"Synod - On Our Way, Together"

April 25, 2:00 p.m. - April 27, noon Embassy Suites, Loveland

We will gather together in Loveland Colorado, to worship, learn, elect a bishop, and explore what is next for the Rocky Mountain Synod.

Registration is a two-step process:

1. Complete the registration form by following the link below and pay via credit card. Registration is $400 per participant (*Note: the registration platform requires stable internet and a "country code" please enter "US" or any two characters of choice) -- ATTN Retired Clergy, please do not register until you have read the special instructions for retired clergy. If you haven't received the email or have questions please contact Yvonne Wilken HERE.

2. Book sleeping rooms at the Embassy Suites HERE (*Do not call the Embassy Suites or use their regular reservation platforms, you will not receive the contracted room rate for this event – our contracted rate is $134 per room per night. Also, don’t forget to use your congregation or ministry’s tax-exempt certificate for the sleeping rooms) The Embassy Suites Hotel and Convention Center is located at 4705 Clydesdale Pkwy, Loveland, CO, 80538 -- view a map HERE

The Registration deadline is Friday, March 22

Registration cancellations will be accepted through Friday, March 15th. There will be a non-refundable fee of $50 assessed for any cancelations received by this date.

No cancellations will be accepted and no refunds issued beginning on March 16th because of contractual agreements with the hotel. However, you may substitute one attendee for another through April 15th.

Schedule Information: Please plan to arrive and check-in by 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 25 -- voters must be checked-in by 2:00 p.m. to participate in the first ballot. All other schedule information is fluid - thank you in advance for your flexibility! The Assembly will function on an "if/then" schedule dependent on the election process. Assembly business will ideally begin at 9:30 a.m. and end by 8:00 p.m., and elections may need to go later into the evening. Unless you live close to the venue and don't mind driving at night, please plan to stay at the Embassy Suites, Loveland.

Assembly Exhibitors: There is no additional fee for an exhibit. When you register, please apply and staff will contact you with details.

If you are planning to submit a Memorial or Resolution, please indicate this intention as part of your registration and staff will contact you with details. Memorials and Resolutions must be submitted for review by Reference and Counsel by Friday, March 8th. Guidelines for Memorials and Resolutions are available HERE

Past Ministry Magazine contributors and SMO's will receive an email this week regarding submission requirements and deadlines. If you do not receive an email or you have questions regarding the Ministry Magazine, please contact Yvonne Wilken HERE.

Scholarships are available, please contact Dn. Sarah Bjornebo to apply

Questions? or If you'd like to volunteer to help with Assembly (lots of opportunities available!) email HERE -- Thank you!!

Join the Region 2 Lenten Challenge to benefit ELCA World Hunger!

In honor of ELCA World Hunger’s 50th year in mission and ministry, the 5 synods in ELCA Region 2 are challenging one another to raise money for ELCA World Hunger. The challenge: Participate in some spiritual and physical practices during the 40 days of Lent, 2024. The synod with the most participants wins!

More than 820 million people, about 11% of the world’s population today, are hungry. As members of the ELCA, we are called to respond.

CO Lutheran Day at the Capital

NOTE: change!

This year's Colorado Lutheran Day at the Capitol event was originally announced for February 15. However, circumstances have led us to change the date, so please join us instead on Monday, March 18, 2024!

Our event will take place at St. John's Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Denver. Registration will open soon and will be announced here & through our e-newsletter. We hope to see you there!

Questions? contact Peter Severson, Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry CO

Synod Annual Report 2023

Please share the Synod's Annual Report with your congregation or ministry! Annual Meetings are a great time to share this information as well as regular communications - "Synod - On Our Way, Together!"

Mission Support Intents for 2024

RMS Congregations, please complete the Mission Support Intent Form below (fillable PDF), and email the completed form to Jon Johnson, Finance Director at [email protected]

IF the Mission Support Intent is completed as part of the Rostered Minister Report to the Bishop, you do not need to complete this form.

2024 Thank you for your generous support!

Download the form HERE

WHY CHURCH?

NEW SERIES TO BRIGHTEN THE LENS ON LENT

As the world around us continues to evolve, a new series has been designed to get your congregation to talk about what they yearn for in their church today and into its future, and to reflect on its interaction within the community and the world.

Created by the RMS Congregational Ministries Committee and adapted from previous conversations on “Classic Church/Church Becoming.” the resource, Why Church? Lent 2024, invites your congregation to explore one or more of these five categories, each with accompanying scripture and questions to encourage conversation.

