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Joining Denver Prays

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man in black jacket and black pants walking on sidewalk during daytime

I am pleased to announce that Soccer Chaplains United will be part of the Denver Prays time happening this upcoming weekend. The Denver Prays movement is a 3-Day Christian virtual prayer meeting stretching from Friday, April 24, 12:01 AM to Sunday, April 26 Midnight. The aim is to pray for the city of Denver during the COVID-19 pandemic and just as the city gets set to loosen its social distancing and shelter-in-place restrictions. You can go to denverprays.com to learn more or to sign up.

Rubèn will lead a prayer hour at 1:00 pm (Mountain) this Sunday.

Pastor Rubèn Rodríguez will be leading a Zoom prayer time on Sunday, April 26 at 1:00 pm Mountain. His prayer topic is specifically for Denver Youth, a fitting subject given his many years as a youth pastor and currently as the Colorado Rapids Development Academy chaplain.

I will be leading a Zoom prayer time on Sunday, April 26 at 2:00 pm Mountain in consideration of a typical sports event kickoff time. If you are someone in sport who has been effected by the current global pandemic.

I will be leading a prayer hour at 2:00 pm (Mountain) on Sunday.

I will be leading this prayer hour for those in the sport industry (from youth to professional) that have been effected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Many have certainly considered that there are no sports going on, but we may not have thought of the different people and their lives impacted economically through this time.

Perhaps the first image that comes to mind is the multi-million dollar athlete or owner — they should be fine financially, right? But we forget about the part-time stadium guard who is retired and needs the extra income to make ends meet. We forget about the local businesses near the stadiums that depend on heavy traffic flows to help their monthly revenues. We forget about the front-office and ticket sales staff who are facing furlough, lay-offs, and firings because they don’t have events that they are selling, promoting, or working. We forget about the Olympic athlete and the collegiate athletes — whose scholarships, livelihood, and other parts of their lives have been impacted.

In addition, the realities of the income of sport also include those that play at lower levels. The median salary of an athlete in Major League Soccer is $179,000 and much of the league’s athletes make less than $100k. If you go into the second division of soccer (USL-Championship) and lower you will find players making as little as $500-$1000/ month for an 8-month contract. And their subsidized income from soccer camps and clinics aren’t happening right now because of social distancing regulations.

Please consider joining in to pray with us during this time. We encourage you to join (go to denverprays.com) to sign up for either hour, or to look at some of the other hours and subjects for prayer.

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer.

Timothy Project: Shiloh House 2015 Final Update

IMG_2763A few weeks ago, Cooper Floto and a team of volunteer coaches, from his high school soccer team, The Denver Eagles, as well as volunteers from my Boy Scout Troop, Troop 794 decided to host a soccer camp for the children of the Shiloh House and reached to CrossTraining’s Timothy Project program for help. The camp was originally designed to take place at the Colorado Miners Community Center near Denver with about 15 – 20 kids between nine and ten twelve years old. But, as you read more of the story below, there were some unexpected moments and changes that happened as part of the camp. Floto wrote to CrossTraining to let us know how the camp went and the Timothy Project donations helped to give to these special children. Read his report below:

IMG_2709With the ground covered in a thin layer of bleached snow, and the temperatures dropping to twenty degrees, a group of seven high school soccer players and seven energetic kids hibernated into a gym for a day of soccer.  Laughs continuously erupted from the kid’s smiling faces.  The Shiloh House children from the ages of 7 to 11 years old, enjoyed nearly four hours of soccer, fellowship, and God’s love.  Grabbing a fresh soccer ball and a new friend, the kids spent hours playing soccer games with the coaches.  IMG_2728Through games and drills, the kids developed their soccer fundamentals and found new friendships with the coaches.  Their eyes grew wide when they found out the soccer equipment that was soon to be theirs.  Soccer balls, pop-up soccer nets, Colorado Rapids jerseys, orange soccer cones, warm up pants, and Gatorade water bottles fell in front of their eyes.  The equipment was used throughout the camp and donated to the Shiloh House at the end of the day.  The equipment given to them displayed to them that they ARE valuable and loved by God.  The soccer equipment was simply a demonstration of God’s love for the kids.  They are WAY more valuable and loved than what could be demonstrated by the soccer equipment, but the equipment did make them very excited.

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CrossTraining’s Timothy Project provided brand-new pop-up nets for the children of Shiloh House along with other donations of water bottles and Colorado Rapids gear.

At the end of the day, all the coaches and campers sat on the wood gym floor in a circle for an optional devotional. A few children decided to leave and those who remained sat in the circle with the coaches. The devotional shared that God finds each of the kids valuable and worthy of Jesus’ death.

