Colorado religious organizations rally to provide support for Afghanistan
Also: Jewish community mourns death of local Yeshiva student, housing & Colorado Springs churches, and local aid to Haiti
The headlines this week have been dominated with disturbing news coming out of Afghanistan, as the nation’s government fell to the Taliban and thousands of U.S. citizens and Afghans attempt to flee the country. The crisis has been keenly felt here in Colorado.
“Everyone was free, everyone was hopeful,” former interpreter Aurangzaib Sharifi said of the elation two decades ago when international forces threw the Taliban out of power, in a Denver Post article about the reaction from Colorado’s Afghan community. “Now it’s all to zero.”
Rep. Jason Crow, a veteran of the Afghanistan War, sponsored a bill to expand and speed up the visa program to evacuate Afghans who had provided support to the U.S. military. Also, Gov. Jared Polis sent a letter to the Biden administration offering support to resettle refugees.
Colorado has long been a hub for refugee resettlement, with several organizations that resettle refugees based in the Denver area.
According to a 9News article, over half of the 289 refugees that have arrived in Colorado so far this year are from Afghanistan. Between 2-3% of Afghan refugees who arrive in the U.S. will ultimately settle in Colorado, according to the Denver Post.
“I think we all gasped for air this week as we watched these horrifying scenes unfold,” said Jamie Koehler with Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains Refugee and Asylee Programs in a Boulder Daily Camera article. “LFSRM and Colorado have been taking in Afghanistan refugees and asylees for many years now, and we are poised to take more in.”
The organization is currently soliciting financial donations and volunteers to help with mentoring and tutoring incoming refugees. The Denver Post compiled a master list of different ways Coloradans can help.
For some, the crisis is especially personal. Many members of Masjid Ikhlas in Northglenn are from Afghanistan. The mosque is collecting donations to help refugees at the same time that it is trying to support its own members who are struggling with the news.
“Obviously, it’s tough on everyone. It’s emotional, to say the least,” outreach director Ihsan Riahi told Liam for the Northglenn-Thornton Sentinel.
Denver Jewish community mourns death of Yeshiva student
An 18-year-old student of a Denver Yeshiva died Tuesday after a drive-by shooting outside the Jewish school near West Colfax Avenue. Denver police arrested four men, and are looking for a fifth, on suspicion of the murder of Shmuel Silverberg, who died from multiple bullet wounds, the Denver Post reported.
The Intermountain Jewish News reported that Silverberg’s murder doesn’t appear to have been motivated by antisemitism.
Though Silverberg studied in Denver, he was originally from Cleveland and his parents now live in New Jersey. A funeral was held for Silverberg in New Jersey on Wednesday. Denver Jewish leaders and Silverber'g’s classmates at Yeshiva Toras Chaim students joined the service via Zoom live-stream.
The Intermountain Jewish News wrote about a speech from Rabbi Tzvia Steinberg of Congregation Zera Abraham at the Denver service: “‘Shmuely, Shmuely, where are you,’ Rabbi Steinberg said through his sobs. ‘What are we going to do without Shmuely? We need you! You can’t go away!’”
Jewish leaders outside of Denver who knew Silverberg also offered their condolences. Rabbi Simcha Dessler, educational director of the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland, where Silverberg once attended, told the Cleveland Jewish News, “We remember him as an extraordinarily sweet and extremely respectful boy who had a strong desire to learn, to grow, to succeed and to accomplish. He truly endeared himself to staff and students and will be remembered by all those whose lives he touched.”
A new(ish) home for a church, and a new home from a church
As one Colorado Springs church celebrates extensive renovations to its parish house, another Springs-based church donated land for a future affordable housing complex, according to two Colorado Springs Gazette stories.
Contractors finished $3.6 million worth of renovations at the Old North End mansion, a 115-year-old building that First Lutheran Church has owned for 63 years. The church originally bought the property to use as its main worship space, but turned it into a parish house for church programs when First Lutheran’s present sanctuary opened. Upgrades to the bathroom, kitchen, youth center, office spaces and coffee station will benefit the church’s addiction-recovery program and other church gatherings held at the mansion.
Meanwhile, the outreach ministry for Woodmen Valley Chapel, one of the Springs’ largest evangelical churches, donated an acre of land to a nonprofit for the development of an affordable housing project for seniors. Woodmen Valley’s outreach ministry, the Center for Strategic Ministry, used to own 110 acres of land in that area and has divested it for development. The nonprofit, Greccio (another religion tidbit is that the organization was started by an ex-nun), plans to build a 45 to 50-unit complex at likely the cost of millions of dollars.
Stu Davis, president of the Center for Strategic Ministry, told the Gazette, “The reason that organization exists is to use the resources of the local church in creative ways to address community challenges. We asked ourselves what role we could play and turned to Greccio Housing, a long-standing, trusted partner that knows what it’s doing.”
Now, if you thought that was all Debbie Kelley at the Gazette wrote on religion this week, think again. She also reported on the history of evangelicalism in the Springs and Compassion International’s work in Haiti after the recent earthquake.
Briefly noted
There’s yet another development in the Park Hill safe camping site saga — according to Westword, a group of residents are now suing the city over the creation of the site.
Locally Haiti (formerly the Colorado Haiti Project), a nonprofit founded by several Episcopal priests, is asking for donations to support earthquake relief efforts.
The Colorado Council of Churches released a video of an information session about the Colorado Safe Parking Initiative.
St. John’s Cathedral and RedLine Denver are hosting a discussion with Tink Tinker, professor emeritus at Iliff School of Theology, on “the Eurochristian roots of the climate crisis” on Aug. 30. Meanwhile, the United Methodist Church interviewed Tinker for an article on abuses at Indian boarding schools.
In the latest e-newsletter from the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, Bishop Kym Lucas wrote that several people responded angrily to new COVID-19 health suggestions.
“Have Faith, Colorado” is a weekly roundup and analysis of local religion articles in the Centennial State. It’s by Liam Adams and Carina Julig. Liam covers local news for Colorado Community Media and religion news as a freelancer. Carina covers education and other Aurora news at the Sentinel Colorado. To connect with us about the newsletter please email liamadams.journalism@gmail.com and carina.julig@colorado.edu, and follow us on twitter at @liamsadams and @CarinaJulig.