A Reconciling in Christ synod

Better Together: Thanks to You! Dear Brothers  and Sisters in Christ , This has been a remarkable year in our life as the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The 500 th  anniversary of the Reformation has provided us with a unique opportunity to explore our place within the larger Body of Christ and to ask why our particular witness to the gospel matters. Your active participation in our shared ministry and your generous financial support  of our life together is making an impact near and far. Thanks be to God for you. In the links below, read about the remarkable ways that we are in mission together, thanks to you. Because  together, we proclaim and embody Christ’s unconditional love for the sake of the world! Yours in Faith, Jim Gonia, Bishop Earline Bohling, Vice President A PDF document ( here ) is designed to be printed and folded as a tri-fold brochure., or you can share this letter as a webpage link .

eConnection Spotlight: RMS in the Neighborhood

Congratulations and Blessings to Peace Lutheran Church, El Paso TX We celebrate with Peace Lutheran in El Paso TX, as the community gathered on Reformation Sunday for the burning of their mortgage, which was fully paid off this fall! Three of their charter members were in attendance to lead the ceremony!

RMS-ELCA News and Events

The Office of the Bishop will be closed beginning Wednesday afternoon, November 22 and will reopen on Monday, November 27. If you need to contact synod staff, please send a message to Deacon Erin Power who will be monitoring email.

Stewardship Interview Series StewardTalk is an interview series from the ELCA with authors and thought leaders on stewardship related topics.  Listen to past recordings. Join us on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 3:00 p.m. CST to hear a conversation with Melvin Amerson, author of “ Celebrating the Offering,” about the role of offering in the Old and New Testament and how offering is celebrated as part of worship in different contexts. Email  Neil.Bullock@elca.org in advance and then dial in at  877-820-7831, using code 6314685#.

Stewardship for All Seasons As budgets are created for next year, and as financial pledges are received, consider utilizing the resources of Stewardship for All Seasons in 2018. This intentional and disciplined approach to financial stewardship helps to create a community of generosity and energy around participating in God's work through your congregation. The cost is $2900 plus printing and a graphic artist. Generous scholarships are available to congregations with operating budgets $300,000 and less. Contact Janice Kibler if you would like to be connected to a congregation currently participating in Stewardship for All Seasons, or to find out more. In January we will report the increase in people and finances in congregations participating this current year, and the early reports are very promising.

For Your Bulletin

RMS Connections - December 2017 The December issue of the RMS quarterly newsletter, Connections, is now available for download, either here, or from our synod website.

A Prayer for World AIDS/HIV Day God of all compassion, Comfort your family members who live with HIV. Spread over us all your quilt of mercy, love and peace. Open our eyes to your presence reflected in their faces. Open our ears to your truth echoing in their hearts. Give us the strength to weep with the grieving, to walk with the lonely, to stand with the depressed. May our love mirror your love for those who live in fear, who live under stress and who suffer rejection. Comforting, healing God grant rest to those who have died and hope to all who live with HIV. God of life, help us to find the cure now and help us to build a world in which no one dies alone and where everyone lives accepted, wanted and loved. Amen.

RMS Prayer Cycle - November 2107 Week of November 26 -  RMS BISHOP AND STAFF Bishop James Gonia Rev. Sarah Moening Rev. Judith VanOsdol Rev. Kent Mueller Ruth Hoffman Deniese Estrada Janice Ladd-Horkey Deacon Erin Power Peter Severson Rev. Leslie Welton ELCA CHURCHWIDE MINISTRIES AND STAFF Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

Monthly Prayer Cycle

Join us in daily prayer: Download  ELCA Prayer Ventures  for daily guides to prayer for the global, social and outreach ministries of the ELCA, as well as for the needs and circumstances of our neighbors, communities and world.

Sunday Nov 26 – Christ the King Sunday Last Sunday after Pentecost Prayer of the Day O God of power and might, your Son shows us the way of service, and in him we inherit the riches of your grace. Give us the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Global Church Prayer God of the poor, you are the hungry, the naked and imprisoned. Open our eyes to see you in the lives of the least among us. Lift up all who are abused and oppressed and enact in us the will to create a world where there are no poor, hungry, naked or imprisoned, through your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen. Download 2017 Global Church Prayer Minutes

Around the Synod

Ken Caryl Concerts presents "Christmas Classics" Sunday, December 3, 2017 - 2:30 p.m. St. Philip Lutheran Church 7531 S Kendall Blvd Littleton, CO Join us for a collection of sacred and secular holiday favorites performed by the St. Philip choir, Ringing Brass, Bluegrass Group and various soloists and small ensembles. Festive refreshments will be served following the performance and there may even be a special guest appearance from the North Pole. This event is free of charge and family friendly. A goodwill offering will be collected to support the concert series and related funds at St. Philip. More information here.

