Rev. Dr. C. Dennis Shaw is a retired Elder in the Mountain Sky Conference of the United Methodist Church. He served Hilltop United Methodist Church in Sandy, Utah from July 2012 to June 2019 and Stratmoor Hills United Methodist Church in Colorado Springs, CO from November 2003 to June 2012. Dennis was in ministry within the Rocky Mountain Conference of the UMC before that in other appointments. Pastor Dennis' believes that God loves us and wants a deep relationship with us. He believes that God has showered us with Grace and forgiveness and that through the Scripture we find healing and hope. Education is a core family value. He has an eclectic education focused on excellence with two degrees from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC: a Doctor of Ministry, awarded in May, 2012, and a Master of Divinity in May 1999 (Summa Cum Laude). He also holds a Master in Business Administration (1979) from Rochester (N.Y). Institute of Technology, and a Bachelor of Music (1971) from Georgia State University in his hometown of Atlanta. In 1994 Dennis retired as a Regular Army Lieutenant Colonel. Military responsibilities included light infantry, human resource management, and cost analysis. His assignments took him to Alaska, Colorado, New York, Virginia, Kansas, Korea and Germany with brief excursions to other European countries and Japan. Pastor Dennis and Marilyn White have been married for over 35 years and are parents to a blended family with four adult children living in Virginia, Tennessee, West Virginia and Texas. Praise God!
September 2, 2015, should be a remembrance day[1]: seventy years since the end of the most horrific war in world history. The world, in theory, was at peace after ten years of “world war” with a twenty-one year armistice in the middle. War was declared in June, 1914 and on September 2, 1945 victorious and … More A Remembrance Day
Be still, and know that I am God Psalm 46:10a, New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) Psalm 46 is a Song of Zion. Zion is another name for the city of Jerusalem. The Songs of Zion celebrate Jerusalem primarily because of its special relation to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Zion was “the city of our God” (Psalms … More Pastor's Musings — from Psalm 46 — "Be still, and know that I am God"
There are places in our world where seasons are shadows of what we experience here in these mountains. Mountain seasons are intense and they are rapid and sudden. In these mountains, I regularly hear people say: “This is the Rockies, you can experience three seasons in one day.” Something about the altitude and our proximity … More New Life
Hilltop is going to use this February, this “Black History Month,” to look at the theological and biblical understanding of hope. Black music will help us frame this discussion. Hope is: “To trust in, wait for, look for, or desire something or someone; or to expect something beneficial in the future.” In the Hebrew Bible, … More Hope
In my theme article of the newsletter I write: “I am proud to be the Pastor of this church: A church that has a SMART vision of making an impact on the lives of God’s people.” I want this blog to focus on how we might go about creating SMART Goals. SMART stands for Specific, … More Smart Creating
The Mindful Leader 