Cruzando Fronteras

May 16-18, 2023

El Paso, Texas

El Paso Convention Center

As we prepare for Christ’s resurrection this Lenten season, we also prepare our hearts for the “Cruzando Fronteras” Synod Assembly 2023 in El Paso, TX.

This Lenten season, we will share prayers and reflections by one of our migrant ministry partners: Jesuit Refugee Service. Each week, we will share a daily prayer as an opportunity to focus our energy towards migrants and refugees during each of the 40 days of Lent. We pray…

• Wednesday, 3/22 (Day 25) – For refugee adolescent girls who are often exploited and forced into child marriages.
• Thursday, 3/23 (Day 26) – For refugee women who are survivors of violence. May we find inspiration in their resilience.
• Friday, 3/24 (Day 27) – For refugees who seek medical attention.
• Saturday, 3/25 (Day 28) – For countries on the verge of war and conflict.
• Sunday
• Monday, 3/27 (Day 29) – For authoritative leaders to make wise and compassionate financial decisions.
• Tuesday, 3/28 (Day 30) – For the Church and its companions to continue to accompany, advocate, and serve refugees.

Amen.

We invite you to participate in this “Lenten Migration Advocacy Challenge” to learn about the policies affecting migration, hear stories from migrants, gain the knowledge and skills to engage in advocacy, and pray together to better embody a church that welcomes, protects, promotes, and integrates the stranger in our midst.

Registration is OPEN!

Please use the links below to register for the Assembly, and to book a room at the DoubleTree or Courtyard. The Assembly will meet at the El Paso Convention Center-- both hotels are close to the convention center.

The Assembly will begin at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 16. Wednesday will feature all-day border immersion experiences bookended by bible study, education, and plenty of time for questions and answers. The Assembly will conclude at noon on Thursday, May 18.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

1. The registration deadline is April 15th. Registration cancellations will be accepted through March 31st with a non-refundable fee of $50 per registrant. Due to contractual obligations, refunds cannot be issued after this date. Substitutions are possible until April 21st.
2. Pre-assembly Gatherings will be held via ZOOM on Saturday, April 29th at 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m., and Thursday, May 4th at 10:00 a.m. ALL participants are asked to attend ONE of these gatherings. Mark your calendars!
3. The registration platform requires a country code - please enter, "US" in this field (or any other letters - not numbers - of choice :)
4. The voting software we will use for elections requires each voting member to have a unique email and their own device (sharing is not voting!). Please secure a personal email and device before the assembly.
5. "Up-to-date" COVID vaccinations are required for ALL participants. "Up-to-date" means that an individual has received the two initial doses of vaccine and booster(s) as appropriate by age with at least one booster in the last year (since May 2022). Photos of COVID cards, vaccination record, or other state approved app (i.e. myColorado) are accepted as proof. Please use the link below to Upload your information -- Thank you for completing this extra step!
6. This assembly is an in-person event. Some videos and materials will be posted on the RMS website as resources after the event.
7. Scholarship funds are available - please contact Deacon Sarah HERE with a brief description of need.
8. Are you a retired pastor or deacon? Did you receive an email from Yvonne Wilken regarding special instructions for registration? If not, please email Yvonne HERE
9. Questions? contact Deacon Sarah HERE



Interested in extending your time in El Paso?

Take a deeper dive into the beauty and complexity of the border.

Pre-Assembly: Full-week immersion Sunday, April 16 through Saturday, April 22 - cost for programming, food, housing, and transportation is $350 per person with some additional food costs - Contact Dan Tisdel HERE for more information.

Post-Assembly: Mini-immersion will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 18th (the assembly concludes at noon), and conclude with breakfast on Saturday, May 20th. Cost for programming, food, housing, and transportation is $1`25 per person - Contact Diana Linden-Johnson HERE for more information, and/or register TODAY using the button below.

Participants will stay at Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey in shared rooms for both events.

IN-PERSON EVENT

Walking What Jesus Talked About

Thursday, April 27 - 2:00pm to Saturday, April 29 - 12:00pm

Yes, Jesus talked about A LOT of things but this train-the-trainer event will focus on the Gospel imperative to love and what it looks like in our church and society today.

Participants will be equipped with tools to facilitate courageous Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) conversations in their conference and congregation, and there will be opportunities for deeper diving.

You will be required to take the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) as a part of the training. Information will be sent once you have registered.

Training begins at the RMS office Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 2:00 pm and concludes Saturday, April 29 at 12:00 noon. Housing and meals will be provided. Hotel accommodations provided on request.

This is an in-person event. Please plan to attend the entire duration of the training. 

Registration deadline: April 1, 2023.

For more information, contact Barbara Berry-Bailey HERE

Celebrate with these photos from Pastor Veatch's installation last Sunday, March 19 where she was joined by the people of UCSJ and retired Rev. Harry Strong, former pastor and current member of the church; Sherri Blake, co-moderator of the Committee on Ministry for the Presbytery of Western Colorado; George Miller, representative of the UCC; and Walter Strickland, UMC Mountain Sky Conference representative; and Flip Wilson, ELCA representative of the Rocky Mountain Synod.

