When I first moved to Breckenridge, I didn’t know a soul, but I began regularly attending the Saturday evening mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church. I was greeted by Barbara Rasmussen who always said “hello” and asked how I was doing.

If I didn’t show up for a few weeks, she asked where I’d been the next time she saw me, which had the effect of giving me second thoughts before I skipped another Saturday evening Mass. It was also an important lifeline because I was going through a difficult depression during that first year.

Church communities offer a special kind of support that we might not find elsewhere. I believe it is because we understand that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and it is God who responds, “Come to me all you who are burdened and weary and I will give you rest.”