The world has changed, and the church is adapting. Do you have questions about setting a ministry strategy in this new world? Do you wonder how best to use your church building beyond Sundays? Are you curious about creative partnerships to reach new people? Some congregations have already taken risks in these areas and learned some things that will help us.

Join fellow congregational leaders around the Rocky Mountain Synod for a 90-minute zoom event exploring some inspiring ministry experiments. We will hear from three leaders who have taken some chances in ministry and gained insights they will share with us. After the short presentations we will enter into the small group of our choice for further conversation before returning back for a final debrief.

Zoom Link: us02web.zoom.us/j/85471053136

Zoom Meeting ID: 854 7105 3136

Please register ahead of time for this free event! 

Discerning and Electing a New Bishop in 2024

The focus of the Synod Assembly April 25-27, 2024 will be the election of a new Bishop. To assist with this important, Spirit-led process, a new webpage called "2024 Synod Assembly Bishop Election" has been added to the Events section of the Rocky Mountain Synod website. This will serve as our hub for information regarding this election. Currently, it contains a timeline, information about the Bishop Election Committee, and an ELCA document outlining the responsibilities of synod Bishops. To help with the community's discernment, in late Fall feedback from conference meetings and Theological Conference discussions will be added. A biographical information form for those interested in being nominated as bishop will be added early 2024. Everyone- whether you will be a voting member at Assembly or not- is encouraged to visit the site and be informed about the process ahead.

CHECK FRAUD - PLEASE HELP

ENROLL IN RMS ACH DIRECT DEPOSIT

In response to our recent check fraud crisis, the synod has launched an ACH Direct Deposit system. Modeled after the process by which money is transferred to Portico, Clergy Financial, and ELCA Churchwide, congregations may enroll in our ACH Direct Deposit system. Once banking information is received and verified, the congregation will be set-up in our bank's secure ACH system and can start initiating electronic payments. 

Mission Support Remittance forms will be received via email. You will receive a Mission Support Remittance template to be completed according to your billing timeline in order to make a monthly mission support payment. Each congregation will continue to receive monthly contribution statements by email to verify that the correct funds have been withdrawn and distributed. It is extremely important to reconcile your monthly contribution statement to ensure that all transactions are recorded correctly. Discrepancies should be reported immediately.

ENROLL in the ACH Direct Deposit system by clicking the link below. To report missing contributions or if you have any questions, please contact Jon Johnson, Finance Director at finance@rmselca.org or Yvonne Wilken, Administrator at office@rmselca.org.

Click here to get more information and instructions.

"God's Refracted Love for the World"

September 18-21

This year's Theological Conference will begin Monday, September 18 at 4:00pm with programming through Thursday, September 21, finishing by noon.

Regional Gatherings:

• Ascension L.C. - Cheyenne, WY
• Zion L.C. - Salt Lake City, UT
• First L.C. - Colorado Springs, CO
• St. Paul L.C. - Albuquerque, NM

As leaders in the Rocky Mountain Synod, we find ourselves at a crossroads: What does it mean to be the church? What is the future of our ministries? What is the future of our synod?

How do we manage the full spectrum of ministry, remain healthy leaders, and continue to be inspired to tell God’s love story?

This year’s Theological Conference will explore these questions and more.

Download TC2023 Schedule, including check-in info and more - HERE

View info regarding the EiL Boundary Training HERE

PLEASE NOTE - IMPORTANT INFORMATION!: 

1. This is an in-person, regional event held in four of the five states of the RMS with limited zoom content to allow for simultaneous experiences. The scheduled zoom sessions are: Bishop Jim's address and partner presentations (1 hour of content), Keynote sessions with Rev. Dr. Linda Thomas (4 hours of content in 1 hour segments over 3 days). 
2. The registration fee is $400 -- sticker shock?! The Synod has been subsidizing Theological Conference ($20,00-30,000 annually). In order to continue sponsoring this event, TC needs to pay for itself. 
3. Participants are invited to attend a location of choice (locations are not assigned). Participants are not required to stay in any particular location. If you'd like to book an AirBnB with your friends or camp or . . . go for it! Courtesy blocks were reserved at hotels in each location -- the courtesy blocks have expired for Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City. The block will expire for Cheyenne on September 1 and Albuquerque on September 9 so Book TODAY!

For Questions or Scholarship info? email HERE

Join Excellence in Leadership!

Registration is now open for 18-month cohorts beginning in September 2023 and a 13-month cohort beginning January 2024!

