A Reconciling in Christ synod
Synod Assembly Registration is now LIVE!
Register now for the 2018 Synod Assembly and join us in Westminster this May! Assembly Highlights this year include:

  • Keynote Speaker- Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda
  • House Band- Tangled Blue
  • Bishop Election
  • ELCA Vice President- Bill Horne
  • Ecumenical and interfaith worship and prayer services
  • Continued conversation about the Doctrine of Discovery

Take a sneak peak at the tentative assembly agenda!

Assembly Voting Members will be commissioned to serve as Church Together Ambassadors in their congregation upon returning from assembly. Read more about the assembly ambassadors and registration information.

Other important information and Deadlines:

Scholarship assistance: complete the scholarship request HERE

Exhibitor and Display Information: Requests are due March 1

Resolution and Memorial Information: Intents are due February 23


Contact Deacon Erin Power for additional questions and concerns!
eConnection Spotlight: RMS in the Neighborhood
Ecumenical and Interfaith for the life of the world
T he installation of Pastor Janet Kettering at Shepherd of the Hills in Boulder embodied our call to be Better Together as she was joined by ELCA pastors and deacons, as well as leaders from the local Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Baptist congregations and rabbis from the Jewish Renewal Community

We are Better Together with all communities fo faith!
RMS-ELCA News and Events
There will be no Office of the Bishop Eucharist on February 14
In observance of Ash Wednesday, February 14, there will be no Office of the Bishop Eucharist in February.
Welcome Michael Tassler as Interim Director of Educate, Equip, Enact (3E Lilly Grant)
The Rev. Michael Tassler begins as the Interim Director of Educate, Equip, Enact (3E Lilly Grant) after serving since its inception as a Financial Wellness Advocate. In that role, he has met with rostered ministers applying for 3E grants, hearing their stories, assisting them in the application process, and advocating their requests before the Grants Team.  

Pastor Michael has a strong passion for the ministry of the 3E program, coming both from his experience as a parish pastor and knowing first-hand the kinds of financial vulnerabilities and opportunities rostered ministers experience, as well as from his experience as a former Thrivent Financial representative, where he was privileged to serve Thrivent members on their journeys to financial well-being.  

Pastor Michael continues his service as pastor of Grace Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, which began in 2012. In addition to serving as pastor to the Grace community, Pastor Michael enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids exploring the great outdoors and relaxing at home. He also enjoys playing golf and an assortment of musical instruments.  
Help for New Leaders in your Congregation
Wondering how to equip leaders in new leadership positions? Please join us for a one day workshop to address leadership topics that include self-awareness, practicing skills and shared leadership between the pastor and Council. Choose from either of these dates and locations:
 
February 6, 2018, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
The Lutheran Center, 7375 Samuel Dr., Denver, CO

If you'd like to attend, email Sarah Moening at smoening@rmselca.org to register, or walk-ins are also welcome.
Register NOW for Lutheran Day at the Legislature 2018
February 15, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Registration is now open for Colorado Lutheran Day at the Legislature ! Join advocates and community leaders for a morning of learning and action. Build relationships with your elected officials, learn from experienced pros, and get the latest updates on our work at the state capitol. You'll get the tools you need to meet and engage your elected officials. A hot breakfast will be served and scholarships are available. Go to the registration website for more information. Don't delay, register today!

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado is a ministry of the Rocky Mountain Synod.
For Your Bulletin
February 11 is Campus Ministry Sunday! 
We look forward to hearing student preachers in pulpits around the synod! Please include this flyer in your bulletins or newsletters, and remember our seven campus ministries in your prayers to share about this ministry.

  • Boulder, CO ~ Pastor Zach Parris
  • Greeley, CO ~ Pastor Deb Abbott
  • Fort Collins, CO ~ Pastor Paul Judson
  • Albuquerque, NM ~ Pastor Bre Roberts
  • Las Cruces, NM ~ Pastor Jared Carson
  • Logan, UT ~ Pastor Scott Thalaker
  • Laramie, WY ~ Pastor Nathan Keith
Installations

Rev. Kim Gonia
Risen Lord, Conifer, CO
Sunday, February 4, 2:00pm
Color of the Day: Green
RMS Prayer Cycle

 FEBRUARY 2018:
BORDER CONFERENCE

Week of February 4

 Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey - El Paso, TX
Rose Mary Sánchez-Guzmán,

