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A Reconciling in Christ synod
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2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: January 18-25, 2017
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The 2017 theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been selected. On the occasion of the 500th anniversary year of the beginnings of the Reformation, the theme: "Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us" (2 Corinthians 5:14-20) has been chosen. The materials for the 2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has two accents: reflection upon the main concerns of the churches marked by Martin Luther's Reformation and secondly recognizing the pain of the subsequent deep divisions which afflicted the unity of the Church. In selecting this theme, it is viewed as an opportunity to take steps toward reconciliation.
For 2017, it should be noted that this biblical text emphasizes that reconciliation is a gift from God, intended for the entire creation. "God was reconciling the world (kosmos) to God's self in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation" (v.19). As a result of God´s action, those who have been reconciled in Christ are called in turn to proclaim this reconciliation in word and deed: "The love of Christ compels us"
Week of Prayer Resources
Resources include bulletin announcements, daily readings, music selections, sample prayers and more!
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Global Church Sunday: February 12, 2017- Resources coming SOON!
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Sunday, February 12 has been designated Global Church Sunday. The Global Mission Committee will be providing a variety of resources to help you commemorate our role in Christ's Global Church and celebrate the witness of our brothers and sisters around the world.
Sunday Resources Coming SOON!
- Sample Liturgy
- Prayers of the People
- Video and text sermon from Bishop Gonia
- Bulletin insert
You are also encouraged to invite someone with Global Church experience to preach or present an adult forum. The
Global Church Speakers Bureau is in the works, we encourage you to contact someone in your area to join you on this or another Sunday.
Do you have global church experience through ELCA Global Mission, YAGM, or another ministry?
Help us expand our speakers bureau by joining the list!
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The 2016 Annual Report Cover Page and other resources are now available for
download at the
ELCA website:
- Annual Report Cover (Folder version)
- Annual Report Cover (Single page version)
- Where your offering goes (Poster)
- Where your offering goes (8.5x11)
You can also order Annual report covers from the ELCA website.
The Annual Report Cover includes a message from Bishop Eaton and an opening litany.
The Rocky Mountain Synod insert and THANK YOU VIDEO will be available in early January.
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Important Updates for Rostered Ministers!
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The 2017 Annual Report to the Bishop forms for Rostered Ministers are now available:
We've already received several rostered minister reports, and they all came back
BLANK. Please pay attention to these instructions:
- Go to this webpage to get the form.
- Right-click or control-click (on a Mac) on the file you want to use and select "save file" so it gets saved on your computer in a place you can find.
- Close the webpage! Don't type your answers in the webpage version!
- Find the file on your computer, and open it in Acrobat, Preview, or any other PDF reader.
- Fill out a couple lines of the form. Save it. Close the file. Reopen it to see that the data is being saved correctly.
- Finish completing the file and save it.
- Find the file on your computer, attach it to an email, and send it to Janice Ladd-Horkey.
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Candidacy / Mobility website offline until January 17
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During this time, ELCA is implementing necessary updates related to the new Word and Service Roster. The forms, primarily the Rostered Leader Profile (RLP) and the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) that have been submitted to the mobility database before Dec. 15 will be accessible as “read-only.” You will be able to log into your account and see what is on the form, but you won’t be able to edit, update or submit forms until Jan. 18.
If you need to work on your RLP or MSP during this time, you can download the PDF versions of the forms and save them to your computer. You’ll find the link in your account. This is not a fillable form, but it will enable you to print a paper copy and perhaps create a Word document so you can work on edits and updates later.
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New Churchwide Position:
Candidacy and Leadership Manager for Regions 1 & 2
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The Candidacy and Leadership Manager is a member of the Domestic Mission Candidacy Team working collaboratively with bishops to mentor, resource and train synod candidacy committees. Their work will be in collaboration with other leadership team members, and may include leadership formation, Assignments, mobility, vocations and recruitment, relate to the Lifelong learning and campus pastor networks to identify and resource the formation processes for people responding to their call to rostered ministry. This full-time position will be based in the Region 1 or 2 area.
