Last updated Sunday, January 13, 2008

St. Laurence Episcopal Church, Conifer, Colorado 80433 USA

Web Page Last Updated on Wednesday, September 06, 2006

	"All find a welcome" regardless of Physical Abilities, Economic Situation, Race, Gender, or Sexual Orientation.

To learn more about us, click one of the images or links below!

	Click on the church to read about our history. Click here to read about our patron saint. If you would like to visit, here is a map to the church. Services are held each Sunday at 8 and 10:15 AM. All are welcome!
	One of our most important ministries is Outreach, helping the people of our community who need assistance and support.

Our Church is a wonderful place for families and singles, young and old, female and male, to worship and fellowship. We have a very diverse and loving church family that spans four generations of members. One way we hope to share this is through the Internet, and specifically, the Web, for anyone looking for a church home. If you are just passing through, recently moved to the area, or are a long time resident, drop in and look us over. We're sure you'll find what you are looking for.

Laurence; Deacon and Martyr at Rome, 258 A.D.

Laurence the Deacon, one of the most popular saints of the Roman Church, was martyred during the persecution initiated in 257 by the Emperor Valerian. That persecution was aimed primarily at the clergy and the laity of the upper classes. All properties used by the Church were confiscated, and assemblies for Christian worship were forbidden. On August 4, 258, Pope Sixtus the Second and his seven deacons were apprehended in the Roman catacombs. They were summarily executed, except for the archdeacon, Laurence, who was martyred on the tenth.

Though no authentic "Acts" of Laurence ordeal have been preserved, the tradition is that the prefect demanded information from him about the Church's treasures. Laurence, in reply, assembled the sick and poor to whom, as archdeacon, he had distributed the Church's relief funds, and presented them to the prefect, saying, "These are the treasures of the Church." Laurence is believed to have been roasted alive on a gridiron.

The Emperor Constantine erected a shrine and basilica over Laurence's tomb, which is in a catacomb on the Via Tiburtina. The present Church, St. Laurence Outside the Walls, dates to 579.

The Greek word from which we get our word "martyr" simply means "witness" - but in the age of persecutions, before Constantine recognized the Church early in the fourth century, a "martyr" was generally one who had witnessed even to death. For Laurence, as for all martyrs, to die for Christ was to live with Christ.

St. Laurence had its first meeting on November 28, 1977. But it wasn't called St. Laurence then, and we didn't meet in a church building! For more information, click here for the whole story of St. Laurence.