Dear friends,

¿Qué es la vida en Cristo? What is life in Christ?

From April 23-25, members of the Rocky Mountain Synod gathered from throughout our five states at Bethany Lutheran Church in south Denver, Colorado around this question. What does it mean to be grounded in Jesus Christ as our identity and to carry out our God-given, Spirit-led vocations (callings) in our work, our relationships, and our communities?

We pondered this question in prayer, worship, conversation, and decision-making:

• Our keynote speaker, Rev. Dr. Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, a professor of leadership and vocation at Iliff School of Theology, invited us to consider what it means for individual followers of Jesus to have a vocation, and for congregations to have a vocation—a calling in and into their communities.
• In worship, readings and prayers of the people were shared via videos recorded by synod members in their various places of vocation. Prayers of the People
• A resolution sponsored by our RMS creation care team was overwhelmingly passed in recognition of our human vocation to be better stewards of the earth.
• Workshops and interest lunches offered resources for everything from congregational safety teams and communications to lay leadership development and justice organizing ministry, and more!
• The hallways of Bethany were filled with tables from synod-area ministries like New Beginnings, Veteran Servant Corps, and Urban Servant Corps and by local, churchwide and global partners. Assembly Photos
• In our business sessions, we elected 27 new synod council and committee members and passed our 2026 (revised) and 2027 budget to support ministries throughout and beyond our Rocky Mountain Synod and the ELCA. 2026 Elections
• We welcomed as Churchwide representative and closing preacher Imran Siddiqui, ELCA vice president, who shared a stirring call to be bolder in proclaiming the life-giving Gospel in the face of Christian Nationalism, racism and dehumanization. The fact that Imran shared his wisdom and faith while besting our synod VP Ray Ferry and your bishop in a hot wing eating contest only enhanced our appreciation of his many gifts and his generosity of spirit in joyfully serving in our church!

In the weeks since synod assembly, Professor Kristina’s work has prompted continued reflection in my own heart. If a congregation has a vocation, why not a synod? And what is the vocation of the Rocky Mountain Synod? By this I mean, not only the beautiful weaving together of the diverse individual callings we each bring to the body of Christ, but also a shared and collective calling. What is our vocation, our vida en Christo, together?

Last year, I shared the four words that have guided our staff and synod council in discerning our purpose: to relate, support, connect, and equip the more that 40,000 people and 150 ministries of the Rocky Mountain Synod as the body of Christ in this part of the church and this part of the world. In my bishop’s report this year, I shared two new initiatives that have developed over the past year as ways to goals of relationship, support, connection, and equipping: the Every Congregation Visit Project (ECV), led by our synod minister team in the office of the bishop, and our Second Fruits Fund (2F), envisioned by a team of staff and synod council members. I encourage you to read more about both of these initiatives in my written report, and please stay tuned for more information to come.

As June begins, we celebrate a season of our church year that—while it may be called “ordinary time,” is often filled with extraordinary moments of ministry. I invite your prayers for our Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp and Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp, as they complete staff training and welcome their first campers of the season alongside their two new directors (Dave Gunnlagson at Rainbow Trail and Deacon Missie Bonser as interim at Sky Ranch), whom we blessed at synod assembly for their work. Vacation Bible School and other camps and events will unfold over the next months in many of our congregations, and we give thanks for the staff, volunteers, and families who will join these ministries that invite children, youth, and adults into life in Christ.

Throughout the Rocky Mountain Synod, many of our members and ministries will also participate in Pride events that celebrate and advocate for justice for LGBTQIA+ people. While it’s true that Pride is primarily a civic and community celebration (similar to U.S. holidays), the presence of churches and Christians at Pride is also an expression of life in Christ, and our vocation to love and serve our neighbors. The Rocky Mountain Synod is a Reconciling in Christ synod, with LGBTQIA+ pastors and deacons, council leaders and members, families and neighbors.

