Cruzando Fronteras

May 16-18, 2023

El Paso, Texas

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…

• 3/1 (Day 7) – For refugee child soldiers who have forcibly been recruited into gangs.
• 3/2 (Day 8) – For people forced to flee from their homes because of increasingly inhospitable climate conditions.
• 3/3 (Day 9) – For the safety of immigrants who risk their lives by crossing the seas for a better life.
• 3/4 (Day 10) – For churches, organizations, and communities that support migrants.
• Sunday
• 3/6 (Day 11) – For U.S government leaders who oversee the budgets affecting migrant assistance.
• 3/7 (Day 12) – For the countries that host displaced people to continue welcoming those in need.

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 and Hotel Links for Synod Assembly will be coming soon! Questions? Contact Deacon Sarah Bjornebo HERE.

RMS ASSEMBLY 2023

Registration is now open!

Use these links below to register for the Assembly, and to book a room at the DoubleTree. A link for the Marriott Courtyard is coming.

Border Immersion Experiences

Wednesday, May 17

Every attendee will have the opportunity to participate in a border immersion experience, either:

• travel to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico (valid US passport REQUIRED)
• in the US only
• at the El Paso Convention Center

The local team will make every effort to accommodate your preferences, and not all participants will have the opportunity to travel to Mexico. Indicate your choice of border immersion when you register.

RMS-ELCA RACIAL JUSTICE TRAINING

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 at: bberry-bailey@rmselca.org.

Spring Cohort of Excellence in Leadership

Registration is open!

Excellence in Leadership is opening up a new Spring Cohort that begins March 12, 2023, and will meet about every other week until April 28, 2024. This leadership development is a good way for a newly formed Congregational Council to begin its work together.

If you have two or three people from your Council, including the deacon or pastor, who might be interested in exploring the intersection between spirituality and leading a faith community in these uncharted times, check out if this ministry might be right for your congregation. This small number of people participating in learning the tools and growing in leadership capacity can help the whole Council begin the process of healthy change.

CHECK FRAUD

Mission Support electronic payment option coming soon!

In an effort to deter fraud, the synod will offer an electronic payment option soon!

Please continue to send checks to the Office of the Bishop in standard business envelopes (no windows please).

Please ask treasurers and financial staff to reconcile the RMS Mission Support statement emailed or sent each month with your records to confirm that the RMS has received all payments and alert Jon Johnson, Finance Director if payments are missing. Questions? contact Jon Johnson HERE

FEBRUARY 2023

Portico Synod Communicator Updates

Utilize text support: It’s brave and smart to seek help if you’re living with stress, depression, anxiety, or mental health struggles – but accessing an in-person counselor isn’t always easy or even possible. That’s one reason the ELCA-Primary health plan EAP benefit has expanded to include Talkspace, digital confidential online counseling with licensed therapists via text, video, or audio. Read more on myPortico.

Retirement on the horizon? Increase your confidence and peace of mind by learning more about developing a withdrawal strategy, utilize Social Security, plan for health care costs, and more. Watch the recordings of the Retirement Readiness workshops whenever it works for you. Learn more, or sign up to participate, on myPortico.



Getting started on your taxes early? The Richard R. Hammar Clergy Tax Guide and the Federal Reporting Guide for Churches are both available on myPortico at no cost to you.

Develop an ‘I can do this’ mindset: Deep breaths, time with loved ones, a good night’s sleep … what are your best practices for keeping yourself centered and healthy? If you’re looking to expand your toolbox, and you have ELCA-Primary health benefits, check out Learn to Live’s new course focusing on building resilience. Take the initial assessment and then enroll in the self-guided program at no out-of-pocket cost to you.

RMS MINISTRIES

An update from the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs:

VA housed more than 40,000 homeless Veterans in 2022

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!

The Western States Youth Gathering (WSYG) and Western States Multicultural Youth Leadership Event (WYLE) is back! Coming to California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, CA from July 4-9, 2023, the Western States Youth Gathering is open to high school aged youth in Regions 1-4. WSYG and WYLE will gather around the theme, “Revive, Reunite, Rejoice”, grounded in Acts 2:1 “When the day [of WSYG] came, they were all together in one place.”

