the refuge

🌲☀ We had a great turn out for our annual New Year's Day Hike with Nature Heals. Thank you, Teresa, for facilitating such a beautiful start to 2024!

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Here's what's going on around The Refuge this week! There's still time to let us know if you want to join us for "Equity is a practice" with Melvin Bray at our 12 Steps for Anti-Racism group on ZOOM! Sign up at bit.ly/12StepsWithMelvinBray

Such a fun night!!!

Today is a rest day for Spiritual Formation Sunday and the 3 Sunday a month rhythm will start back up next week. What can you do today to rest?

We're so thankful for the work of Nikki Kennedy, who has helped our community integrate trauma-informed practices into our life together in a variety of ways over the years. This month, she's facilitating our Advocates Learning Lab Tuesday, January 9th with a focus on Psychological First Aid. This group meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of every month 8-9:30am MST on ZOOM (this month it's 2nd and 4th with the holidays) and is focused on skills, support, and sustainability for people who journey with people in hard places. All are welcome! Since it's virtual, we even have people who join from other states. It's an amazing group of people advocating in a variety of contexts. Message us with questions!

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Do you have a collection of old bottle caps, plastic bags, broken crayons, old or rusted tools, makeup brushes, or other items you’d normally just pitch in the trash? Don’t throw them out! Instead, bring them with you to the refuge and help us create a piece of art with the Eco-Green and Creative Arts teams! Registrations needed for set up - visit bit.ly/RefugeFoundArtWorkshop

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As we settle into a new year, we're so thankful for community partners who help the lives of our single moms and families in need.

A big thank you to Ascent Church and the Logan's Christmas Shoppe for their support of Single Moms Unite and The Refuge. We're so thankful for our connection since the beginning of this incredible community outreach multiple years ago and for the love and support we received from Ascent Church this holiday season!

AND! Another big thank you to Dr. Jeff and the amazing team at 100% Chiropractic for their awesome, consistent, support of Single Moms Unite and the Refuge at Christmastime. We're so grateful for your kindness and generosity!

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The SIngle Moms Unite 2024 Schedule is here! We are so gratetful for this supportive community for single moms and kids and the content and healing space that's created each month. Questions on how to get involved or help serve in SMU this season, message Nanette at [email protected]

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At our 12 Steps for Anti-Racism Group on Monday, January 8th, 6:30pm MST, we're happy to be hosting Melvin Bray, the author of the Truth and Transformation steps that we use in our group. "Equity is a practice" and we're glad for safe and brave community spaces like this to engage together. All are welcome--even if you don't usually attend the group. Register at bit.ly/12StepsWithMelvinBray for ZOOM link. More on Melvin's work at collabrynthconsulting.com

After a 3-day holiday break, we're glad that the Refuge Cafe is back to our regular rhythm. Now we're open the same time on all three days--Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday--10am-2pm!

We're looking forward to more healing community, social action, and creative collaborations this year, and we'd love for you to be part! Take a look at what's going on this first month in 2024, and watch here for updates and changes.

Special event signups:

bit.ly/12StepsWithMelvinBray

bit.ly/ForestChurch

bit.ly/OutofFocusatTheRefuge

🥳🎉Happy New Year from all of us at The Refuge!!!

Thank you, everyone who donated to the Winter Fund for the Refuge Cafe. We are grateful to have reached our $20K goal through gifts of all sizes! We're so grateful!

At the same time, we want to acknowledge that our needs are constant and ever growing, and we much prefer focusing our efforts on cultivating community and not fundraising. You can visit donorbox.org/support-the-refuge anytime to help us keep cultivating love and hope in 2024.

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🥳🎉Happy New Year, Refuge Friends! Take a look at this weeks schedule, and be sure to take note of the new Wednesday Refuge Cafe hours!

🎉New Years Events at The Refuge - Ring in 2024 early at our New Year's Eve Post-Christmas BINGO event tonight (Sunday December 31st) at 5pm and/or join us for our Annual Nature Heals New Year's Day hike at Chautauqua Park, 9 am!

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📖🎄Refuge Reads ROCKS! We are so thankful for the commitment of the Refuge Reads coordinators--Katie and Savannah--and all of the volunteers who help create a space that truly changes lives because reading is everything! One of the best parts about Refuge Reads is it's not only about the one-on-one tutoring twice a week but also about the community that's formed each week. They had a great time at the 2023 Christmas party!

Refuge Reads always needs volunteer tutors and it's an amazing way to give back in the new year. Email [email protected] for more information!

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Help us end our year strong! Share a one-time gift or consider becoming a monthly donor in 2024! Visit donorbox.org/support-the-refuge.

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Refuge Cafe Christmas BINGO is always so fun, and we love bringing extra hope during the holidays! It was also December Birthday celebrations (Thank you, Carrie and John Pepperdine) for some extra joy. If you want to come BINGO with the wider Refuge on New Years Eve, guaranteed you’ll leave with a smile and some prizes! It’ll be a great way to ring in the new year (our ball will drop at 7pm)!

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Thank you, Teryl Fabry and Senior Resources of Broomfield for making such good care of our Refuge Cafe seniors with holiday gift love! And, when the gifts won’t fit into the car to transport over, grab a friend with a hearse! We’re so grateful to get to serve alongside together in Broomfield!

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Games, Gifts, Food, Fun! The Refuge Cafe Christmas Party is always so much fun! Thank you, Skystone Connects and Family in Christ Community Church for helping with cold weather gear and special love for gift bags for everyone, along with all of the donors who contributed gift cards. We love sharing extra love every week at the Cafe but especially during this season that’s so hard for so many. Healing community helps!

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Thank you, Holy Family High School, Faith in Action class for hosting a jacket drive (and some sleeping bags, too!), for the Refuge Cafe. We are so grateful and love seeing youth mobilize each other to meet tangible needs!

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People make the Refuge go! Our once-a-year mailer is always so fun for us to create--a look back at the year and remembering some of the highlights of our life together. Thank you for reading and being part of our community, whether you're near or far!

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Thank you to all of you who have contributed to our Winter Fundraiser for The Refuge Cafe! We’re into the last week to reach our goal, and we’re getting close! We live being a place that feels like “home.” Donate today! (Link in bio) #healingcommunity #socialaction #creativecollaboration #transformation #welcome #presence #creativity #engagement #celebration #bettertogether

Now The Work...

Glories stream from heaven afar...

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This Christmas Eve, may we consider these powerful icon "Christ in the Rubble" created by Kelly Latmore for the reality of the Gaza War in Palestine. This year in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, they are not celebrating Christmas and honoring that over 20,000 lives have been lost with no end in sight. No matter what you believe about this holiday, hope we will all spend some time reflecting on this image. What do you notice? What feelings does it evoke? What words or phrases emerge for you?

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Hope, Peace, Joy and tonight at our Candlelight Christmas Eve gathering, which falls on the 4th week of Advent, we will be lighting the Love Candle as we honor God with us, Love embodied, and a call to us in the song that's so many people's favorite--O Holy Night-- "Truly he taught us to love one another." Hope, Peace, Joy, Love this Christmas Eve from the Refuge.

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One of our favorite annual traditions (we know we say that a lot, but it's true) is our annual Post-Christmas BINGO and Pizza the Sunday after Christmas. This year it's also New Years Eve! Everyone is welcome to ring in the (early) New Year with us! We'll start at 5pm, and we'll be done around 7. Safe, sober, fun, family friendly, prizes! RSVP at bit.ly/RefugeBINGO

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Blue Christmas 2023 was so sweet, and this tradition is always so special! We love the different stations that people contribute and the space to connect with our souls with honesty and hope.

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