As Lutheran organization Reconciling Works points out, we are living in a time when “divisive political rhetoric targeting trans and queer people,” coupled with laws and policies, are causing increased danger of harm and death. (The recent murder of Juniper Blessing, a trans college student originally from one of our synod communities in New Mexico, is only one heartbreaking example). In response, people of faith can offer “lament for the harm and injustice that persist, foundation in the enduring truth of God’s expansive love, joy that celebrates the beauty and gifts of LGBTQIA+ lives, and courage to continue showing up, speaking out, and building a more just church and world.”

May the lament, foundation, joy, and courage of our life in Christ continue to guide us all!

In Christ,

Bishop Meghan

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The Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA gives thanks for the Reconciling in Christ congregations and ministries who offer a public witness of welcome, inclusion, and celebration for LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ. This commitment is especially visible during Pride Month, but it is not limited to one month or season. It is part of our ongoing call to proclaim and embody God’s unconditional and radical love for the sake of the world.



Our commitment as a Reconciling in Christ Synod:

"We as the Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA welcome all into the fullness of God's love. This welcome is inclusive of people of every race, national origin, immigration status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, physical or mental ability, sex, or station in life. Rather than using our differences to divide us, we pledge to use our differences as gifts for our work together."

Click the buttons below to learn more about the Reconciling in Christ (RIC) ministries in the Rocky Mountain Synod and upcoming events.

At this year's Synod Assembly, participants were invited to learn more about the Equipping Congregations Storytelling Grant and how to get involved.

Congregations across the Rocky Mountain Synod are invited to consider participating in the Equipping Congregations Storytelling Grant, a year-long opportunity to strengthen your congregation’s communications and storytelling. Through hands-on training, one-on-one coaching, and practical support, participating congregations will learn how to identify and share meaningful stories of faith, hope, belonging, and community life—especially through short-form digital storytelling.

This grant is designed to help congregations grow in confidence, creativity, and capacity, not by adding one more overwhelming task, but by equipping staff and volunteers with sustainable tools for sharing the ministry already happening in your community.

Participating congregations receive support valued at more than $8,000, including coaching, training, and help developing a communications strategy that fits your local context.

Congregations that are curious, open to experimentation, and interested in connecting with younger generations and new audiences, as well as Latino communities are encouraged to learn more and discern whether this opportunity is a good fit.

There are a limited number of spot available. Registration is on-going.

The Equipping Congregations Storytelling Grant is made possible through Caffeinated Church, the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Church in Colorado. Caffeinated Church equips churches with resources, training, and creative support to communicate with clarity and confidence.

Interested in Next Steps?

• Learn More
• Fill out the Congregational Interest & Discernment Application



Holy closure is both an ending and a blessing. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs shared in a time of gratitude for its 60-year legacy Sunday May 17, giving thanks for its years of ministry, relationships, stories, worship, and faithful service that shaped this community. The Rocky Mountain Synod, ELCA join them in gratitude and prayer, trusting that the seeds planted through this congregation will continue to bear fruit.

I have always thought that I was one of the most least likely people to become a pastor. As a matter of fact, it was never on my “Bingo Card” at all. I grew up in a family where Church was not a consideration. My first surprise was when my best friend in high school invited me to attend her church youth group with her. It was a great experience! That led to attending worship. I was surprised at how welcome the congregation made me feel. I was definitely surprised, at the age of 17, to be standing in front of that same congregation being baptized.

A year later I was surprised that I chose to go to a small Lutheran liberal arts college instead of following my friends to larger institutions. While working on my degree in education, I was surprised by the sense that there was something else tugging at me to focus my energy in a different direction, coupled with a few friends urging me to consider going to seminary (I thought they were crazy!)