IN-PERSON and ZOOM WORKSHOP

BREADITATION:

a bread baking workshop at Messiah Mountain and online

Saturday, May 6 from 9:00am to 1:00pm

plus FRIDAY PREP for ZOOM participants: required the day before

IN PERSON is at Messiah Mountain Retreat Center: no prep needed the day before

COST: $20 for Zoom participant (providing your own ingredients); $40 in person (includes all ingredients and lunch)

Bread is beautiful because it is simple and nourishing. It nourishes our body. It unites us in community. Join us in person or online to meditate on the beauty and mystery of bread while gaining experience, confidence, and know-how. We'll bake together fougasse, which is a light, open textured bread typically associated with the Provence region of France. While the fougasse is rising, we'll bake a nicely textured flat gluten free communion bread––a taste of the Bread of Heaven with honey, molasses, and more. Your workshop leaders are Pastor Ron Glusenkamp and Pastor Kent Mueller.

Monday, May 1 registration deadline. Limited to 12 participants in person. 

Zoom registrants will receive ingredient list, instructions, and Zoom link several weeks before the event.

RMS WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION

Views from the Rockies

March 2023

Download Views from the Rockies, which contains a note from President Anna Thompson and her reflections on Lent; info about Bold Women's Day, the RMSWO Fall Gathering, the Southeast Colorado Cluster Retreat, and more!

Did you know that not everyone who goes seminary plans to be a pastor? Have you felt a call to seminary but wondered what vocational path there might be for you in ministry? Join us for a Q&A discussion with people who are serving in diverse forms of ministry and explore where God might be calling you.

Click here to see a short video from Deacon Erin Power inviting you to attend this discussion!

Learn more and register at plts.edu/admission/info-sessions.html.

Youth Ministry Consultants

Who wants a surefire way to help middle school students thrive?

Middle school students face more change, stress, and bullying than ever before. Ministry Expert Mark Oestreicher has found 3 core ideas youth leaders need to know RIGHT NOW:

• Students' unique developmental realities critical to success
• The three-way intersection amazing Middle School Ministry takes place at.
• How to help students see that their decisions greatly impact the rest of their lives.

Support the Wolf Creek Foundation

For over a decade the Wolf Creek Foundation, a 501C3 nonprofit organization, has been supporting military families through the generosity of our community. Whether being deployed or returning from deployment, separation brings stress and anxiety to a military family which is often difficult to overcome.

We sponsor and facilitate weekend retreats twice a year where our military families relax, reconnect and develop much needed skills that help the entire family cope with deployments. Meals, lodging and entertainment along with dedicated programming for adults and children are offered at no cost to the family.

Military families sacrifice each day to allow us to have the freedoms we all enjoy. Become a part of something amazing. Join us today! wolfcreekfoundation.com.

AUGUSTANA ARTS PRESENTS

Emerging: New Musical Voices

Saturday, April 29 at 7:00pm and Sunday, April 30 at 3:00pm

In an exciting conclusion to our 25th season, “Emerging: New Musical Voices” showcases the musical voices of young artists alongside Stratus Chamber Orchestra. Enjoy a performance by the winner of “Shine with Stratus!” - a concerto program where high school students have the opportunity to perform with a top-tier chamber orchestra. Stratus will also collaborate with City Strings - Augustana Arts’ music education program. You won’t want to miss the future Bachs and Beethovens of the world make their debut right in your backyard!

The full program for the evening will highlight works by classical composers Mozart and Beethoven. In the spirit of Stratus to perform a diverse program featuring at least one living composer, they will also perform the world premiere of a piece commissioned for Stratus by emerging American composer Kevin Poelking. Poelking is an award-winning composer and conductor, whose own works have been performed all over the U.S. and Europe.

Saturday performance - 4/29 @ 7pm at Augustana Lutheran Church

Sunday matinee - 4/30 @ 3pm at First Universalist Church of Denver

Reservations and more info available at https://www.augustanaarts.org/tickets

Seicento presents J.S. Bach’s monumental St. John’s Passion

May 6 at 7:00pm, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Denver

Seicento’s performance of this monumental work will focus on historically informed musical forces and techniques, beginning with the use of period instruments such as theorbo, portative organ, traverso (wooden flute), baroque oboes, viola da gamba, and baroque strings. Seicento’s singers and instrumentalists perform at baroque pitch with the signature Seicento flair, all contributing to the realization of the work as—in the words of American choral director and conductor Hugh Ross— “transcendent in its divine benignity.’

Tickets are $15 - 50. For concert locations, directions, times and tickets, visit

seicentobaroque.org/current-season/.

