It is available now for preorder through Fortress Press and will be released on January 26, 2021. If you order before the end of December, Fortress is offering a 30% discount. For more information, go here!

Cultural Architecture: A Path to Creating Vitalized Congregations serves to assist pastors and leaders as they guide their congregations through the painstaking and intensive process of redevelopment. It provides hands-on tools to guide congregational leaders in creating vision, core values, and strategic plans. It is a valuable resource to professors of practical theology and internship supervisors as they instruct students in organizational development. Judicatory leaders can utilize this book for training their pastors and leaders in cultural awareness as it relates to congregational development. Although Hill's approach is grounded in his experiences within the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, his systems for cultural architecture can be applied to congregations of any denomination.

Voting members and visitors are invited to join in this conversation during this year's synod assembly. Through worship, small group conversation, assembly business, and keynote sessions, we will together explore our individual and collective stories for the sake of community, truth-telling, healing, and continuing our journey as a church becoming. We will be welcoming Dr. Edward Antonio as our keynote speaker and Rachel Bass-Guennewig as our morning prayer leader.

Synod Assembly will once again take place via zoom, with congregational voting members attending together. More information can be found in our voting information packet and on the RMS website.

Please join us if you are interested in learning more about the work of ELCA World Hunger. Send your name, email address and preferred phone number to the Hunger Team Chair, Carol McDivitt: mcdivittc@mindspring.com by December 10!

This training includes 12 hours of group coaching time, one hour individual coaching at the time when you start in your interim context or at a time of your choosing, plus contextual work, reading and reflecting. As a result of this program: Pastors will have a working knowledge of emotional intelligence, Theory U, and family systems theory. Pastors will have improved self-awareness, conflict management and listening skills, and a roadmap for being an Intentional Interim Pastor. Pastors will be strengthened to move through the transition manual, “Congregations in Transition: Moving into the Future” with input from peers. This training has been developed in cooperation with the Rocky Mountain Synod Office of the Bishop, ELCA. The cost is $585.

For more information, visit https://www.purposefulpastor.com/interim-ministry

Christmas is all about memories and celebrating with one another. We love to share our memories of the things we’ve done, important gatherings and experiences, the food we ate, and best of all, the great music we love. Join Stratus Chamber Orchestra’s Music Director David Rutherford and his wife Pearl for “At Home with the Rutherfords.” Throughout the evening, members of Stratus Chamber Orchestra will provide heartfelt performances of unforgettable Christmas and Holiday favorites.

Registration is required and a “shopping list” and menu will be available to download approx. two weeks prior to the event.. Join with your friends virtually as we also invite your comments, photos, and more throughout the culinary concert and holiday season. There is no admission fee, however, a suggested donation of $50 for two is appreciated in support of Stratus Chamber Orchestra and Augustana Arts. Go

It has been said that music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch. For centuries people have experienced the healing power of music, but lately scientists have studied the benefits of music on people's mental and physical health and have discovered that music can relax the mind, energize the body, and even help people better manage pain. In this conversation, we will spend a little bit of time examining some of the research that has been conducted on music and its healing powers, and more time sharing in that healing together, as we listen to and watch performances of some of our favorite music. Paula Nichols will lead the conversation. If you have a particular piece of music that you would like to have shared, please email her at p.nichols55@gmail.com. Paula is the Director of Music at Atonement Lutheran Church in Boulder and has taught music in schools for over 35 years.

Hosted by Atonement Lutheran Church, Boulder and the Interfaith Network on Mental Illness (www.inmi.us). Join Zoom Meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4264420220

More than 50 people (children, youth, and adults) are currently waiting at the the LGBTQ+ Asylum-Seeker Shelter in the borderlands to seek asylum in the United States. The shelter is in need of basic necessities (clothing for winter, kitchen items for regular use, basic furniture to replace cement-blocks for chairs and wooden planks for tables, etc.). In addition, the building is in need of winterizing (roof repairs, windows where there are currently cut-outs in the external walls, electrical wiring fixes for heating, etc.).

If you would like to contribute to this effort, please see the LGBTQ+ Asylum-Seeker Shelter Wish List > here.

FAB's 6-week Winter Session begins on Jan. 19, and registration is now open! Courses include: History of Women Artists, America and the Cold War, American Life Through Broadway Musicals, Pioneer Women of the Movies, and more! We hope you will join us for these captivating courses. Individuals 50+ are welcome, please share with your friends and family! FAB will also be hosting lectures in early January. Join us as JPL's Luis Velasco talks about the Perseverance Rover and the challenges leading up to the February landing, and Eleanor Schrader takes us on a journey out West through Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture. Lectures are open to all. Check out our flyer, and for more information visit: https://www.callutheran.edu/centers/lifelong-learning/fifty-better/

Christmas should be a happy season. But it's hard to sing "Joy to the World" when sadness engulfs your heart. The reality of life-memories of the past and the pain of the present-can leave many people feeling less than merry in December. Read the story.

Register now to participate in our Blue Christmas Service at 7 p.m. CST on Monday, December 21, 2020, via Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The RMS insert for your annual reports is available here along with other resources to share about our life together as church:

2020 Annual Report covers are now available for download in two versions. One is individual pages. The other is a two-page spread across 11x17 paper. Both can be downloaded at Stewardship resources: https://www.elca.org/Resources/Stewardship#Leadership, or below.

Lakewood UMC is seeking a part time "Community Curator" who will aid the church in growing in relationship with the people of Lakewood, and the organizations doing important work in our neighborhood.

Lakewood United Methodist Church is entering into its 140th year of ministry seeking to "Celebrate 140 Year of God's Abundance." A part of its ministry plan in 2021 involves the hiring of a very unique position that will partner with the Senior Pastor in growing in relationship with the people/families of our neighborhood, and also grow in relationship with community partners who are doing work that align with our mission and values as a United Methodist Church. This is a part-time, (20 hour/wk) position. Download job description here.

Bonus points if you are an outside-of-the-(church)box thinker, know how to network, are familiar with West Colfax/West 40 Arts neighborhood of Lakewood, Colorado, a self-starter, and a bridge builder--someone who likes to help people meet people.

Part-time: $20K-$23K/yr

If interested, please contact Rev. Ben A. David Hensley, ben@lumc.net.

Joy Lutheran Church in Parker, CO is seeking a part-time facility/security manager. Job description available here. Resumes and cover letters may be be sent to resumes@joylc.org by Friday, December 18, 2020.

St. John's Lutheran Church in Thornton, Colorado is seeking a bi-lingual candidate for our Community Connection ministry to develop relationships in our local community through our Early Learning Center and technology ministries. We're a welcoming and inclusive community that fosters connection to God, each other and the community.

This part-time (20-25 hrs/wk) position reports to the Pastor and works with the Office Manager, ELC Director and Technology Team to support the congregation’s ministry.

Job description here. For more info, write to: gracepastor2@gmail.com.