• Why Church? Centers on a Lutheran witness to the gospel to examine shared values among all cultures in the congregation’s context.
• Story: Reflects on the “highs and lows” of the congregation’s story, key milestones, possible shifts in motives, and connection in the community and world.
• Change: Discovers how the congregation has changed in the last ten years, and identity parts no longer working, current gifts and who/where to serve.
• Abundance & Scarcity: Questions the motivation behind wanting “more” and what there already is in abundance and whether the focus is on surviving or thriving.
• Holy Spirit: Ponders “Where is God in this?” When has the church discerned a past calling of the Holy Spirit and how can it listen for such a calling now? 



Contact Rev. Brian Erickson HERE for more information.

The Registration Deadline is March 13, 2024 or when capactiy is reached.

Registration does not include transportation to/from El Paso

Companion Synod Visit 2024

The Rocky Mountain Synod will be hosting the presidents from our four companion synods in Madagascar September 28-October 6, 2024!

Our hope is to introduce the presidents to different areas and ministries of the synod as they make their way from El Paso, TX to Denver, CO for the installation of our new bishop on Saturday, October 5, 2024. If you would like to be part of a planning team for the visit, please contact Terry Cole, Companion Synod rep on the Global Church Network, at [email protected]. And if your ministry is in El Paso, TX, northern New Mexico, Durango, CO, Price, UT, the Salt Lake City area, Laramie or Cheyenne, WY and the Denver Metro area and you are interested in meeting and providing hospitability for our guests, please contact Terry, as well!

Simple Living and Repentance

an article by Pastor Michael Mortvedt

My friend Pastor Bill has declared himself to be the Director of Spiritual Eschatology for his congregation.  He says the title does not make much sense, but it sounds good.

I sometimes wonder if simple living is similar—it sounds good, but does it make sense? As a former director of the ecumenical nonprofit organization, Alternatives for Simple Living, I often urged folks to embrace voluntary simplicity as a lifestyle.  My rationale was: It is good for the environment and good for the soul to live simpler lives, so we should do it.  But simple living is not easy, it is rather complicated, and it challenges much of what our culture values and honors.  Bill McKibben expressed his opinion that getting people to support radically reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, enough to make a difference, is comparable to getting wealthy slave holders in the US south in the 1850s to advocate abolishing slavery. Continue reading HERE

For additional information: [email protected]

Update from the Bishop Election Committee

Thank you to everyone who suggested nominees for the election at the Assembly in April. Those suggested by the community in this way have been contacted by the Bishop Election Committee and will have the opportunity to fill out a biographical form if they are open to discerning a call as bishop.

Any Word and Sacrament Minister who is open to being nominated for bishop may complete and submit biographical information by filling out a form on the synod website January 22-March 1, 2024. Anyone who submits biographical information must still be nominated on the first ballot at the Synod Assembly to be considered. Biographical forms received from all potential nominees will be available on the synod website after March 1. Any ELCA Word and Sacrament Minister can be nominated on the first ballot, regardless of whether that person submits a biographical form prior to the Assembly.

Questions? contact Pr. Ann Hultquist HERE 

More information - including a helpful timeline and the form to self-nominate -- is available on the RMS website

Introducing the Bishop Transition Team

The Synod Relations Committee of the ELCA Conference of Bishops determined that it would be beneficial to have a resource to guide the transitional actions and conversations that occur between an outgoing bishop and a bishop elect.

With this official guideline in hand, we introduce you to the

newly formed Bishop Transition Team of the Rocky Mountain Synod. This team of

five rostered and lay leaders from our synod were recruited and appointed by

the RMS Synod Council to serve through the installation and “settling in”

period of the synod bishop to be elected at the 2024 Synod Assembly. 

Their role is distinct and separate from those who are tasked

with facilitating the election of our new bishop. It is intended to help

provide a more efficient orientation and caring welcome for the new bishop as

we begin a new chapter in the history of our synod. The Transition Team members

are: Deb Elstad (Chair), Nolan Bly, Dr. Jack Lindsey, Rev. Ruth Ann Loughry,

and Rev. Kate Schlechter. 

We prayerfully invite you as a member of the Rocky Mountain

Synod to join them in their efforts and participate when requested as they

prepare for a smooth transition and good beginning for the new bishop

elect. 

Web address and/or email for additional information: Deb

Elstad, [email protected]

Urban Servant Corps

JOURNEY WITH US THIS LENT

As we spend the 40 days of Lent in prayer, fasting, and sacrificial giving, we invite you to:

Pray for the vulnerable and unemployed;

Fast in solidarity with the hungry and homeless; Give to the organizations who offer basic services to our neighbors.

