Together, we proclaim and embody God's unconditional love for the sake of the world.
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May 16, 2025
Special Edition
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Dear siblings in Christ in the Rocky Mountain Synod, and our neighbors,
We’re writing to you as the Executive Committee of the RMS Council, to acknowledge and respond to concerns that have been brought to us about a recent decision we made to install temporary fencing around the Lutheran Center (the current location of the Office of the Bishop and of Highlands Lutheran Church in Denver). Over the past week, we have heard from concerned members of the synod lamenting this decision, asking for more information and for clarification, sharing the painful impact of this decision on the Highlands community, and asking—rightly—about how this decision impacts neighbors of the Lutheran Center (including unhoused neighbors).
We have also heard from concerned members of the synod who have noted that public and private conversations about this situation have at times crossed the line into accusations and verbal attacks on the character and integrity of members of our synod community, and/or have included inaccurate information. We have taken time as the Executive Committee to pray, to read and listen to all concerns voiced to us and questions asked of us, and to discern the most faithful next steps. We believe the healthiest way forward is through honest, respectful, and responsible community conversations.
This letter is one of several steps we are taking toward this goal—and we outline other steps below.
| | A Word of Apology and Confession | | |
To the people of our Synod, and especially to our siblings at Highlands,
We begin with an apology. We acknowledge that the decision to install the fence at the Lutheran Center was made without including Highlands Lutheran Church in the process. That was a serious oversight. Highlands is a congregation of this Synod with an active worshipping congregation and community-focused ministries that currently operate out of the Lutheran Center building. They are valued ministry partners who deserved to be part of the conversation. It was our job as Executive Committee to facilitate this. We did not do our job.
We deeply regret not engaging in clearer, more transparent communication about the situations and factors that led to our fencing decision, and not inviting input and collaboration from Highlands in how these challenges could be addressed in ways that honored the integrity of Highlands’ ministry. For that, we ask for your forgiveness. It was not our desire to alienate or exclude anyone; but we hear and accept that this was the result of our actions. We now recognize that in our effort to act swiftly in response to growing concerns, we failed to honor our relationship with Highlands in the way they deserved.
And, we want to say that we have heard and take seriously Highlands’ members vulnerability in sharing how the sight of the fence impacted them emotionally and spiritually—especially, but not only, members of the congregation or visitors to worship who are formerly incarcerated. We grieve with Highlands, and all of you, the pain that this caused.
| | A Call to Decency and Respect | | |
We also must clarify something important: the decision to install the fence was made by the Synod Executive Committee and the Bishop of the Rocky Mountain Synod, not by the synod staff. Because synod staff have been tasked with managing the Lutheran Center property, in that role staff brought to us safety and security concerns we deemed significant and urgent. The decision on a solution was ours. We lament that our staff have received angry, hurtful communications throughout this week from people under the mistaken impression that they were responsible for an action that was our response to their request for help.
Our staff have served faithfully in a space that has become challenging. They have dealt with ongoing issues that include cleaning up hazardous waste, confronting criminal activity, fielding complaints from neighbors and calls for help from the unhoused, while fulfilling their primary call to serve the 150 congregations and 35,000 members of this synod.
As followers of Christ, we are called to speak the truth in love, not to weaponize our words. Public attacks, accusations, and personal harassment—whether online, in person, or whispered in back channels—are not just unacceptable, they are contrary to the Gospel we proclaim. We do not have to agree on every decision. But we are still bound together as the Body of Christ. Let us be mindful that when we harm one part of the body, we wound the whole.
The staff that make up the Office of the Bishop are called by the Holy Spirit to this ministry and are faithful servants of the Gospel. We have full confidence in their compassion and integrity.
We would ask, going forward, that further concerns and questions about this fencing decision be brought directly to the Executive Committee, who made the decision.
| | Now the Reality Behind the Fence | | Why was it put up? Let’s tell the truth—plainly and fully. | | |
This is not just about homelessness.
The Lutheran Center has faced ongoing challenges for a number of years related to safety and security. Some have asked what else has been tried. For almost four years, the office has been working—quietly and persistently—behind the scenes. They have reached out to the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, Adams County officials, local police, private security firms, and community organizations. Working with the Executive Committee and with Synod Council, the office has installed flood lights that have been torn down and cameras that have been smashed. The Synod has paid more than $3,000 this year alone in biohazard cleanup costs, including human waste and hazardous materials.