YOUNG ADULTS IN GLOBAL MISSION

Young Adult Border Immersion Trip

Las Cruces, New Mexico

April 26-30, 2023

The ELCA Young Adult Ministries, AMMPARO, and LIRS invite young adults to apply for border immersion trip taking place from April 26-30 in Las Cruces, NM. This is an opportunity for young adults ages 18-35 to travel to the US-Mexico border to experience an accompaniment-style immersion program, where relationships and first-hand educational experiences are prioritized, and issues are linked to action. Submit your application by February 1st.

LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF

Help for earthquake survivors in Turkey

NEW! We've created a suite of resources to help you guide your congregation:

 + Bulletin insert

 + Worship announcement slide

 + Social media graphics

This situation is evolving quickly. Your gift to our emergency response fund will deliver urgently needed support and care, like food, water and other critically needed items, temporary shelter, and medicine and supplies for clinics. I promise to keep you and your congregation updated as our response develops.

At this time, financial gifts are the number one need to assist our neighbors who are inured, hungry and displaced from multiple earthquakes.

You can give directly at lwr.org/quake or by mailing to Lutheran World Relief, PO Box 17061, Baltimore, MD 21297-1061. Please write "QUAKE" in the memo line.

Thank you - once again - for leading your congregation to share God's love when it's needed most.

AUGUSTANA ARTS PRESENTS

Messiaen’s “Book of the Holy Sacrament”

Saturday, March 11 at 9:30 am (lecture) and Sunday, March 12 at 7:00 pm (concert)

Organist David Vogels will perform the 18-movement Livre du Saint Sacrement in its entirety on the 62-rank Reuter organ at Augustana Lutheran Church. Commissioned by the American Guild of Organists in 1986, this masterpiece is one of the most significant works of the past century.

For the first time, the music will be accompanied by images on large video screens, showing the text quotations, birds, Gregorian chants, colors, and stained-glass windows that are woven into Messiaen’s vast tapestry of sound.

Since this monumental composition is loaded with more hidden codes and theological references than a Dan Brown novel, Vogels will unlock the doors to understanding the piece for the optimum listening experience in a lecture-demonstration on Saturday, March 11, summarizing the underlying quotations and the sound-design elements of Messiaen’s musical language.

Concert and lecture both take place at Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E Alameda Ave, Denver CO, 80246.

IN-PERSON AND ZOOM

Celebrating Women in Music

Sunday, March 12 at 2:00pm

St. Philip Lutheran Church

7531 S Kendall Blvd Littleton, CO 80128

This free concert will feature Classical and Contemporary pieces by female composers performed by Mario Barbosa, Kristen Celusniak, Jordan Gratonic, Jennifer Hayghe & students, Josh Keltner, Matthew Wiest and the St. Philip Ringing Brass.

Light refreshments will be provided following the concert. Free will offering will support the Iranian Women’s Movement and our concert series. Get more information and Zoom link at www.stphilip-co.org/concerts.

The Lutheran Chorale presents A Passion for Lent

March 12, 2:00pm and 5:30pm

The Lutheran Chorale is pleased to present its third concert of the 2022-2023 Season featuring the music of Dana Mangel. From his over 1000 sacred works published nationally and internationally, we have chosen eleven, all designed originally for Lent, to form a unique Passion of our Lord. They point to a “reflection of the crucifixion and are a mix of hushed reverence and an imperative to recognize the sacrifice of the Christ.” (Publisher) 

Join us Sunday, March 12, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church at 2:00 pm at 2100 Wadsworth, Lakewood, or at Covenant Living at 5:30 pm at 9153 Yarrow Street, Westminster, CO. TLC is also presenting a Chorale Workshop on Saturday, March 11, from 8:30 to 11:45 am at Concordia Lutheran Church in Lakewood. We will offer breakout sessions on Vocal Tips for Singers; Approach to New Music; and Breath—the Foundation of Sound. All are welcome! Questions, email sbailey66@aol.com.

