The Rev. Quirino Cornejo (QC) is a new member of the RMS bishop's staff as the "Minister for Multicultural Witness," sharing this position with the Episcopal Church in Colorado.

The main purpose and mission of this new position is to fully reflect the richness and unity of the Body of Christ by welcoming and embracing each person in their wholeness, and by assisting congregations and communities to become more culturally diverse and truly inclusive by engaging in cross-cultural and racial equity learning.

QC said, "One of our main goals is to create a full partnership and participation with each ethnic specific community (African Descent, Native American Descent, Asian Descent, Arab Descent and Latino Descent) in developing a mission strategy that is unique to their needs and aspirations and incorporating them at every level of our life together."

Bishop Jim Gonia has also appointed Margarita Reyes as the Pastoral Associate of the Latino Ministry West (Cristo Rey) to alleviate many pastoral responsibilities of Rev. QC as Pastor and Mission Developer of this Latino congregation.

As Pastoral Associate, Margarita Reyes assists Pastor Q and directly assumes the major responsibility for the congregational education and formation program and leadership of the Latino Ministry of West Denver. Margarita, as Pastoral Associate, is also a pastor-in-training in the TEEM program (Theological Education for Emerging Ministries).

Forced to scramble to go online in just a few weeks during the COVID pandemic, the church has discovered the online world is far more than a replacement for the yellow pages. It is a place where genuine community and real ministry happens.

Hosted by the Southwestern Texas Synod, all congregations (rostered and lay leaders) are invited to this 5-week FREE series on Monday evenings beginning July 26 at 6:00 p.m. Mountain Daylight Time.

The sessions will be led by Dave Daubert, except Aug. 2, which will be led by John Roberto. There will be breakout rooms and large group times. More detail about each session here.

Messiah Mountain is the Rocky Mountain Synod’s newest outdoor ministry site, available for day events and overnights (visit www.messiahmountain.org ). While there, the group of 22 youth and adults worked on trails and other improvement projects. On one day they travelled to the Office of the Bishop at the Lutheran Center to improve the garden area, pull A LOT of weeds, and paint the courtyard fence.

 

“The spirit of these youth was contagious! They were able to accomplish so much for us to get the property back in shape after our absence from the Lutheran Center during the pandemic,” Tina Kvitek, Lutheran Center Manager, said. “We would love to have other groups help us out as well this fall!”

 

Join the Border Servant Corps staff for a "Borderland Update + Q&A" for July 2021. Sessions will include updates on:

SPECIAL NOTE: Please be sure to save the Zoom link provided after your registration has been completed. For additional information - Info@BorderServantCorps.org

Throughout the past two years of much challenge and change, the Excellence in Leadership initiative has provided tools, resources, and mechanisms to lead in the midst of it all. It has impacted and transformed dozens of people, both lay and rostered, into resilient, courageous, and faithful leaders. Now we are inviting a new group of people to experience and live into the new future God is calling us into through this initiative.

If you are wondering if this program is for you, ask these questions: Do you want to grow in your emotional intelligence? Do you want to deepen your relationships? Do you want to be a more effective leader in church and in your community? Do you wish to move beyond old models and be better equipped to meet today’s challenges? Are you either a rostered leader or a lay leader?

If the answer to these questions is, “yes”, then this program is for you.

With both in person and online options, this program is available to you no matter where you live. For questions or more information: danderson@rmselca.org

The Congregations Lead Initiative is a new, two-year program that will gather a cohort of 50 congregations from across the ELCA to unleash and harness their collective genius and discover new and useful ministry innovations. Right now, your congregation is invited to apply to join the Congregations Lead Initiative!

Learn more at ELCA.org/CongregationsLead.

If you have questions, check out our FAQ section or email CongregationsLead@elca.org.

Wondering about how advocacy fits into our Christian and Lutheran presence in policy discussions? Session 1 of ELCA Advocacy Summer School will paint a picture of what advocacy is and how advocacy is shaped with a faith foundation, especially as members and affiliates of the ELCA. With discussions, examples, and ways to connect! 

Learn how to do year-round, on-going stewardship resulting in more money for ministry, become more energized stewards, and build a culture of generosity. Registration is open now for Beginning a Culture of Generosity (BCG) and SAS Refresher that both begin in August.

“I expected that this program would help us put together a stewardship appeal but WOW! It has certainly exceeded my expectations…It has made a huge difference for us.” ~ BCG pastor

Beginning a Culture of Generosity (BCG) is a program to guide congregations and provide the necessary tools to run a successful fall appeal. Participants receive training online in seven online sessions August 14 to December 4, and one-on-one guidance on an easily implemented program to stimulate generosity. Cost is $150 per congregation – no limit on number of participants. 

Register for BCG online - or - register by mail.

The SAS Refresher is a 6 session once-a-month course designed for congregations that have been through Stewardship for All Seasons (SAS) previously. The Refresher is for those who wish to continue the journey of generosity culture building. It is for those who have new leadership on your council and/or new members on your stewardship team.

The full year Stewardship for All Seasons (SAS) has already started with Cohort 5. If you are interested in participating in SAS beginning April 2022 or have questions about all programs, contact Deb Elstad, 3E Associate Director for Stewardship at deb.elstad@gmail.com.

Join us for a good ol’ fashioned evening in the great outdoors at “Relax and Unwind: No Strings Attached!” Enjoy the powerful healing music of 2 guitars and a bass with Denver’s newest ensemble, “16 Strings,” and the beautiful instrumentation of “Voice of the Wood” strings ensemble. No strings are attached at this acoustic concert, so join us at Augustana Arts for a relaxing evening of music, massages, and fun!