Excellence in Leadership is an experiential journey for any who wish to become more resilient, healthy, and creative in their lives and in their leadership. It is meant for people of all ages and in all stages of life: lay or rostered, council member or back pew sitter. As we navigate what the future may hold as people of faith, Excellence in Leadership provides opportunities and community to think adaptively and meet that future boldly.

Become the more resilient, courageous, and faithful leader God has made you to be!

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SYNOD

GENEROSITY CONFERENCE

STEWARDSHIP

September 25 – 27, 2023

This is a HYBRID EVENT from the Messiah Mountain Retreat Center.

The purpose of this conference is for the individuals interested in the financial health and well-being of our church to engage in the abundance-mindset work necessary to enhance and grow a culture of generosity that will sustain the future of our congregations, members, and leaders that make ministry possible!

The 2023 conference will focus on STEWARDSHIP and include:

• Stewardship Kaleidoscope Plenary and Workshop Sessions
• Rocky Mountain Synod Stewardship Best Practices
• Stewardship focused Worship & Devotions

For more information and list of presenters, download informational flyer here.

Revitalize Your Congregation's Preaching Ministry!

"Preaching is the work of all the baptized, not just the Pastor. Pastors are called to steward the pulpit, not own it."

Revitalize your congregations preaching ministry by making the practice of preaching more collaborative and participatory.

Cohort 3 of The People's Sermon is now forming and there is limited space available for congregations within Regions 1 and 2 (we have room for 2-4 more congregations to join us). This program is led by the Rev. Dr. Shauna Hannan.

Questions or interested in learning more? Email Desta Ronning Goehner! Desta@plts.edu

• A story of a son and father,
• Facts on loneliness and the importance of LMM for men,
• A teaser on the Bold Gathering this November,
• The LMM APP and More!!!

Click the Link, Read the Stories, Forward the link to others who need to hear what Lutheran Men in Mission is all about.

AUGUSTANA ARTS PRESENTS

Music Without Boundaries Stratus Chamber Orchestra Concert

Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7:00pm, and Sunday, Sept. 24 at 2:30pm

Join us for an exceptional Stratus Chamber Orchestra concert experience that celebrates the limitless creativity of female composers and composers of color, forging a unique connection between performers and audience while championing diversity through captivating works that transcend traditional boundaries.

The program features Arturo Marquez's lively "Danzón No. 4"; Kevin Puts' expressive Flute Concerto, featuring Stratus’s own Tamara Maddaford on flute; Nkeiru Okoye's vibrant Charlotte Mecklenburg; and Florence Price's powerful Concert Overture No. 1. Through this concert, especially with SCO's unique immersive seating at the Sunday performance, we transcend boundaries, champion diversity, and highlight the universal language of music.

Join us on Saturday evening, September 23, at Augustana Lutheran Church, or on Sunday afternoon, September 24, at City Park Pavilion.

Park at LuMin for CSU Football Games

Attending one or more Colorado State University home football games? Then, park at LuMin (your Lutheran Campus Ministry in Fort Collins) and support this young adult ministry of the Rocky Mountain Synod. We ask $20 for one game or $100 for the season (a $20 savings). We offer in-door and newly remodeled bathrooms and a cool place for hot game days and a warm place for cold game days. You're welcome to "tailgate" on your tailgate in the parking lot, or around the front of the building, or in the Lulounge with kitchen access, or on the back deck equipped with a gas grill.

Our address is 805 S Shields St in Fort Collins. It's a short walk across the inner-mural fields to the stadium. Contact Pastor Paul Judson to reserve a spot or answer questions: 970-482-2160 (call/text) or pastor@lcmcsu.org.

Valley Lutheran Church,

Los Lunas, NM

50th Anniversary!

Sunday, September 10 at 12:00 noon

Join the people and Pastor Ken Vogler of Valley Lutheran in celebrating their 50th glorious anniversary!

"We just wanted to share that we made it to 50 years as a Lutheran Church and as far as we are concerned, this is just the beginning! We are focused on the future and with efforts from our members, we accept the challenge. We are Lutherans who love our church!"

FREE ONLINE EVENT

Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop

Saturday, September 9, 9:00am-noon

Are you looking for a way to explore or deepen your relationship with God? In our introductory workshop to Centering Prayer, you will discover a centuries-old prayer method. Centering Prayer consists of simply sitting in silence with God - beyond thoughts, words, and emotions - and opening our mind, heart and whole being to the Ultimate Mystery. In this workshop, you will learn the basics of Centering Prayer, experience it in a guided setting, and be able to ask questions and share experiences with the presenter and your fellow initiates.