Gallery of Living Art

Friday, March 17 at 7:30pm; Saturday, March 18 at 2:00 and 5:00pm; and Sunday, March 19 at 3:00pm

As the audience sits in the Sanctuary, the story of Christ’s Passion and Resurrection will unfold through staged live reproductions of sacred works of art along with narrative scripture and music sung by First Lutheran choir. The art includes the well-known Christ in Gethsemane by Heinrich Hofmann, The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo’s Pieta.

This year we are excited to again offer the Junior Gallery of Living Art for families with younger children on Saturday, March 18, at 11 a.m. This will be an abbreviated performance with five pictures, with narration by Travis Norton, Senior Pastor at First Lutheran Church and music by First Lutheran choir. Children attending this performance will have the opportunity to take a backstage tour. More info at flccs.net/ministries/gallery-of-living-art.

AUGUSTANA ARTS PRESENTS

"Heart for the Arts" Celebration Brunch - Augustana Arts' 25th Anniversary

Saturday, March 25 at 10:00am

In lieu of an evening gala, Augustana Arts is pleased to host a Brunch in celebration of our 25th Anniversary as well as a benefit for Stratus Chamber Orchestra and Music Encounters.

Your Morning Includes...

• A Scandinavian Brunch including: Swedish Våfflor (waffles), Open-Faced Sandwiches, Mocktail Mimosas, Juice/Coffee, and More!
• Scandinavian Music by Accordionist Ron Tomocik PLUS Performance by Music Encounters Students and Piano-Violin Duet by Adam Torres & Arlette Aslanian-Townsend
• Honoring Pastor Ron Swenson

No auctions at this event, but donations are invited above the ticket price to support Stratus and Music Encounters.

Kindly reserve your seats by 3/20/2023 - $35 per person or $60 per couple.

SHARE THIS LENT DEVOTIONAL

"Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing"

February 22-April 9

Join the Creation Care Team and use the devotional "Wild Hope: Stories for Lent from the Vanishing (Volume 1)" by Gayle Boss.

From the cover - We share this planet with creatures magnificent, delicate, intricate—and now vanishing at a faster rate than at any other time in Earth’s history. Spend Lent with twenty-five of these endangered animals. Vivid descriptions of the miracle of each creature and the peril it faces will fill readers with wonder and grief at what these animals suffer on a planet shaped by human choices. Their true and difficult stories will wake readers to a greater compassion—which is what Lent, meaning “springtime,” has always been for. These stories also wake in us a wild hope that from all this death and ruin something new could rise. The promise of Lent is that something new will rise. In fact, as these stories attest, our hope, though wild, is not impossible and is already loose in the world.

Read more here, questions- rmscreationcareteam@gmail.com.

IN-PERSON EVENT

Centering Prayer Comes to Augustana this LENT

Closing session on Saturday, March 4, 9:00am ending with lunch at noon.

Centering Prayer experts from the Center for Contemplative Living will teach participants this mode of prayer at each three hour class.

• First Sunday in Lent: February 26, 12:30 – 3:30 (following Sunday lunch)
• First Saturday in Lent: March 4, 9:00 – 12:00 (ending with lunch)
• Three hours of learning and practicing about centering prayer
• Location is Anna Paulson Room
• Cost is $10/person (including lunch)
• Scholarships from Health Ministry available to cover cost
• Invite friends and family to join you
• Appropriate for youth in High School and all adults

NOTE: There will also be a person from the Center present to lead four optional guided centering prayer practice sessions in Christ Chapel after Holden Evening prayer on Wednesdays in Lent, March 8, 15, 22, and 29, 7:00–7:30 pm.

Please RSVP and Register by clicking the button below, or with the church office at 303-388-4678, or with Sue Ann, Faith Community Nurse, glusenkamp@augustanadenver.org.