16 Strings is made up of Tom Virtue, Allan Ferguson, and Rick Chinisc: 3 distinguished Denver-area musicians who are coming together for this rare opportunity for you to hear them play their jazz favorites!

Voice of the Wood is made up of Kathy Thayer, Carrie Beeder, Mike and Shirley Marecak, and Marilyn Hof who will perform unique arrangements created by one of the group's members.

Don’t forget to bring your own blankets, chairs, and food for an evening picnic under the stars!

Tickets available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35350/production/1068774 or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/162438797817.

Join us on 7/23 to experience all of the above! Get ready for a night of dancing and twirling to New Orleans jazz and popular music by the Boulder Brassaholics, a local sextet who are sure to get all feet (big or little) tapping! If you’re in the mood for something fun and new, “Relax and Unwind: Backyard Brass” is for you! What better way to close out your weekend?

The Brassaholics Sextet is a Boulder, CO-based brass sextet playing New Orleans jazz and popular music, including standards. You won't want to miss their upbeat, toe-tapping, fun music at this open-air courtyard concert!

Flex-pay (pay what you choose) tickets available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35350/production/1068775 or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/162441323371.

Feeling “blew” these days? You won’t want to miss this "Garden Party"-themed evening of pop tunes and classical favorites from Denver’s renowned wind ensemble, Gossamer Winds. With music that is familiar and approachable (hear everything from Elton John to Bach!), this is the perfect opportunity to heal through music with your kids, your partner, or with friends.

The Gossamer Winds are a Denver-based chamber ensemble that was established in 2005 with the intention of making great music accessible to all audiences and helping the greater Denver community. The group members are Amanda Rusten, flute; Jaime Askvig, clarinet; Katie Smith, oboe; John Richardson, bassoon and Kelli Hirsch, horn.

In addition to the music, everyone is encouraged to attend an all-ages-and-abilities yoga with Robyn Lambert at 6:15pm before the concert begins! Catherine Hupp of EmBodyWorks will also be available for massages from 6:15pm until the end of the concert. Between the music, crafts, yoga, and evening breezes, you will surely be blown away by this fantastic event.

Tickets available at https://ci.ovationtix.com/35350/production/1068550 or https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wind-down-with-winds-tickets-162444408599.

Join LFSRM for our annual Tee Off for Hope golf tournament, held at Red Rocks Country Club in Morrison, CO! This is a fun-filled day of golf, community, prizes, and supporting the work that we do in Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Come with a friend or a foursome to one of Colorado's most beautiful private courses for a great cause!

Questions? Email emmily.ureste@lfsrm.org

The closed congregation of Mt. Hope in El Paso, TX, has a buyer for the property and are optimistic they will be closing in under 60 days. The congregation would like to share its items of ministry for continued use in other congregations. They have 2 organs, 2 pianos, kitchen appliances, pews, worship furnishings and supplies, and more. Please send an email to set up a time to come by and make arrangements for receiving these items.

Read Neil’s full obituary at neptunesociety.com.

Questions, contact: goodrum@augustanadenver.org

The meaning of awe is to realize that life takes place under wide horizons, horizons that range beyond the span of an individual life or eve the life of a nation, a generation, or an era. Awe enables us to perceive in the world intimations of the Divine, to sense in small things the beginning of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple: to feel in the rush of the passing the stillness of the eternal.

AJ Heschel, God in Search of Man, 1955.

Nature, Creation, helps us in finding that sense of awe that we often lose in daily living. Words from a letter Chief Seattle of the Washington tribe, Duwamish, writing to President Franklin Pierce in 1855:

It gives us life. Let us protect it.

RMS Creation Care Team. Submitted by Rev Bonita Bock

Join Todd Wynward as we discuss his book Rewilding the Way: Break Free to Follow an Untamed God.

Todd Wynward is a public school founder, small-scale farmer, wilderness educator and Mennonite organizer for watershed discipleship in the Mountain States region. He has been engaged in education reform and social change movements for twenty years, and has spent more than a thousand nights outdoors. He and his wife Peg founded a wilderness-based public charter school in 2001 and are now creating TiLT, a discipleship co-housing community emerging in Taos, NM.

When did we become so tame? How has “the good life” come to mean addiction to screens and status, fossil fuels and financial fitness? Can we break free to become the joyful and prophetic people God calls us to be? Trek along with wilderness guide Todd Wynward as he “rewilds” the Jesus Way. Seek the feral foundations of Scripture and the lessons that the prophets and disciples gleaned from wilderness testing.

Packed with inspiring stories of how contemporary people and groups are caring for the land and each other, Rewilding the Way issues a call to action. Read about how reskilling and local food covenants are transforming churches, and how place-based activism and creative housing are nurturing communities. Learn from those who are recovering from affluenza, replacing visions of personal wealth with the commonwealth of the earth and restoring their humble place in the community of creation. Do you despair about life on our changing planet? Join the hopeful band of seekers of God and makers of change who are rewilding the Way.

Richard Rohr calls Wynward’s novel, The Secrets of Leaven, “a spiritual roller-coaster that skewers everything we think we know about organized religion, social change, and human potential.” More of Todd’s writings and doings can be found at TaosTiLT.org and his Author Page on Facebook.

For more information: https://www.facebook.com/groups/153008509368206

Are black and brown children “violent, disruptive future criminals” or “amazing gifts of God to be cherished and protected?” Learn about the impact of punitive discipline and policing on children and families. Discuss how to reduce the criminalization of Black girls, that we may interrupt pathways to confinement for ALL youth.

Purchase Pushout from a bookstore or borrow from a library near you.