LUTHERAN FAMILY SERVICES PRESENTS

FREE a Financial and Estate Planning Seminar!

Saturday, September 16, 2023

8:00 am - 11:30 am

Join us on September 16, at the Lutheran Family Services Offices, 1035 Osage Street Suite 800, Denver, Colorado for a FREE financial planning seminar, a Charitable Giving Class and Estate Planning 101, presented by Chris Holdgard and Nathan Richter from Thrivent Financial Services and Estate Planning 101 by Beth Mitchell AMBLER | KEENAN | MITCHELL | JOHNSON Estate Planning Law Firm.

The first 25 registrants will receive a beautiful planning padfolio. To register contact Margo Hatton at margo.hatton@lfsrm.org, 719-250-7491 or on-line at www.lfsrm.org/financialplanning.

RAINBOW TRAIL LUTHERAN CAMP

Rainbow Trail Women's Retreat

October 6-8, 2023

It’s time for you to free yourself from your daily stressors and escape to Rainbow Trail for some spiritual freedom, fellowship, and fun! Don’t miss this opportunity to be immersed in community on the mountain, in which we will discover and affirm the gifts that God has given us. Call your best gal pals, staff alumni sisters, church buddies, neighbor that God has been nudging you about. But do it soon… registration will fill fast!

from Pastor Michael Mortvedt

A review of The Great Displacement, by Jake Bittle

“With every passing year, indeed every new season, climate change forces more people out of their homes. By the time you read this, some new and unforeseen calamity may have already come to dominate the headlines. (fires in Maui and tropical storms in California for instance) The levees are already breaking, the rivers are already running dry, the fires are already snaking through the forests...The next century may usher us into a brutal and unpredictable world, a world in which only the wealthiest and most privileged can protect themselves from dispossession, or it may usher us into a fairer world—a world where one’s home may not be impregnable, but where one’s right to shelter is guaranteed. Both worlds are possible. We still have time to choose between them.”

That is how author Jake Bittle concludes his book The Great Displacement.

I confess I have not considered the growing number of internally displaced persons caused by the effects of climate change in north America. Of course, it is in plain sight for us in the Rocky Mountain Synod with so many of our neighbors displaced by unprecedented fires, tornadoes, drought, and other severe weather events. Extreme weather that used to be considered one hundred- and five-hundred-year occurrences appear to be becoming the norm in some parts of the United States as well as the rest of the world. Bittle makes a clear case that climate migration is not just happening in faraway places like Africa, Asia, and low-lying island nations. It is starting here too.

The author weaves together firsthand accounts from people who lost their homes to hurricanes in the Florida Keys, forest fires in Santa Rosa, California, flooding in Huston, Texas, sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia, and extreme weather events in other parts of the country. Many individuals and families chose to rebuild even though the risk remained and several experienced the same destruction only a few years later. Others chose to move if they could, but many could not afford to because of limited insurance and federal assistance.



It was not always the case, but mostly it was the minority and less affluent neighborhoods and communities that had the least opportunities to recover, rebuild or relocate. Systemic racism and poverty played a part in many of the accounts. In Lincoln City, a whole community founded by a Black preacher’s son shortly after the end of the Civil war, the residents were asked to accept a government buyout so their flood prone town could be returned to the river. Many of the Lincoln City residents felt they were really given no choice. Other similar, but more affluent and mostly white communities were given more choices and allowed to rebuild.



This is not a religious book, although faith communities play a role in some of the accounts. Bittle poses the question: "How do we adopt to climate change and who should bear the burden for that adaption?” How should we prepare as congregations and church agencies for assisting those in need because of climate change accelerated weather disasters, especially those most vulnerable? How do faith communities and agencies prepare for the changes ahead and the probable great migration from the southern tier of states to more northern latitudes because of the inevitable increase in excessive heat? For faith communities it is now a question of who is my neighbor in a world of global climate change?

"As Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Christians, we have a radical focus on God’s unconditional love. We believe that the word of the God is Jesus Christ himself, with a second understanding that the message of Jesus Christ is also the word of God.

The ELCA looks to the Bible for authority in its preaching and teaching, yet does not take a literalist approach to scripture.

We celebrate the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper–external signs instituted by Christ that convey God’s grace and mercy. The ELCA is an inclusive and ecumenical church and seeks relationships with other religious traditions."

The Rev. Pedro Suárez was elected bishop on Oct. 13, 2017.

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