Seeking Donations & Volunteers for Operation Turkey Sandwich Thursday, November 23, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m. House for All Sinners and Saints 1595 Pearl Street, Denver, CO Every year on Thanksgiving morning, HFASS and volunteers from all over Denver make 1000+ bagged lunches for those who have to work on Thanksgiving. Each lunch contains a fresh roasted turkey sandwich, a stuffing muffin and pumpkin cookie. We put a sticker on the lunches that says, "It sucks you have to work on Thanksgiving! Operation Turkey Sandwich brought to you by House for All Sinners and Saints." Folks are needed to bring roasted turkeys, cookies, muffins and to assemble lunches. Then we all take bags of the lunches around town to all the places that remain open on Thanksgiving: hospitals, jails, fire departments, strip clubs, pharmacies, big grocery stores, etc. Folks can begin bringing their donations of food to the church at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving morning. Lunch assembly begins at 10:30 am, and delivery begins at 11 am. More info on FB here, and go HERE to sign up to donate and/or volunteer!

Our Life Together

Pre-schedule Your Gift to Support Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp Through Colorado Gives Day Colorado Gives Day  December 5, 2017 - all day! Support the ministries of RAINBOW TRAIL LUTHERAN CAMP through the Community First Foundation on Colorado Gives Day, December 5. You can make a huge difference in this ministry by providing funds for camperships, summer staff salaries, site improvements, and much, much more. Mark your Calendars: December 5, 2017... 24 hours to Give Where You Live! You can pre-schedule your gift now at Colorado Gives-Rainbow Trail.

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity January 18-25, 2018 The 2018 theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is "Your Right Hand, O Lord, Glorious in Power," (Exodus 15:6). The 2018 resources have been written by the Churches of the Caribbean, including the Catholic Archbishop of the Antilles and the Caribbean Council of Churches. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity gives Christians an annual opportunity to continue their quest for the unity they already share in Christ. It is also a time to gather in praise of the Triune God and to deepen the understanding of the ecumenical movement. By joining in this annual celebration Christians raise their voices, hands and hearts to God seeking the fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus, the Son of God, “that they all may be one.” More information is available here , and here .

Resource Corner check back each week for a new or featured resource for your congregation

Resource Review from ELCA Stewardship How we talk about stewardship Abundance, gratitude, duty, ownership or? Just as it may not be easy to convince people (or congregations) of their abundance, it's not difficult in this day and age to think of other ways people could resist appeals to gratitude, duty, obligation, responsibility and who ultimately owns what we control. So how then might we approach stewardship?  When Jesus says that we do not live on bread alone, he is suggesting a spiritual dimension to our lives that is all about a hunger for meaning and purpose. Food is crucial, and in its absence, meaning and purpose are not our most pressing concerns. How might stewardship and a life of faith connect these two possibilities: Our lives are God's strategic plan to make the world a better place, and Jesus' invitation to follow him – into lives of meaning and purpose – is God's strategic plan to give us a sense of fulfillment, contentment and satisfaction. To think about this more, see the second half of holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl's book “ Man's Search for Meaning. ” Also, check out the Rev. Andy Stanley's  two-part podcast on purpose .

Tell your friends to subscribe to eConnection! We hope you find eConnection informative, thought-provoking, and uplifting. Let others in your congregations know how easy it is to get their own subscription! Visit our RMS website and go to Synod, then Communications to find the " Sign up now!" link. Or just sent them this link!

Congregations in Transition

Employment Opportunities

All Non-Rostered Positions

Bookkeeper (part-time) Christ Lutheran Church - Highlands Ranch, CO Office Coordinator Christ Lutheran Church - Highlands Ranch, CO Facilities Manager (part-time) Holy Cross Lutheran Church - Wheat Ridge, CO Contemporary Worship Coordinator Faith Lutheran Church - Golden, CO Minister of Music Epiphany Lutheran Church - Denver, CO Administrative Assistant (full-time) Joy Lutheran Church - Parker, CO Church Administrator (part-time) Lord of the Mountains Lutheran Church - Dillon, CO Music and Worship Director Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church - Fort Collins, CO Director of Youth and Family Ministries (part-time) Holy Cross Lutheran Church - Wheat Ridge, CO

Employment Details

Office of the Bishop This Week

Bishop Gonia Vacation Lilly Foundation Meeting, Indianapolis, IN Pastor Kent Mueller (1/2 time) Vacation Dean's Webex Lutheran Center Administration Ruth Hoffman, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM Vacation/Thanksgiving Interim Legislative planning Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-CO Vacation Epiphany, Denver, CO Renter's Protection Policy Committee

Pastor Judith VanOsdol Well of Hope Exec. Team, Castle Rock, CO St. Matthew’s, Taylorsville, UT HKBP—RMS Indonesian Congregation Dean’s meeting Deacon Erin Power Vacation Dean's Webex RMS Communications Pastor Sarah Moening Vacation Congregational Transition Meetings Dean's Webex Pastor Leslie Welton Vacation In-office appointments Dean's Webex

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Erin Power ,   Assistant to the Bishop Andrew Nakatan i , Communications Assistant Rocky Mountain Synod  Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 800-525-0462 / 303-777-6700 / fax 303-339-4744 Articles for eConnection are due noon Monday for the issue the following Wednesday. Event announcements are included for about two weeks then copied to the Events & News Web Page and may be submitted via the eConnection Submission link above.