IN-PERSON EVENT

Lenten Contemplative Retreat at Lord of the Hills

Saturday, March 4, 9:30am-2:30pm

Lord of the Hills Lutheran Church

21755 E Smoky Hill Rd, Centennial CO 80015

Lord of the Hills is hosting a Lenten Contemplative Retreat that is being lead by Contemplative Outreach of Colorado. All are invited and welcome to share in a day of learning about or deepening your understanding of contemplative practices. Our leader from Contemplative Outreach of Colorado will lead us in exploring and experiencing Centering Prayer. This retreat is designed to offer you the opportunity to deepen your relationship with God. Feel free to reach out to Myrna Blair with any questions. Deepen your experience of Lent this year by taking a day to pause, learn, grow and make some new connections.

There is no cost for this retreat. You are invited you to bring your own lunch though we will have plenty of healthy snacks & drinks. Give yourself the gift of this day long retreat during the season of Lent. Please RSVP if you plan to join us.

Creating Caring Communities: Responding to Mental Illness

Sunday, March 5, 2:00-4:00pm

What connects us in our humanity are personal stories. At this event you will hear testimony about ways mental health challenges have affected our speaker, Rabbi Sandy Cohen. We hope many people will relate as these stories break the silence about mental illness. Very few people do not know someone with a mental health condition, or they are themselves impacted. Rabbi Cohen will offer practical ways that communities are places where mental health is acknowledged and supported. On our panel you will hear from people who are part of different faith communities where support for mental health has been undertaken. A primary goal is to educate spiritual communities, encouraging them to be more welcoming to those who are impacted by mental health challenges. Rabbi Sandy is excited to share her insights to make our synagogues, churches, mosques, spiritual communal organizations, and our wider community into a home for all who wish to belong.

Cultivating Climate Justice Retreat: Tools, Hope, Theology and Spirit

Friday, March 10, through Sunday, March 12

Does your heart ache at the thought of climate change and what it means for your children, grandchildren, loved ones? Do you yearn for hope as you face the realities of climate change? Are you longing to help build a world in which God’s good garden Earth and all people may flourish? Join us for a dynamic weekend of growth in knowledge, skills, spiritual strength, community ~ all vital to forging paths toward climate justice. We will share stories of meaning and purpose, learn to employ five key strategies, worship, laugh together, honor grief, delight in joy, and relish the desert as space for contemplation of beauty and calling.

Climate justice retreat sponsored by the Center for Climate Justice and Faith and Spirit in the Desert Retreat Center.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?

Participants will leave better motivated and equipped to actively work toward climate justice sustained by faith and community.

This retreat includes:

• Stories and storytelling, one-to-ones, no blame or shame
• Practical examples and work, including change on all three levels ~ structural, individual behavior, and consciousness/worldview
• Multi-sensory engagement
• Exposure to the global climate justice movement and resources
• Spiritual nature of engagement and paradox in structural change
• Building a community of support and having fun

Retreat facilitator is Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda, Professor of Theological and Social Ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Moe-Lobeda is founding director of the PLTS Center for Climate Justice and Faith.

Everything Grows!

Join Rejoicing Spirits as we celebrate World Down Syndrome Day. Join us Sunday, March 19, at Lord of the Hills Lutheran Church 21755 E Smoky Hill Rd. Aurora, CO 80015 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. for dinner and worship!

We will unite in activities, singing, laughing and loving God. Rejoicing Spirits is an inclusive worship space for people with cognitive and intellectual disabilities, their caregivers , families and anyone who seeks an open, joyful and creative worship experience.

We will gather at LOTH on the third Sunday of each month in 2023. If you would like more information regarding the Rejoicing Spirits experience or volunteering, please contact Pastor Margot Wright at pastor@lordofthehills.org or Pastor Ann Hultquist at native2615@gmail.com.

“We will know what it is to be created in God’s image when all are included."

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

- 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.

"Our mission is to Rise Up! Build Bridges. Bear Burdens. Break Chains. Bring Hope!"

The Rev. Donald P. Kreiss, Detroit, was re-elected May 5 to serve a second six-year term as bishop of the Southeast Michigan Synod.

Visit semisynod.com and on Facebook.

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