In the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, our practice of serving our neighbor and our world flows directly from our experience of God's grace in the sacraments. It is part of our ELCA "D.N.A.", a grateful response to God's work in our lives. For us, it is not something we do to "win" God's favor and love - after all, you cannot earn something that is already freely given! Instead, service is an answer to the question, "Now what?"

A major aspect of this service in the world is our work as a public church, where we are called into the arena of social and political questions about how we govern our common life. As a church, we do not hesitate to enter into the public sphere, to speak to those in power and to advocate with and on behalf of those dealing with poverty, alienation, and injustice. This is how we respond to God's free gift of grace and love for us.

Martin Luther said, "Freed by God's grace, we turn to the neighbor in love." Our neighbor is always our answer to "Now what?" We will always wrestle with the specific answers to this question as it is lived out in the policies and structures that govern our common life. But God does not leave us alone in this, and we will always rest on the living word of the Gospel amid even our most difficult deliberations. I encourage you to use this Living Faith series to explore how you and your community might open up holy space for this kind of deliberation together, and in the process be faithfully formed and transformed.

In Faith,

Bishop Jim

In August, the congregation council at All Saints, Albuquerque, approved the Development Committee’s recommendation for a COVID-19 Relief Fund. Establishment of this $25,000 fund is possible because of increased giving and anticipated new revenue sources. The Fund will be used to give to programs providing housing or food assistance for New Mexicans, or COVID-19 response overseas.

Funding will be provided from the Church’s general fund ($12,500) and a 2019 bequest ($12,500.) Members of the Congregation will be offered the opportunity to contribute to the Fund as well. Distributions will be made based upon requests from members and church committees, with final approval being made by the Congregational Council. All Saints has been blessed during this time, and we are glad to be able to share our blessing with people in need.

Graduates from the International Women Leaders (IWL) program have gone on to use their gifts around the world — from creating a hand-casting business in Suriname to working in migration ministry in Mexico to teaching for a nonprofit in Malaysia.

“I continue to do the work of the ELCA and the IWL program [by using] my gifts and talents,” said IWL scholar Sarah Abendanon. “And I pass it on by helping [my] neighbors wherever I can. No matter where we are and where we are from. We are one.” Read more stories in this Living Lutheran article.

The IWL program will welcome five new students to ELCA colleges and universities this coming academic year. The 2020 scholarship awards have been offered to excellent applicants from companion churches in Brazil, Nicaragua, Poland, The Gambia and Zambia. These incoming scholars will join 21 continuing IWL students, as well as 115 other ELCA scholars studying around the world.

Register online at UCSJRIDGWAY.ORG

Join the RMS Faith Formation Network for a check in on the third Thursday of each month! We share resources, uplift each other and share what we've been up to. Hope to see you this month! All are welcome.

Please note, this is a new zoom link:

Like our Facebook page for reminders, updates, and events: https://www.facebook.com/groups/14001545186

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.

We are called by God to share hope in this time of challenge. Join us to face this global hunger crisis head-on and to continue moving toward a just world where all are fed. Join us for this online event that will raise funds for ELCA World Hunger!

Registration for Fall 2020 abide is NOW OPEN for individuals AND groups at the link below!

This community is for everyone 18-35 looking for affirming young adult community and dynamic faith conversation.

Abide serves as a ministry of ELCA Young Adult Ministries. ELCA YA is a program of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's churchwide office and cooperates with several ministries such as YAGM, LVC, Dream Chasers United, Campus Ministry and more. Please visit the ELCA website for Young Adult Ministries for more information and opportunities for further involvement.

In a global pandemic, with anxiety everywhere, dashed plans, hopes on hold, we will consider: How do we choose joy in the middle of loss? How can we embrace beauty and creativity without entering toxic positivity? What does radical joyous self-care look like while not denying the challenges of this moment? Sam will share his story of finding peace through creativity. Sue is a business and personal coach, interfaith chaplain, and author of A Call to Further Becoming, interviews with 100 women over age 50. She advocates spiritual practice as part of mental health. www.suebrightman.com. Sam Glover is a professional sound engineer, podcast producer, musician and visual artist who uses creative expression as a means of maintaining wellness and peace. Find him on Instagram at Samuel.8.Glover.