A DEVOTIONAL REFLECTION

A Water Prayer

From the cold of winter to daylight savings time change to the first day of spring; from the season of Lent to the season of Easter; from Easter to Earth Day—we are always thinking about water. From “we need the moisture” (still shoveling snow in March) to April showers, we think about water and whether we will be irrigating our lawns and gardens this summer.

The Colorado River supplies water to Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and California. Forty million people rely on it. Glen Canyon Dam and Hoover Dam hold most of the water. Imperial Dam holds water for agriculture in the Imperial Valley of California. The last dam is Morelos which irrigates Mexico’s Mexicali Valley. Below that the river is mostly dry.

In Colorado, 24 tunnels move river water from west to east. Some of the biggest are Moffat Tunnel—Winter Park to Rollinsville for rail (since 1928) and water (since 1936); Bousted Tunnel—Arkansas/Frying Pan Project water to Turquoise Lake near Leadville; Roberts Tunnel—Lake Dillon water to Denver since 1962 (took 16 years to complete and supplies 40% of Denver’s water); Hoosier Pass Tunnel—diverts So. Platte River and Blue River water to the Montgomery Reservoir near Alma from which water is piped 70 miles to Colorado Springs by way of the Blue River Pipeline (since 1957); Straight Creek Tunnel—the Eisenhower-Johnson tunnels are also water tunnels delivering 300 acre feet of water per year to Clear Creek; Adams Tunnel from Lake Granby to Shadow Mountain to Grand Lake under Rocky Mt. Nat. Park to the Big Thompson River to the Horsetooth Reservoir, to Carter Lake, and to the Boulder Reservoir. WOW—and that is just a small part of this interesting story!

Prayer: Dear Lord, water sustains us. Every creature needs it for life. Our watery baptism sustains us. Water reminds us each day of our baptism. Christ’s love surrounds us as we move about in our daily activities in our families, in our workplaces, and in our communities. We need water; it flows in us and makes us whole. Help us to appreciate and conserve the gift of water.

Suggested reading: Exodus 17:1-7.

Questions- rmscreationcareteam@gmail.com.

ONLINE ZOOM EVENT

Introduction to the Forgiveness Prayer

Saturday, March 25, 9:00am - noon

Is there someone in your life whom you find difficult to forgive? The Prayer of Forgiveness is a powerful prayer that can help you forgive at the deepest level of your being. During this class, you will receive instruction on this prayer, developed by Contemplative Outreach founding member Mary Mrozowski. You will also have an opportunity for Centering Prayer as well as practice of the Prayer of Forgiveness..

Info and register at centeringprayer.net/IntrotoForgiveness or call 303-698-7729.

URBAN SERVANT CORPS

Palm Sunday Prayer Walk

Sunday, April 2 from 1:00 to 3:00pm at 1660 Ogden St, Denver, CO

To begin the journey of Holy Week, we invite you to the neighborhood where Urban Servant Corps volunteers have been present for 36 years! You will have the opportunity to engage with this year's Urban Servant Corps volunteers, learn about direct service partner organizations, and take a deeper dive into understanding the needs of our neighbors and neighborhood.

We will gather with Bishop Jim Gonia at 1pm for an Opening Prayer and then head out to walk and pray. Varied walk distances will be offered and there will also be opportunity to learn more just by hanging out at the USC house!

May this opportunity be an act of faithful support for the justice we seek in our community!

The Summit at Rainbow Trail

- A Faith Formation Retreat for Leaders

April 24-26

You're invited to come spend time at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp for personal reflection, renewal, and professional development with other youth, family, children, young adult, and faith formation leaders!

This is a FREE retreat for folks in the Rocky Mountain Synod! Folks outside of the synod are welcome to join. The 2023 theme is LGBTQIA+ Inclusive Faith Formation. Deacon Ross Murray, Pastor Kelsey Fauser, and Daniel Kirschbaum will be our content speakers and conversation facilitators.

Contact Bryan at Bryan@bethany-denver.org or Alec Celecki at 303-912-0283 with questions. Use QR code to register or click button below.

Join Pastor Jose Valenzuela for an India Tour and Retreat

Oct 19-31, 2023

You are cordidially invited to care for your spirit. It's been a rough few years and it may be time for you to reset. This tour will include a visit to India's Golden Triangle (Delhi, Jaipur, Agra) which includes visiting the famous Taj Mahal. We will also spend five days in a retreat in the holy city of Varanasi.

Contact Pastor Jose at chaplainjosevalenzuela@gmail.com to learn more and be a part of this small, 10-person tour.

For more information visit this article from the Grand Canyon Synod, and download this overview.

"The congregations of the Northwestern Ohio Synod comprise a diverse group of 75,000 members from all walks of life and life experiences and is blessed with 160 congregations from north to south and east to west."

Bishop Daniel G. Beaudoin was re-elected Friday June 3, 2022 to a six-year term as the bishop.

Visit nwos-elca.church and on Facebook.

Click here for a map of our 65 ELCA synods and 9 regions.