday 9am - 2 pm
Thursday 9am - 2pm

Parish Admin office hours at St. John Chrysostom:
Monday 9am - 2pm
Friday 9am - 2pm (Holiday hours may change this arrangement) 

Choir Rehearsal @ St. Joseph

Our time for choir rehearsal on Thursdays has changed to 4pm until further notice.

Memorial Service for Karen Asimos

A Celebration of life for Karen Asimos is planned for April 18 at 10am at Hudson Gardens

Joint Worship Service Calendar

Services listed in Green are hosted by St. Joseph

Services listed in Orange are hosted by St. John Chrysostom

Services listed in Purple are offered by St. Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles

Announcements & Upcoming Events

The Front Range Region has a new Facebook page!

As a way to continue building community, we have set up the long-awaited Front Range Region Facebook page! A place to share announcements, questions, ideas and support. The page is titled: Front Range Episcopal Community.Link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61577523205521

Events at St. Joseph

Blood Drive 2026 @ St. Joseph

Blood Drive 2026 - Win $10,000 in groceries.
St. Joseph Church will be hosting a blood drive on Saturday, April 18th from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. You can help in several ways.

• If you want to donate blood, go to donors.vitalant.org, on the new screen, enter 80232 for the zip code, click on Advanced Search and change the beginning date to 04/18/2026. Scroll down the list of locations, select the blood drive at St. Joseph Episcopal Church, and then select a time.

• If you are not able to give blood on that day, but would like to support the blood drive, please make some home-made cookies and drop them off ahead of the blood drive with a note that they are for the blood drive. Vitalant will already have store-bought cookies but home-made would be a nice St. Joseph touch.

• Tell your family, friends, and neighbors about the blood drive.

Anyone who donates blood with Vitalant between April 6th to April 30th is automatically entered to win one of two $10,000 gift cards. Make sure you reserve a time with your email address on the Vitalant Portal (donors.vitalant.org).

Spring Cleanup and Planting

April 25 and May 9 from 8am-noon.  

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. — Audrey Hepburn

Join us as we prepare our property for another beautiful spring.

The Gospels in Order

April 26, 11:30am - The tension grows in Jerusalem with open revolt in 66 C.E., while the strength of the Jesus movement has shifted to cities such as Antioch, Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome. “The New Testament” by Duling and Perrin has, “…the mission to the Gentiles developed into an astonishing movement of vitality and power hardly anticipated.” How will the revolt affect the Jesus movement?

Mark attempts to answer the question, while also showing early stages of a different tension, as Jesus shows that compassion is more important than the law, not what the Pharisees want to hear. But for us, Mark wants to tell us the good news, and so we listen. Please read chapters 2 and 3.

Events at St. John Chrysostom

Nutrition and Healthy Eating Habits Seminar @ St. John Chrysostom

Welcome Christina Berg who is the Nutritional Health Coach at the Natural Grocers Golden Store for Saturday May 9 at 10 AM. She will talk with us about healthy eating and proper nutrition.

Women in the Spirit (WITS)!

The women's group meets the first Saturday of each month at 10:00am for fellowship and prayer. Join us online.

Thursday Morning Bible Study

You are welcome to join St. John Chrysostom on Thursday’s at 10am for Bible Study on Zoom.

Joint Calendar of Events

Events listed in Green are hosted by St. Joseph

Events listed in Orange are hosted by St. John Chrysostom

Events listed in Purple are offered by St. Mary Magdalene Equal to the Apostles

What’s going on outside our Partnership?

Jeffco Eats is in need of volunteers!

The school year is coming to a close. Many students will suddenly go without breakfast and lunch until the next school year begins. If you have time, energy or resources to give, please consider volunteering to help bridge the gap for many young people.

https://jeffcoeats.charityproud.org/VolunteerRegistration/Calendar

Find out more about Jeffco Eats

Journey with Migrants - Founded by the Denver Presbyter

*Seeks to provide a Matthew 25 response to immigrant needs* 

The recently formed Episcopalians for Social Justice (ESJ) had their second meeting in a series of ongoing meetings, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church, on March 22.  Their goal is to mobilize churches within our diocese towards the goal of social justice via supporting established local organizations.  ESJ Steering Committee Chair Lena Potyondy, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, 720-626-1959). Next ESJ Meeting is May 3rd, 2-4:30 pm, St. Martin's in the Field, 4740 S. Buckley Road,  Aurora.

Most pressing issue now is helping Venezuelan immigrant families, especially those whose primary breadwinner is in ICE detention.   The biggest needs are funding, driving people to various appointments and delivering food/supplies to them, providing social worker/care coordinator services (resource navigation), sponsoring a family, providing housing support, helping them improve English Language Skills.    Please contact Katy Thach re:  supporting the organizations below, or contact them yourself to see how you can help!

Esperanza Relief (P.O. Box 460906, Aurora, CO  80046; esperanzarelief.org;  720-655-4099);   Works with Venezuelan families

Interfaith Immigration Network (meet every other Thursday ZOOM, 8:30-9:30 am;  Contact Rob Habiger at rchabiger@gmail.com

Project Worthmore - dental clinic in Aurora, CO servicing other, non-spanish speaking immigrants;  1666 Elmira St, Aurora, CO  80010   720-460-1393

Worship Assignments

The Third Sunday of Easter 

Servers for 10:00 am Eucharist, Apr 19, 2026 Thank you

Serving Today @ St. Joseph

• Presider, The Rev. Doug Bleyle

• Deacon, Rev. Kathleen Smith-Jones

• Altar Servers, Elinor Hamley

• Hebrew Bible, Yvonne Slifka

• Psalm, Andy Slifka

• Epistle/New Testament, Cathy Burzynski

• Prayers of the People, Mary Carlson

• Ushers, Dennis Vick & Andy Slifka

• Counter, Andy Slifka

The Liturgy of the Word

• Acts 2:14a,36-41

• 1 Peter 1:17-23

• Luke 24:13-35

• Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17

Find our Services Online!

Green Mountain United Methodist Church

Shared Journey

A support group for those with loved ones experiencing dementia, meeting in

the Fireside Room at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday April 15. You are invited to join us as we seek to understand the unique challenges of dementia and learn effective means of communication. For more information, please contact Sonya Noyes 303-985-9522.

See more Events, Announcements and Activities at our SJC2 Activities Calendar