In recent months, the situation has worsened. Neighbors who live near the Lutheran Center have been reporting to the office an increase in larger groups using the grounds of our property after hours for criminal activity including drug dealing and prostitution. This has not necessarily involved only unhoused neighbors but also others who come by car from other places. Members of staff have been directly and personally confronted and harassed on the way to or from work. The most recent event precipitating our fencing decision was a large-scale arrest of people on our property by Adams County Sheriff’s Officers who instructed staff who were present in no uncertain terms that it was the Synod’s job to make sure these conditions did not continue, and that we were not to allow people to camp on our property as this would draw others with more dangerous intent.
Let us be absolutely clear: the decision to install the fence was not about pushing people away. As we understood it, this was about stopping criminal activity that was putting our staff, our neighbors, and others—including, potentially, other unhoused neighbors—in danger. We sought a solution that could quickly deescalate this pattern by deterring use of the property for criminal activity. We also recognized that, as the property will be vacated by Highlands Lutheran Church and by the Office of the Bishop, potentially in a matter of months, the fencing was a temporary solution for what has become a transitional location for all involved.
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The fencing cost a total of $2,536 for six months of use. At no time did we decide to fund the fencing from mission support (i.e. offerings from the congregations and members of the synod). We have an identified source of funds from a previous building sale that have been set aside by Synod Council for maintenance and property costs for the Lutheran Center until the time it is sold (at which time these funds will likely be recouped through the sale.) We want to be clear on this point: your giving to the Synod is not and will not be the funding source.
The Office of the Bishop is not a local congregation. It does not have case managers or a team of volunteers present daily. The role of this office is not local community ministry, but structural and spiritual support to local community ministries across five states. While the staff have done what they can to offer kindness, resources, and even temporary shelter when appropriate in the past, they are not equipped to oversee or manage this kind of ministry.
Highlands, too, has sought to serve and has identified ministry to the local community and to their neighbors as a priority. The congregation has also been clear that managing property issues at the Lutheran center is not their vision or role, and that volunteer and staff capacity for this ministry at the Lutheran Center is not full time.
This has been a challenging conundrum for all involved. This is not a judgment—it is a reality. Staff who are on the property up to 40 hours per week, and neighbors (particularly those living to the side and behind our property) have been asking us, as the elected and representative leaders of this Synod who are responsible for this property: what will we do?
The decision to erect fencing was our answer. We did not choose it lightly or joyfully, but we do believe we chose it faithfully, given all the needs and concerns before us.
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Next Steps: A Commitment to Restoration and Care
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- We want you all to know that we have received and heard the cries of pain from those who have reached out to us about the emotional and spiritual impact of seeing this fence. We understand that symbols matter. A fence around a church building looks like exclusion. We take that seriously. Our Executive Committee agreed that, as we failed to include Highlands’ perspectives in our original decision, we need to review this decision in dedicated conversation with Highlands Lutheran Church and with the Office of the Bishop staff, to determine whether modifications or alternatives to this fencing can allow for Highlands to carry on their ministry with integrity and can allow for staff and neighbors’ safety to be protected. As Highlands and the Synod both move toward vacating this property, we commit to working alongside them to identify a solution that maintains the safety of the property and its neighbors while honoring Highlands’ role as a worshiping community.
- We also remain committed to repairing relationship and to open communication. Bishop Meghan will be reaching out to Pr. Samm Melton-Hill of Highlands Lutheran Church for further pastoral conversation and to discuss a visit to the congregation.
- The Office of the Bishop will also make space in the Synod Assembly schedule for an open conversation about the Lutheran Center property with all who desire this.
This has been hard. But we remain committed to one another, to the Gospel, and to walking forward in truth, compassion, and care for all parties involved—including those who live there, those who serve there, and those who seek refuge there.
We welcome your prayers, your partnership, and your help as we continue to navigate this together.
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In Christ,
Rocky Mountain Synod Council Executive Committee
Bishop Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
Ruth Hoffman, Vice President
Lisa Guthrie, Synod Synod Treasurer
Sharen Kamp, Synod Secretary
Jeff Fairfax
Rev. Matthew Weber
Rev. Tim Orlowski
Vicar Ken Maldonado
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