Mount Hope - El Paso, TX
Matt Barnhouse

New Hope - El Paso, TX
Jeff St. Clair
Healing Peter's mother-in-law
by John Bridges, 19th century

Join us in daily prayer:
Download  ELCA Prayer Ventures  for daily guides to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world. 
Sunday, February 4
Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany 
Prayer of the Day
Everlasting God, you give strength to the weak and power to the faint. Make us agents of your healing and wholeness, that your good news may be made known to the ends of your creation, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

In God's Hands: Ecumenical Prayer Cycle from the World Council of Churches
February 4 - February 10:  Andorra, Italy, Malta, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, Vatican City

We pray for:
  • the preservation of the fragile environments and shorelines in this region
  • an end to economic and political turmoil.
  • stable governments that end corruption and serve the common good
  • policies that relieve disparities between those who are rich and poor

Around the Synod
3-day Lecture Series with Dr. Richard Swanson
Lord of the Mountains, Dillon, CO
Friday and Saturday, February 2 and 3, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, February 4, 9:00 a.m. sermon, and Theo Talk at 10:30 a.m.
970-468-6809

Dr. Richard Swanson, from Augustana University, Sioux Falls, SD is presenting the 3-day lecture series, "Creating the World Through Tenderness and Holiness."

We only create the world when the world falls apart. That’s the only time we have to. We have an acute sense that the world is falling apart even today: in every family experiencing loss or conflict, on every continent, in our own country. Sometimes the world is blown to bits, even, but not by alien forces or strange new threats. It’s weather, mudslides, diseases, political conflicts, the constant bombardment of bad news in the media. More information and schedule here .
Luther College Nordic Choir 2018 Colorado Tour
February 5, 6, 7, and 8, 2018
Denver, Colorado Springs, Estes Park, Fort Collins
Monday, February 5, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Augustana Lutheran Church
5000 E. Alameda Ave, Denver, CO

This performance is open to the public. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for ages 65 and up, and $5 for students. Reserve tickets via telephone at (800) 4-LUTHER or online at here . Remaining tickets will be available at the door. An alumni reception will follow the concert.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
First Lutheran Church
1515 N. Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, CO

This performance is open to the public with no charge for admission. A freewill offering will be taken during the concert.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
Estes Park High School Auditorium
1600 Manford Ave, Estes Park, CO

This performance is open to the public. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students. Reserve tickets via telephone at (800) 4-LUTHER or online here . Remaining tickets will be available at the door.

Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 7:00 p.m.
First United Methodist Church
1005 Stover St., Fort Collins, CO

This performance is open to the public. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for ages 65 and up, and $5 for students. Reserve tickets via telephone at (800) 4-LUTHER or online here . Remaining tickets will be available at the door.

Join Saint Peter for  Holden Evening Prayer Around the World
Wednesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Holden Village , a popular Lutheran retreat center located far back into the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, is promoting Holden Evening Prayer Around the World (HEPAW) . Congregations and other faith organizations will be gathering for evening prayer on Wednesday, February 7. Saint Peter is currently the only congregation in Colorado planning to host this event. The 7:00 p.m. worship service will be followed by a time of theological conversation (with refreshments provided).
For more information, visit  www.StPLC.org .
Journey Into Faith:
Welcoming New Members and Renewing Your Faith Community
Friday, March 2, 6:00 p.m. to Sunday, March 4, 12:00 noon
How do you welcome seekers to your congregation and encourage long-time members in their journey of faithful discipleship?   In the early Church, disciples of Jesus were formed in the Christian Way through an intensive apprenticeship in faith. Through scripture study, common worship and acts of charity and mercy, inquirers where introduced into a way of living that demonstrated the marks of a Christian.

Today, many of the people who come to our churches have little or no idea of what it means to live as a Christian. This weekend will introduce you to a process of incorporating new people into your parish while also renewing those who help to guide them, a process that helps people to give meaning to their own lives and form authentic community with others.

Who should attend? Clergy and 3 or more members of the congregation
When : Friday, March 2, 6:00 p.m. to Sunday, March 4, 12:00 noon

This event is sponsored by the Front Range Region of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, the Rocky Mountain Synod, and Journey to Baptismal Living. Download brochure here. More details and registration are available here.
Sign up for the LAM-NM Advocacy Network!
Keep up with legislative news. Receive Action Alerts! Take Action! Go to our homepage to sign up today .