IMG_2761One of the kids that had left was a young girl named Mikayla.  She sat with her back against the cold brick wall of the gym while one of our coaches, Trent, plopped down next to her.  Soon, she glanced her brown eyes up at Trent’s face and began to ask questions.  She asked Trent questions about God that were fueled by immense curiosity.  Trent answered her questions.  More curiosity sparked in the eyes of Mikayla.  Soon, she asked Trent if she could have a Bible.  We only had one Bible, but Mikayla was ecstatic to receive it.  With wide brown eyes, she let the Bible press into her small fingers.  She promised she would read the whole thing.  The giving of a Bible to Mikayla made the other children interested in the Bible and curious about what the book might hold.  Interestingly enough, the most tangible results of God working in the children’s lives began because Mikayla decided she did not want to take part in the devotional.  God absolutely used something that could have been considered bad and changed it into something amazing.

Floto and his team of volunteers are thankful for CrossTraining and those that helped to support their work with the Shiloh House, Floto shared a final note,

We might never know what seed was planted in the heart of Mikayla that day or in the hearts of the other children at the camp, but we believe it will be a fruitful seed.  Thank you for your prayers, help, and donations.

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– content contribution by Cooper Floto

If you would like to make a contribution to projects like the Shiloh House please note (Timothy Project) in your donation. Please use the Donate Now link to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift helps to secure additional equipment and to cover associated costs of providing bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPTCrossTraining Timothy Project

Timothy Project: Shiloh House 2015

shiloh houseThe Shiloh House isn’t just a house – it’s not just one house and it’s not your typical house. It has a special purpose. It’s mission is to

offer nurturing, therapeutic and educational services to empower youth and families to overcome the impact of abuse, neglect and trauma.

And for Cooper Floto, his hope is that a soccer camp will be part of the healing process for the children who currently call Shiloh House their home.

Floto, as part of his Eagle project for Boy Scouts, will be running a soccer camp for the children at the Shiloh House.  With volunteers from his high school soccer team, The Denver Eagles, as well as volunteers from my Boy Scout Troop, Troop 794. The camp will take place at the Colorado Miners Community Center near Denver with about 15 – 20 kids between nine and ten twelve years old attending the soccer camp.

Floto spoke about the Shiloh House and part of his desire to reach out to the children,

Many of the children have broken family lives. Whether it be that they were abused, neglected, or they have behavioral issues, the Shiloh House will place them under their wing in order to educate and mentor them. A soccer camp is a beautiful way to bless the kids and help them to grow in a relationship with God.

Floto’s specific project request includes:

10 soccer balls, 20 soccer jerseys, 20 water bottles, 20 sets of shin guards, and 2 pop-up soccer nets

The camp will be held on November 27th.

If you would like to make a contribution to this project please note (Timothy Project: Shiloh House 2015) in your donation. Please use the Donate Now link to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift helps to secure additional equipment and to cover associated costs of providing bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPTCrossTraining Timothy Project

From the Rev: Glory, Glory Man United

I recently had the privilege to take in the Manchester United vs. AS Roma match that was held in Denver, CO as part of the Guinness International Champions Cup held in the summer of 2014 through the United States. It was a chance to see, up close, some of the world’s best teams and best players. As an addition to this past summer’s World Cup, it made for a wonderful summer-filled with soccer. For me, part of the joy was to be able to share the game with my oldest daughter, Brianna (pictured below).

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Now, to be honest, my daughter is still probably more excited about getting Dippin’ Dots at the game than seeing the likes of Wayne Rooney score a brilliant goal. It reminded me of a song once sung that lamented the fact that we can often be in a glorious place, surrounded by beauty but we are so absorbed in electronics or in the trivial that we miss it.

Rooney (center) turns and shoots and scores in the upper 90 of the goal against AS Roma. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)

For me, I wanted my daughter to realize that we were watching Manchester United, one of the best, most prestigious teams in the world. But for her, she took more joy when I went and bought her the famous stadium ice cream. In years to come, she may look back and fondly think of the time that we went to a Man U game. It is unlikely that she will remember the Dippin’ Dots – just as I will unlikely remember the scoreline or even Wayne Rooney scoring twice. What will remain is the relationship that we share as father and daughter. We will appreciate those moments together, sitting in the stands and sharing with each other.

This was reinforced to me again as I ended a counseling appointment with someone at the church. We had spent time looking back at this person’s life – to see where the faithful presence of God had been with them during times – good and bad. Sometimes, people ask me, “Why do you believe in God?” And in those moments, sometimes I cannot always remember the ways that He has been faithful or the times that he has brought me through – there is a relationship that has grown out of love. “We’ve spent time together.” And while, at different points in my life, I have been more concerned with the “Dippin’ Dots” and have missed appreciating the more glorious moments of being in the presence of God still He is good to me (like a father) and He continues to share with me- waiting for me to see how good, how glorious He truly is.

Blessings,

Rev. Brad Kenney

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