UPDATE: Application deadline has been extended to January 20. Th
is was done to provide candidates sufficient time to post their RLPs as the RLP data entry portion of the system is down due to updating.
For more information and to apply.
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United Lutheran Seminary Launches Presidential Search
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United Lutheran Seminary (ULS), a new graduate and professional school in theological education with deep historical roots, has launched its search for a president. A seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), ULS is a single school with two campuses, consolidating seminaries from Philadelphia and Gettysburg. It will open July 1, 2017. The Board of Trustees seeks a president who will serve as chief executive officer. The successful candidate must possess the exceptional vocational identity, fundraising skills, experience and vision to lead ULS from its inception as it prepares public leaders to serve the church’s ongoing and increasingly challenging mission, and to intentionally foster a diverse institution of faith and learning with strong relationships between ULS and its constituencies and partners. For a position description and full information, visit the United Lutheran Seminary website.
Nominations and letters of application can be sent via secure e-mail until Monday, January 23, 2017.
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Applications for ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission now open for 2017-2018 year!
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Do you have children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or know of young adults in your congregation or in your neighborhood with a passion for service and a willingness to serve? Consider telling them about the Young Adults in Global Mission program and about the opportunity to serve alongside Lutheran companion churches and organizations in countries around the world.
Applications are due Feb. 15, so share the
link to the application with someone you know now!
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Installations
Pastor Deb Cote
Prince of Peace, Gillette, WY
Saturday, January 21, 2:00 p.m.
Color of the Day: Green
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Harriman Lake Park, Littleton CO
Photo credit: Bishop Gonia
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RMS Prayer Cycle
January 2017
Metro West
Conference
Week of January 1
Advent Westminster, CO
Barb Martens
All Saints Austin, CO
Paul Rosin
American Grand Junction, CO
Barbara Johnson
Ray McKechnie
First Gypsum, CO
Dan Tisdel
Glory of God Wheat Ridge, CO
Emily Cardin
Week of January 8
Good Shepherd
Glenwood Springs, CO
Jeffrey Carlson
Highlands
Denver, CO
Travis Johnson-Esparza
Holy Cross
Wheat Ridge, CO
Ron Bock
King of Glory
Arvada, CO
Todd Payne
Lord of the Mountains
Dillon, CO
Liliana Stahlberg
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Baptism of Christ
Le Breton, Jacques ; Gaudin, Jean
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Prayer of the Day: Sunday, January 8
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Through the waters of baptism and word of God we are welcomed lovingly into the body of Christ and set forward on a new path as children of God. We pray the Holy Spirit will remind us daily of our baptismal mission, stir our faith and be an ever-present guide for us as we share the gospel and serve our neighbor.
Join us in daily prayer:
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Registration for Colorado Faith Advocacy Day 2017 is now open!
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Join advocates and people of faith from across Colorado for this year's event,
"Luther at 500: Reclaiming Protest for Today's Public Church."
Click here for more information. Register your group today!
The Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-Colorado Policy Committee has adopted its 2017 Advocacy Agenda. Our priorities include combating hunger, reducing poverty, supporting access to healthcare and housing, and caring for our environment.
Click here to learn more about our advocacy priorities for the coming year!
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Join the Brain Wave to Advocate for Mental Wellness
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From Andrew Romanoff, President and CEO of Mental Health Colorado:
Mental Health Colorado is building a statewide network of advocates; we call it the Brain Wave. It’s a team of volunteers, trained not just to debate problems but to solve them. Join the Wave, and you’ll learn what your elected officials are doing to improve or impede access to mental health care, how to shape their decisions, and how to engage the public and the press. In return, we’ll ask you to tell us what’s working — and what’s not — in your own community.
If we’re going to make Colorado a national leader in the prevention and treatment of mental illness, we’ll need more champions. That’s where you come in.
Whether you’ve experienced a mental health or substance use disorder or cared for someone who has, you have a stake in this debate. Join the Wave, and together we can bring high-quality mental health care within reach of every Coloradan.