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – NM is called to advocate for justice in publica policy, with a particular emphasis on alleviating poverty and hunger, by speaking with and for those who have little or no political power and supporting ELCA members, congregations and ecumenical partners in the ministry of advocacy.
Our Life Together
Grants Available from ELCA Disability Ministries
Through the many generous donations given to Disability Ministries through  Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA , we now have funds available to award grants to congregations and ministries in the ELCA that are looking for seed money (up to $5,000), to provide innovative ministry in collaboration with people who have disabilities. The focus of this grant program is to create a place at the table for all people by working toward these core goals of Disability Ministries:  preparing leaders; equipping synods, congregations and members; and connecting and gathering people together.
 
We are currently accepting grant proposals for projects. Applicants must show how the grant will be used to address one or more of the above goals in any of the following areas:
  • accessibility in congregations (including physical, communication, theological and/or cultural)
  • mental health ministry
  • outdoor ministry
 
Access  more information  on Disability Ministries and  Always Being Made New: The Campaign for the ELCA . To submit a grant proposal or to request more information, please contact us at  Disability.Ministry@elca.org .
AMMPARO Guardian Angel Program - 3 more volunteers needed!
We are looking for THREE more volunteers   to be part of our  Guardian Angel Program who are willing to support unaccompanied migrant children and single parent families through their immigration court process in Denver. For information about AMMPARO and the Guardian Angels Program click on the graphic, or go here , and visit the ELCA site: Accompanying Migrant Minors with Protection, Advocacy Representation and Opportunities (AMMPARO) .

You do not need to speak Spanish, although we do need some Spanish speakers.
If you are interested, please contact Alena Lamirato at  pastoralena@yahoo.com   or 720-256-3007.
Resource Corner
check back each week for a new or featured resource for your congregation
February Stewardship Toolkit
Ash Wednesday Stewardship
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” - Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 254
With these ancient words from Genesis 3:19 and the swipe of a dirty thumb across our foreheads, Ash Wednesday propels us into the season of Lent with the proper context to understand our lives as stewards of the riches that God entrusts to us.

  • Download the full article and its Stewardship Snippets for your bulletins and newsletters (here). Used by permission: Rev. Rob Blezard, Assistant to the Bishop, Lower Susquehanna Synod, rblezard@lss-elca.org
Classified Ads

Pews for Sale!

We have 10 pews that need a new home! They have reversible backs, eight are 78" long, and two small ones are 48". For more information please call the church office at 303-776-2800.
Employment Opportunities
All Non-Rostered Positions 
Head of School
Rwanda School Project - Rwamagana, Rwanda

Faith Formation Director of Youth
Bethany Lutheran Church - Cherry Hills Village, CO

Director of Music Ministry (full-time)
Joy Lutheran Church - Parker, CO
Office of the Bishop This Week
 
Bishop Gonia
  • Installation for Rev. Laura Stephenson, St. Matthew's Episcopal, Grand Junction, CO
  • Synod Council Meeting
  • Installation for Rev. Kim Gonia, Risen Lord, Conifer,CO
  • Boulder-Broomfield Conference Retrea

Pastor Kent Mueller (1/2 time)
  • Lutheran Center Administration
  • Synod Council

Ruth Hoffman
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM
  • Legislative session
  • Synod Council meeting

Peter Severson
Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-CO
  • Christ the Servant, Louisville
  • Synod Council
  • Legislative Session
Pastor Judith VanOsdol
  • Area Ministry Strategy meeting
  • Synod Council 
  • Mission Sites administrative work
  • Developer/ Redeveloper evaluations  

Deacon Erin Power
  • Synod Assembly Planning
  • Synod Council
  • Highlands, Denver, CO
  • Continuing Education

Pastor Sarah Moening
  • Congregational Transition
  • First Call Theological Education
  • Synod Council

Pastor Leslie Welton
  • First Call Theological Education
  • Synod Council
  • Candidacy Meetings
Quick Links
Share the News
Erin Power   Assistant to the Bishop
Andrew Nakatan i , Communications Assistant
Rocky Mountain Synod 
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
800-525-0462 / 303-777-6700 / fax 303-339-4744
Articles for eConnection are due noon Monday for the issue the following Wednesday.
Event announcements are included for about two weeks then copied to the Events & News Web Page, and may be submitted via the eConnection Submission link above.