In her August column for Living Lutheran, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton says, "Darkness and blackness and night are too often contrasted with lightness and whiteness and day, and found deficient." She wants us to "consider the beautiful dark works of God." Read her column in English at https://bit.ly/3gF21O4 and in Spanish https://bit.ly/2PnQ9Ef or download here (Word/PDF)

CHICAGO (Aug. 4, 2020) - The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has worked with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) to repurpose $160,000 in project funding for emergency responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

...Here's the short story on what we know about the Cameron Peak Fire: The fire continues to burn near northern Colorado's Poudre Canyon. As of Tuesday (8/18), the fire remained at 0% containment, according to the incident command team.

People from all over the country have called or emailed asking how they can help. The answer is simple - as the fires spread throughout Colorado and the West I ask you to please pray for all those affected by the fire or currently fighting to protect the structures (like Sky Ranch) left behind. MORE>>

See a Tuesday evening update from Sky Ranch: https://www.facebook.com/108999129194285/posts/3319501168144049/?extid=4LUocGimd89nqNSg&d=n

For the most current information regarding the Cameron Peak Fire, click on the link https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6964/ or follow the fire on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CameronPeakFire/?tn-str=k*F

Dr. Reggie Williams will be joining as our keynote for our 2020 Theological Conference. Dr. Williams is an Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary and the author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance.

The $200 registration cost covers all programming, keynote speaker, and event costs.

If you are unable to attend the event, but would like access to the digital content, there is a registration option to receive content post-event.

If you are planning to stay at the hotel, please contact Deacon Erin Power for a registration code to unlock a reduced registration fee.

Registration is live and posted on the RMS website.

In this time of physical separation, finding community and connection is difficult. Excellence in Leadership does not only teach and strengthen skills in adaptive leadership, systems theory, and presence, which is directly applicable to this time, it also provides a brave space to build authentic community in small groups where we are able to discover a deeper understanding of self as well. If you have been thinking about registering for this course, but have not yet taken the leap, now is the time!

The final registration deadline is Sunday, August 23 for our 2020-2022 cohort and classes begin September 4. Slots are limited, so sign up today!

Register here: https://www.rmselca.org/excellence-leadership-registration

For parents and everyone who ministers to parents, let's commiserate share and learn together about the Holy Three-Ring Circus that our lives have become and how we can best support each other. Join us on August 19 to hear from Rev. Kendra Mohn, PhD (Parent, Pastor, Spouse of a Bishop), and Rev. Jessica Harris Daum (Parent, Coach, DEM).

Questions from our presenters to consider before, during, and after our time together: If you are a person who has been balancing parenting and work in Covidtide, what have been the challenges and joys? What do you believe about Jesus' Church that could empower you to pursue reasonable balance in this time? What can you, as a coach or leader in the Church, do to support parents in the months to come?

Join Zoom Meeting:

Meeting ID: 180 439 412

Password: 648160

Beginning a Culture of Generosity (BCG) is a new and timely program presented by 3E and the Rocky Mountain Synod (RMS). It is designed for those congregations that have not yet participated in Stewardship for All Seasons. It will help guide you and provide tools for your fall appeal giving you and your stewardship team confidence right now while everyone is working through a variety of very real financial stressors.

More Information   

Mail-In Registration Form 

If you have questions or if you have been in SAS and want a refresher, contact Deb Elstad, 3E Associate Director, [email protected].

Rick Steves, guidebook author and travel TV host; the Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA); and the Rev. Shelley Bryan Wee, bishop of the ELCA Northwest Washington Synod, invite you to an online benefit — the first of its kind — for ELCA World Hunger. Our goal is to raise $250,000 to confront hunger in the time of COVID-19.

Connecting to Your Deeper Self with Heidi Lindeman. Connecting to ourselves, to the spiritual aspect of who we are, can be challenging. However, when we are able to acknowledge all parts of ourselves, we create more space to know ourselves more deeply. When we know ourselves more deeply, we are more equipped to care for our emotional and spiritual needs. Each time you connect with any part of yourself, whether it be anxiety, depression, concern, worry, excitement, frustration, or anger you can learn new things about yourself. Come experience a deeper way to connect to your true Self. Heidi Lindeman, LPCC and IFS (internal family systems) therapist. guides people into a deeper authenticity with themselves.

Join this Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4264420220

Questions: [email protected]

One of the basic human needs we all need to have met to feel fulfilled and happy is to have some sense of certainty and predictability about our future. That need has definitely come under fire during this pandemic! Many are ruminating about the future- feeling stressed and helpless as we try to control things that are OUT of our control. We wonder: When will this pandemic end? How will my kids/grandkids go to school? What plans can I make? Will I be stuck at home forever? We all have 6 basic needs that are critical for us to feel fulfilled and happy in our lives and relationships. We'll explore those 6 needs, how to express them to others, and how to creatively meet them. Christine Ruth, M.Div., MS, LMFT is an ordained pastor, teacher, and licensed marriage and family therapist. She founded Niwot Counseling Center in Niwot, Colorado.

Join Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4264420220

Questions: [email protected]

Who: All ELCA Region 2 Faith Community Nurses/Parish Nurses in the Sierra Pacific, Southwest California, Pacifica, Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain Synods

When: Tuesday, September 8, 2020, Happy Hour!

Where: Zoom meeting in the comfort of your home or office!

How: RSVP for an email Zoom link to [email protected]. Call in number will also be provided with Zoom link.

Why: To network with fellow FCNs/PNs in Region 2; share pandemic status and resources; meet our ELPNA President; & LEARN more about our ELPNA website, http://elpna.org, resources, and ELPNA Face book page at https://www.facebook.com/Evangelical-Lutheran-Parish-Nurse-Association-ELPNA-274776935872967

The ecumenical Season of Creation lasts from 1 September (Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation) until 4 October (Feast day of St. Francis). This is an invitation to engage in a month of prayer, symbolic acts, and campaigns to give thanks for creation and renew our human vocation to care for it. The 2020 theme, “Jubilee for the Earth”, invites us to consider the integral relationship between rest for the earth and ecological, economic, social and political ways of living. This particular year, the need for just and sustainable systems has been revealed by the far-reaching effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The LWF Celebration Guide contains liturgical resources, prayers and meditations, and calls to action and advocacy. It can be used by individuals or congregations to nurture the moral imagination to restore right, just, and sustainable relationships with the Earth and among all species. Young adults and others in the academic community have appreciated the church's focus on caring for the earth and all creatures. Check it out! Anyone can join our Rocky Mountain Synod Creation Care Team Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/153008509368206/

And for more information: https://www.lutheranworld.org/content/jubilee-earth-new-rhythms-new-hope

Joyful Mission Preschool, a ministry of Joy Lutheran Church, in Parker, Colorado, has three open positions: a Lead Teacher, a Floating Teacher, and an Office Administrator. Applications and resumes are due by August 26th. Full job descriptions may be found at: https://www.joylc.org/jobs

Joy Mission Preschool - Parker, CO

Atonement Lutheran Church - Boulder, CO