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"Rebuilding When Your Relationship Ends" Seminar
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Mondays, January 9 through March 13, 2017
The 10-week Rebuilding Seminar offers education and support for individuals experiencing a divorce or the loss of a love relationship. Beginning on January 9, 2017, the seminar will meet Monday evenings at
St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 9203 S University Blvd., Highlands Ranch, CO.
Complimentary child care provided with registration. For more information please contact Beth Walker at 720-352-9915 or send her an
email.
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Celebrating Community of Joy's 7th Annual German Christmas Service!
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Community of Joy’s seventh annual German Christmas service was a great success. Worshippers came from across the Rio Grande Valley as well as Santa Fe. The oldest participant was a 92-year-old German born woman from Albuquerque who has been living in New Mexico since 1954.
136 people attended the service which offered Christmas hymns, prayers, scripture readings and a sermon all in the German language. Pr. Bastian, who was born in Germany, led through the service in his native language. Whether people’s background was German or they had lived/worked in Germany as Americans, visitors shared with Pr. Bastian that this service reminded them of their childhood or revived family traditions from long ago.
The German Christmas choir under the direction of Susan Hurll-Bastian provided choral music and led the singing of hymns in German. “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”) and other traditional German Christmas hymns were sung at the service.
Pr. Bastian invited a mother of a gravely wounded U.S. Veteran, Christine Schei, to offer a Ministry Moment about the work of “Wounded Warriors”. Her son, Eric, is a recipient of help and support from “Wounded Warriors”. In response to his mother’s personal and inspiring presentation, a free-will offering in the amount of $909 was collected in support of “Wounded Warriors” project.
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Catholic-Lutheran Prayer Service at St. Luke Lutheran Church
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St. Luke Lutheran Church
9100 Menaul Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM
Sunday, January 29 at 3:00 p.m.
Rocky Mountain Synod Bishop Jim Gonia and Archbishop John Wester of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe will jointly preside at a service of Common Prayer to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation which occurs in 2017. The liturgy will highlight the agreements that have been reached through fifty years of dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans on topics such as the Church, Ministry and the Eucharist. Members of local Lutheran and Catholic parishes also will share in leading the January 29 service. People of all faith traditions are welcome!
This will be the first of seven joint prayer services around the Rocky Mountain Synod in 2017.
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2017 Bishop's Annual Legislative Luncheon & Issues Briefing
Santa Fe, NM
January 31, 2017
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You are invited: The morning Issues Briefing will be at the United Church of Santa Fe at 1804 Arroyo Chamiso, near Christ Lutheran Church.
Registration and refreshments will begin at 9:00 a.m. The Bishop's Legislative Luncheon will be at 12:30 p.m. in La Terraza at La Fonda Hotel (100 East San Francisco).
The cost of the luncheon is $35 per person. The cost is reduced to $30 when 4 or more people attend from your congregation or group. If you are only able to attend the morning Issues Briefing, the cost is $10.
Deadline for reservations is January 27. Please make reservations by calling the Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM office at 505.984.8005 or sending an email.
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Germany: In the Footsteps of Martin Luther
April 19-28, 2017
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One-and-all, including your family and friends, are invited on this post-Easter pilgrimage through Germany and Luther's world, a journey inspiring the traveler to live courageously by faith in this 500th Year of the Reformation. On Saturday evening, the group will attend English worship service at City Church where Martin Luther preached, was married, and baptized his six children.
Registration is due by December 23, 2016. Check out the trip itinerary, cost, and registration online: Trip number 17043 at
www.myfaithjourneys.com. Cost is inclusive from airfare to gratuities, excepting travel insurance which is recommended.
Contact Julie at Augustana Lutheran Church for more information: via
email
or 303-388-4678.
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Prepare/Enrich Facilitator Training offered at Bethany Lutheran Church, Cherry Hills Village, CO
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Friday, February 3, 2017
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Prepare/Enrich is the leading relationship inventory and skill building program used by clergy and counselors nationally and internationally. It is used in premarital counseling and marriage enrichment or marriage counseling. This training teaches proficiency in the Prepare/Enrich program and certifies Facilitators to administer the assessment, interpret reports, and give feedback using skill building exercises.