The Urban Servant Corps intentional community of young adults are living in simplicity while offering service to neighborhood organizations throughout Denver. We ask for your support of direct service and advocacy for long-term social change for our vulnerable neighbors -- this ripple effect means so much to so many.

Please share your generosity of $40 for the 40 days of Lent today.

Spend a Summer at Sky Ranch!

There's nothing quite like a summer spent on staff in outdoor ministry. The skills learned, experiences had, connections formed, and memories made are lifechanging. Whether you're leading a hike through the beautiful Rocky Mountains, helping a camper on high ropes, or planning an unforgettable campfire, you'll be a part of something truly special. So don't wait, apply today and join us for an unforgettable summer at Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp! 

If you have young adults in your life, I urge you to share this wonderful opportunity with them!  

Web address and/or email for additional information:

https://www.skyranchcolorado.org/employment



The Magic of Mozart

February 24th at 7:00 p.m Augustana, Denver, CO

Experience the brilliance of Mozart's music and more. Opening the concert, Caroline Shaw's Entr'acte adds a contemporary touch, paying tribute to Mozart while infusing the evening with a fresh and modern perspective. Then, prepare to be captivated by the virtuosity and timeless elegance of Mozart Piano Concerto 21, performed by pianist Matthew Liu, winner of the International Keyboard Odyssiad Competition. Feel the grandeur and electrifying energy of the "Jupiter" Symphony, Mozart's magnum opus, as the orchestra brings to life its majestic melodies and intricate orchestration.

Web address and/or email for additional information:

https://www.augustanaarts.org/events/the-magic-of-mozart



Veteran Servant Corps Project VSCP

The November/December 2023 issue of Living Lutheran included an article about Veteran Servant Corps Project (VSCP). To read this article, go to https://www.livinglutheran.org/2023/11/serving-those-who-served/. 

VSCP (a self-funded ministry of the RMS) is currently providing Veteran worship services in Denver, Florence and Rifle (Colorado). Pastors providing these worship services are paid a stipend and mileage by VSCP ($600.00 a month). Your continued donations allow these worship opportunities for Veterans to happen. 

To donate, go to https://www.rmselca.org/, and look for the GIVE button. Thank you! For more information email:  [email protected]

Understanding How Loneliness Influences Health and What Nurses Can Do to Help Lonely People

Sponsored by the Lutheran Faith Community Nurse Association

Laurie Theeke, PhD, FNP-BC, GCNS-BC,FNAP will present information about loneliness as a unique health stressor. We will delve into the relationship between belonging and loneliness, with information on how an unmet need to belong and experience of loneliness can lead to poor psychological, behavioral, physical and social health outcomes.

OBJECTIVES

1. Enhance knowledge on loneliness and how it elicits biopsychosocial stress responses that lead to poor health.

2. Describe the concept of belonging and how it relates to the experience of loneliness.

3. Discuss risks for loneliness for special populations including children, women in the perinatal period, older adults, and those in the LGBTQ+ community.

4. Learn about how interventions for loneliness could potentially be implemented in faith communities.

DATE: March 14, 2024

TIME: 3-5 pm AKT, 4-6 pm PT, 5-7 pm MT, 6-8 pm CT, 7-9 pm ET

Registration fee: $30 for LFCNA members/ $50 for non-members

Nursing Contact hours provided: 2.0 (see below)

Laurie Theeke, PhD, FNP-BC, GCNS-BC, FNAP, FAAN is Professor and Associate

Dean for PhD Education at The George Washington University School of Nursing.

Her program of scholarship is centered on the problem of loneliness and its

contribution to negative health outcomes in persons with complex chronic

illness living in rural underserved areas. Her preliminary work included large

national data set analyses of Health and Retirement data on predictors of and

outcomes associated with loneliness.

Dr. Theeke is the inventor of LISTEN, an intervention designed to target

loneliness. LISTEN is based on key components of story theory and principles of

cognitive restructuring. More recently, Dr. Theeke is working with multiple

universities to understand how loneliness may impact the physiology of wound

healing and discover how loneliness relates to substance use disorder during the

opioid crisis. Dr. Theeke has over 20 years of experience as a family nurse

practitioner and clinical specialist serving rural underserved populations.

Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church Seeks Your Input

The Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church is tasked with collecting information about what is working and what is not working at the church wide, synod, and congregational levels. It will present its findings to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly.