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

In chaotic times, sleep becomes victim to the anxiety, grief, and depression that inevitably come from change. Amidst the see-sawing of medical advice and flip-flopping of politicians on the virus, there are some proven practices and understandings about sleep. Sleep is vital to our physical and mental health and in the face of a world of political, social, economic and psychological turmoil, sleep is something we can do to help ourselves be mentally and physically well. Led by Richard C. Williams, LCSW. Rich is a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker and medical social worker. Rich is a therapist at Mental Health Partners in Broomfield, CO. Hosted by Atonement Lutheran Church, Boulder, and INMI (Interfaith Network on Mental Illness.)

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

Starting Thursday, September 10, Saint Peter Lutheran Church in Greenwood Village, Colorado, will host a five-session online course specifically designed for those who have lost their faith, contemplating whether to keep their faith or have not had a Christian faith and are curious about what it's like.

If you have a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member who has questions about Jesus, the Christian church or Lutheranism, please share this link with them: https://www.stplc.org/christianity101 for more information and so they can register. We are intentionally not inviting leaders or members of other Lutheran churches so we can keep the group small and less intimidating to newcomers.

We appreciate your help in spreading the word about the new series! We are excited to see where it takes us. If you have questions, contact Pastor Dave Risendal (drisendal@stplc.org).

This year's Lutheran Studies Conference focuses on systemic racism and will involve opportunities for reading, reflection and commitment to action for individuals and their faith and/or educational communities. We will be guided in this work and reflection by Rev. Lenny Duncan, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Church of America (ELCA). The conference will include:

Hello, I am Peyton Strouth, Director of Worship and Music at Christ Lutheran in Highlands Ranch. During this time of physical distancing when singing together in person is not an option, it has become common for choirs to create virtual choir videos for online worship services. I hope that, perhaps, we can join forces and work together to create an area-wide Lutheran Virtual Choir. If we combine forces we would benefit from have more voices and sharing the work load of creating such videos. 

If you are interested in a project like this, please reach out to me at pstrouth@clchr.org so we can discuss how we can accomplish it! 

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 glusenkamp@augustanadenver.org. 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 newly written Thanksgivings for the Word have been updated with additional content. PDF and DOC versions can be found at https://www.elca.org/Resources/Worship#Liturgy. These prayers supplement what is currently found in Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 220.

The ecumenical Season of Creation lasts from September 1, Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation until October 4, 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!

Join our Rocky Mountain Synod Creation Care Team Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/153008509368206/

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

Lutherans Restoring Creation is busy preparing a creation-focused worship service utilizing the lectionary texts for Pentecost 16 (September 20, 2020) that congregations can download and use however they wish. It will include participants from all over the country including Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, The Rev. Dr. Barbara Rossing, Rev. Lenny Duncan, Rebekah Bruesehoff, as well as numerous parish pastors and members of the Lutherans Restoring Creation Board of Directors. Music will be provided by Marty Haugen, the Rev. Dr. Leah Schade, and Pastor John Tirro. 

https://lutheransrestoringcreation.org/creation-focused-worship-service-available-for-download-9-14/ 

Christ Lutheran Church is seeking a friendly, outgoing, and detail-oriented individual to fill the role of Office Coordinator. In this important role, you will be the face of CLC to our members and the public by being the first point of contact for the church. In addition, you will provide office services for church staff and various committees, organize communications, act as a receptionist for the church, and keep church records. We are looking for someone with strong organization, computer, and communication skills. This is a part-time position that will average 30 hours per week.

Resumes should be sent to, and job descriptions can be obtained from, Executive Pastor Gail Mundt, Christ Lutheran Church, 8997 S. Broadway, Highlands Ranch, CO 80126, pastorgail@clchr.org. *Covid restrictions are in currently in place. Please contact Pastor Gail Mundt at pastorgail@clchr.org for additional information.

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

Christ Lutheran Church - Highlands Ranch, CO

Joy Mission Preschool - Parker, CO

Atonement Lutheran Church - Boulder, CO