All are invited for the opening conversation in our Lenten Discussion series. Join Bishop Jim Gonia, Rev. Ron Roschke, Dr. Edward Antonio, and Deacon Erin Power on ZOOM or Facebook Live at 4pm tonight. Panelists will discuss our frameworks for engaging in this work, our theological understandings around Lent and the work of anti-racism, and share their own experiences in this work.

The conversation will be available on Facebook after 5pm if you are unable to view it live at 4pm.

This discussion series is intended to create an experience for each of us the chance to think about our personal stories of race and faith. This discussion guide includes a guided timeline experience and individual journal prompts. Participants are encouraged to engage as much of the materials as they are able. Synod Assembly Voting Members are specifically asked to engage this work as part of the preparation for the assembly, though anyone in the RMS is invited to participate. 

Resolutions are requests for action by the Synod Council or Office of the Bishop. Memorials are passed on for consideration by the Churchwide Assembly.

To help the Assembly planning team anticipate the plenary time needed to address resolutions by the Assembly, the Committee on Reference and Council requests any congregation or team complete a Resolution Intent Form by Friday, February 19.

The final deadline for submitting Resolutions and Memorials is Friday, March 19, 2021.  Resolutions and Memorials should be emailed to Kristen Lee: klee@rmselca.org.

At this year's assembly, we will be electing our Synod Vice President, as well as voting members for the 2022 Churchwide Assembly.

The Nominating Committee of the Rocky Mountain Synod invites members of congregations to prayerfully consider if God is calling them to serve as the Vice President of our Synod. Important information about this office is attached here.

Specific openings and the nomination form can be found on our website.

At ELCA.org/40Days, you’ll find these downloadable resources to enrich the life of your congregation and family this season:

Sierra Blanca Presbytery - Corona, NM

St. Mark - Roswell, NM

St. Peter - Carlsbad, NM

We hear many say, "I just love those good old hymns!" Yes, but all too often, they only tell a portion of the story of what it is like to be alive and in love with God in today's world. There are stories of some of the hidden voices in our faith communities, particularly, people who live with mental health challenges. How can the church sing of their story? What do their stories have to teach us about loving and serving the world? And how can the church's music and liturgy validate their experiences so as to create a space for them at God's table that is liberating and just?

Hillary Doerries, Director of Music Ministries at Christ the King Lutheran Church in South Bend, IN. Hillary received her musical training at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Her congregation's mental health ministry is blossoming and she helps others find hope and healing through music, worship, and support groups.

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

Researchers have learned a lot about the psychology of suicide in the past 20 years, but much of this information is still not widely known. A better understanding of what Edwin Shniedman called "the suicidal mind" makes helpers more effective. We're better able to assess risk and thus to provide the aid most appropriate to the situation. Will do a brief review of recent research and then connect what the research tells us to "best practice" interventions like safety planning and restricting access to lethal means.

Jay Winstead, a licensed clinical social worker at Mental Health Partners, was part of the MHP crisis intervention team, where he worked with hundreds of people having suicidal thoughts. He is a trainer and suicide prevention project lead at MHP.

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

Join us for our 2021 Heart for the Arts: “Voyage on the Waves” from March 20-29. In lieu of our annual in-person gala, this 10-day fundraising journey will feature mini musical excursions that will highlight the talent of Stratus musicians, with the “New Dawn String Quartet” - Stratus’s principal string musicians - opening night with Handel’s Water Music. You can enjoy these mini-concerts each night at 7pm via VIMEO (link on our Facebook and website).

Our goal for this fundraising journey is to get 200 people to donate $20 to reserve a virtual Stateroom seating ticket. Tax Deductible Stateroom Seating Donations will benefit all programs of Augustana Arts including Stratus Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Women’s/Men’s Chorales, and Music Encounters. These donations can be made via our website or our GoFundMe. Help us keep music buoyed on the waves during these difficult times!

Celebrate the music teachers in our life who inspire and encourage young lives in the arts! Join us for an evening of uplifting music as the teachers from City Strings share their stories of their early encounters in music followed by a favorite composition or two. This virtual presentation will debut on Friday, April 16 at 7:00pm.

Let us know you can attend by making a reservation at https://www.augustanaarts.org/tickets. This is a FREE virtual concert, but your donations are always appreciated in support of the arts.

In 2018, Lutheran Advocacy joined other faith-based organizations in Colorado to found Faithful Thursdays. Since then, we've held regular events at the Capitol to gather people of faith under the banner of advancing a moral economy, equity, and eradicating racism.

Register below to receive a Zoom link for the gathering. Nearly 100 people are already registered!

Hearts Across The Miles is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization whose goal is to ensure that deployed United States Service Members from all branches of the military and their families do not feel forgotten. It is our hope that with community support, we are able to lift morale and provide our troops with a better quality of life while serving overseas.

One of the ways we do this is by packaging and sending Girl Scout cookies to overseas active duty troops. Last year, we shipped 8,000 boxes of girl scout cookies. We are currently collecting addresses of deployed troops and could use help with the cookie packaging. We don't know what day "cookie day" will be yet – usually third week in March – but if you would like to help us or have addresses for deployed troops, let us know at melissa@bethany-denver.org or hatm@gmx.com. Overseas addresses must be valid through April 20, 2021.

You can also support us by buying Girl Scout cookies and donating them to veterans! Due to COVID, our fundraising efforts have been challenging this past year. If you are willing, please send a tax-deductible donation to Hearts Across the Miles, PO Box 102853, Denver, CO 80250. You can also visit our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/HeartsAcrossTheMiles) to donate and to see more info and lots of smiling faces. Shipping cookies is expensive but we believe our troops are worth it. HATM is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Your help and support is appreciated.

Riots at the Capitol on Epiphany interrupted Congress as it was beginning to certify a democratic election. The riots occurred on the second day of the Lutheran Ethicists’ Gathering where members were discussing just and merciful reactions to the Covid pandemic. While the participants were in their individual homes, not in D.C. this year as they were last January, the riots caused disruption. While focusing on how to care for the sick, how to address the gender inequity and racial inequality that compounds the pandemic’s effect on various communities, and how to minister to socially distanced congregants, hard questions arose: What is power? What is truth? Where is our hope? Read more.

Our new website (pardon our dust): https://learn.elca.org/jle/

King of Kings Lutheran Church is looking to hire a Director of Musical Ministry. This person would be responsible for: Playing for Sunday morning worship, directing and accompanying the choir (Sept - May), assisting in worship planning with pastor and staff, and being available to play for recorded services. Talents needed would include: Proficient at piano and/or organ, able to sight read music, available on Sunday mornings, some Wednesday evenings, and holidays. For more information and to submit your resume, please send email to pastorbill@kingofkingspueblo.org.

King of Kings Lutheran Church - Pueblo, CO

St. Philip Lutheran Church - Littleton, CO

Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp - Westcliffe, CO

Trinity Lutheran Church - Loveland, CO

Zion Lutheran Church - Loveland, CO

Lakewood United Methodist Church

1390 Brentwood St Lakewood, CO

St. John's Lutheran Church - Thornton, CO