The Commission wants to hear from you through a brief survey that asks about the purpose of congregations, synods, and the churchwide office. The survey also asks, “What should the future church look like?”

Along with information received at listening sessions across the church, this survey will inform the commission’s recommendations.

The survey is available in Spanish and English.

More Information regarding the survey and the work of CRLC is available HERE

Caffeinated Church Conference September 9-12, 2024

Denver, CO

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

• Church Administrators
• Communication Directors
• Pastors/Clergy & Lay Ministry Leaders
• Volunteers involved in church management

We are excited to announce an in-person conference, September 9-12, 2024! Early Bird Registration is $250 (through April 30!) and no membership to Caffeinated Church is required to attend. And if you are a church with an Average Sunday Attendance (ASA) of less than 100, you will receive 50% off your registration. We are excited to gather together

SUMUD - Formerly Peace Not Walls

Following the Way of Jesus: A Lenten Holy Land Journey

This Lenten video series for individuals and congregations consists of six short videos that introduce people to the land, the theology of sumud and its significance through Scripture as the “way of Jesus.” Each video will be available in both English and Arabic.

Watch video trailer: https://www.elca.org/our-work/publicly-engaged-church/peace-not-walls

For additional information: https://www.elca.org/our-work/publicly-engaged-church/peace-not-walls

Soul Shop Suicide Prevention Course

Tuesday, February 20

8:00 am to 3:00 pm - lunch provided

Christ Episcopal Church in Castle Rock, CO

Suicide is a critical public health issue, and congregations are key in offering hope and healing. Soul Shop is a faith-based workshop training faith leaders to address suicide. Participants learn suicide prevention, identify risk factors and signs, engage with those at risk, support suicide loss survivors, and understand the Bible's perspective on suicide, integrating prevention into church ministry.

Course fee is $35.

The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition and the American Friends Service Committee are coordinating a legal workshop for TPS (Temporary Protected Status. The goal is to help prepare 40 – 50 applications for Venezuelan nationals to apply for TPS which will also provide permission to work once approved. We will need all hands on deck!

The workshop will take place in Denver, CO (location TBD) on March 9th from 9 am - 4 pm. Training will be provided for all workshop volunteers before the start of the workshop. 

Please fill out this sign-up form to signify your availability to volunteer and what role(s) you would be able to volunteer for. We will need roughly 30 volunteers for this event. Bi-lingual Spanish speakers are preferred but not required.

Volunteer Roles: 

• Greeter (2-3)
• Document runner/copier (2-4)
• Document Translator (3-5) 
• Application Preparer (10-20) 

“Brutiful” Holy Closure

A story from Southeast Michigan Synod

For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted.” —Ecclesiastes 3:1

As the writer of Ecclesiastes expresses, there is a time to be born and a time to die. In a world of change and challenges, congregations across the ELCA are wondering about their future and whether they will close. These congregations are worried about downward trends in membership, worship attendance and financial giving. Families and youth have drifted away, and the folks still active are more than weary. One important role of directors for evangelical mission and synod leaders is to walk alongside congregations in identifying future options. This month our story is from the Rev. Sarah Mayer-Flatt, storyteller for the Southeast Michigan Synod sharing her experience of beauty and difficulty attending the closing service of a local church. Read Sarah's reflection HERE

It’s time to nominate students for Lutheran Summer Music



Each year, the primary way that music students find their way to LSM is through the encouragement of their church musician! LSM offers opportunities for musicians of all kinds: brass, winds, strings, percussion, piano, organ, voice, harp, guitar, handbells, and more! Students receive advanced musical instruction through large ensembles (Festival Choir, Band and Orchestra), chamber music, private lessons with collegiate-level faculty, and elective classes (such as conducting, composition, church music, intro to the pipe organ, jazz band, musical theatre, music therapy). In the evenings, students attend recitals and Evening Prayer services, and social events with their friends. LSM 2024 takes place at Valparaiso University in Indiana from June 30-July 28 (Full Session) or June 30-July 14 (Half Session) and is open to students who have completed grades 8-12.

Know a musical young person who would thrive at LSM?

Nominate them today at LSMacademy.org/nominate. 

Introducing two FREE compositions from Lutheran Summer Music by Anne Krentz Organ: Holy Manna, for solo instrument with keyboard accompaniment, and Be Thankful, for SATB chorus, descant, keyboard accompaniment, optional: assembly, handbells. Free sheet music download: https://www.lsmacademy.org/resources