To register or for more information please contact Beth Walker at 720-352-9915, or email, or visit the Prepare/Enrich website.
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Rocky Mountain Synodical Women's Organization
Views from the Rockies - December 2016
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The December 2016 issue of Views from the Rockies is available at the Rocky Mountain Synod website. Click on Ministries and then Women. Enjoy the articles and the pictures from the Fall Convention. Mark your calendar for the future events listed in the newsletter. If you would like to receive the newsletter in your personal email, please send your email address to President Anna Thompson.
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Join the Cool Congregations Challenge
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Across the country, people of faith are making changes in their homes and places of worship to prevent global warming through the Interfaith Power and Light Cool Congregations program. This unique stewardship program helps congregations engage their members in Creation-care by reducing individual greenhouse gas emissions and helps save hundreds of dollars in the process.
The Cool Congregations program is designed to support faith communities as they “walk the talk” by reducing their own carbon footprint, thus helping to cool the planet. A side benefit of the program is the ‘multiplier effect,’ as congregants are encouraged to model the same energy saving behavior at home that they see at their congregation. Learn more at the Cool Congregations website.
Interfaith Power & Light offers both certification and a prize money challenge to exemplary Cool Congregations. IPL’s annual Cool Congregation Challenge is a fun and easy way for congregations to compete for recognition and prize money. Certification is a higher bar, and at present is being offered by invitation only. You can nominate your congregation to receive an invitation for certification by sending an email to programs@interfaithpowerandlight.org.
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Resource Corner
check back each week for a new or featured resource for your congregation
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Reconciling in Christ Sunday
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Many RIC communities celebrate
RIC Sunday on the last Sunday in January, while others may celebrate on a date that is meaningful within their own community. Reconciling Works is happy to offer resources to help you celebrate: Worship (Scripture readings, sermon crafting ideas, children's sermon ideas, children's activity, hymn suggestions, prayers of the people, and liturgical options), and a Children's Bulletin.
Sign up for these free resources, and start making your plans to celebrate!
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Non-rostered positions available
Director of Faith Formation
Christ the Servant Lutheran Church - Louisville, CO
Office Administrator
Holy Cross Lutheran Church - Albuquerque, NM
Parish Nurse
Faith Lutheran Church - Golden, Colorado
Accompanist/Organist
Trinity Lutheran Church - Boulder, CO
Youth Leader
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Littleton, CO
Church Organist/Accompanist
King of Kings Lutheran Church - Pueblo, CO
Chancel Choir Director
King of Kings Lutheran Church - Pueblo, CO
Office Assistant
Trinity Lutheran Church - Boulder, CO
Faith Community Parish Nurse
Augustana Lutheran Church - Denver, CO
Children Youth and Family Ministry Director
All Saints Lutheran Church - Albuquerque, NM
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Office of the Bishop This Week
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Bishop Gonia
- Bishop's Academy, Charleston, SC
- Executive Committee
Pastor Kent Mueller
- Candidacy meetings
- Lutheran Center Administration
Ruth Hoffman, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM
- NM Conference of Churches
- Christ Lutheran Church
- Interfaith Hunger Coalition
Peter Severson, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-CO
- Together Colorado Solidarity Network
- CSLC Meeting
- Opening of 2017 Legislative Session
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Pastor Judith VanOsdol
Erin Power, Diaconal Minister
- SE CO Conference Meeting
- Synod Assembly Planning Meeting
- St. Matthew's, Taylorsville, UT
- Shepherd of the Mountains, Park City, UT
Pastor Sarah Moening
- Vacation until 1/9
- Congregational Ministries Board
Andy Sprain
- 2018 ELCA Gathering Meeting
- Sarah Loberg Consecration
- Youth Discipleship Team
- UNC Campus Ministry Board
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Erin Power
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Assistant to the Bishop
Rocky Mountain Synod
800-525-0462 / 303-777-6700 / fax 303-339-4744
Announcements for eConnection are due before noon on Monday for the issue the following Wednesday. Event announcements are included for about two weeks and should be submitted via the eConnection Submission link above.
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