 I was surprised, after working in my home congregation as the youth director for several years, that I packed up and moved half way across the country to go to seminary. I didn’t really want to be there, but I needed the theological education. The plan was to only be there a couple years while I earned my Master of Arts degree. Imagine my surprise when my classmates encouraged me to stay because they thought I should be a pastor. Maybe it wasn’t so much of a surprise anymore that I did stay and grew into being a pastor.

As I was preparing to enter my first call to a tiny little congregation in a tiny little town in the Nebraska Panhandle, the magnitude of the responsibility of entering the lives of complete strangers to be their pastor was not lost on me. It most certainly came with a noticeable measure of anxiety. In order to assuage my anxiety, the Assistant to the Bishop at the time, offered me three simple words, “Love the people.” I acknowledged that I could do that.



It’s 32 years later, and I look back with wonder at all the places I have been called to be pastor, both rural and urban. Each time I began a new call I remembered those three simple words, “Love the people.” And I would acknowledge anew, that I could do that. I remember with joy all the people who invited me into their lives to accompany them in their journey of faith, to both celebrate with shared laughter and to mourn with shared tears. I noticed that the people loved me too. I am in awe of the connections that have been made in the service of the Church’s mission to make God’s love for all made known in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

 The challenge that God led me through was the journey itself. The surprise was the fulfillment and joy of the Spirit that I never knew to expect.

Requests for awareness and advocacy for those arrested

Our siblings in the ELCJHL https://www.elcjhl.org/ request our prayers and advocacy for Beit Jala Church of the Reformation member Natalie Abudayyeh. Natalie comes from a Lutheran family and is a member of the ELCJHL Youth. She is a graduate of Talitha Kumi school in Beit Jala, and a very active member of her church. She played on the National Soccer team for Palestine, and recently began studies as a journalism student at Birzeit University.

In the early hours of June 2, she was arrested by IDF forces and taken to prison. The ELCA ‘s Middle East North Africa (MENA) Desk Director Rev. Gabi Aelabouni has spoken with Bishop Imad of the ELCJHL who requests our prayers and advocacy for Natalie and the four students arrested with her, for their safety and swift release. 

ELCA Sumud and all of us await further information about the reason for Natalie's arrest, her condition, and what must be done for her release, as Rev. Gabi stays in close communication with our partner church. 

You are encouraged to share this with others who may join you and all of us in prayer and advocacy. Please call your Senators and Representatives to advocate for her and her classmates' swift release. As more information becomes clear, there will likely be a more formal ELCA Sumud Action Alert regarding her case.  

Linked below is the official letter sent from Bishop Imad which details more of Natalie's story.

https://elcjhl.org/uploads/media/Natalie Statement.pdf

Please pray for Natalie and her family; please pray for all prisoners held unjustly and in inhumane conditions; please pray for Bishop Imad, the Lutheran Church of the Reformation congregation, the ELCJHL and all who work for justice and mercy. May our prayers effect urgent actions by all of us, especially leadership, to contribute to the well-being of all affected.

• Rev. Barbara Berry-Bailey (she/her), Synod Minister for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, bberry-bailey@rmselca.org
• Rev. Quirino Cornejo (he/him), Director for Evangelical Mission-South & Synod Minister for Multicultural Witness, qcornejo@rmselca.org
• Rev. Chris Davis (he/him), Director for Evangelical Mission-North and Synod Minister for Generosity, cdavis@rmselca.org
• Jon Johnson (he/him), Synod Minister for Finance and Human Resources, finance@rmselca.org

• Rev. Diana Johnson, Synod Minister for Rostered Ministry, dlinden-johnson@rmselca.org
• Kurt Rager, Synod Minister for Advocacy, New Mexico, krager@rmselca.org
• Deacon Mary Stoneback (she/her), Synod Minister for Strategic Communications and Events, mstoneback@rmselca.org
• Yvonne Wilken (she/her), Synod Minister for Adminstration, office@rmselca.org
• Pastor Sara Wirth (she/her), Synod Minister for Transitions and Healthy Ministries, swirth@rmselca.org