Blessing for the Longest Night

TODAY IS "DAY 25"

Watch a daily RMS Advent word video

During each day of Advent, you are invited to reflect on a word of the day for Advent and watch a video reflection from across the Rocky Mountain Synod. Visit the calendar each day of Advent at this easy-to-remember website link: rmselca.org/advent

Direct link to the Advent calendar: calendar.myadvent.net/?id=1ovs7z050uzdswtk66btilvxb120thuh

MARSHALL FIRE ONE YEAR LATER

A Service of Remembrance, Reflection, and Resilience

Friday, December 30 at 11:00 am

Bishop Jim Gonia, along with Pastor Stephanie Lord, Christ the Servant, Louisville, and Pastor Pam Challis, Trinity, Boulder, invite you to gather in community as we commemorate the first anniversary of the Marshall Fire. The service takes place at Christ the Servant Lutheran, 506 Via Appia Way, Louisville, CO. This service will also be live streamed here.

AN APPEAL FROM LFSRM

Migrants in Denver in need of donations and volunteers

As of December 13 there were 276 individuals at Denver’s emergency shelter site and around 110 others at various other shelter sites or staying with families. Most are from Venezuela, some from Nicaragua, and there were a few Cubans who are being referred to LFSRM or other resettlement agencies.

Denver has reached out to LFSRM with a specific request that we consider taking on Volunteer and Donation Coordination for the next year. James and I are discussing this and will likely hire to be able to take on this role. We are figuring out funding and structure at this time. 

Currently physical donations are being accepted at Iglesia Ciudad de Dios at 5255 W Warren Ave, Denver, CO 80227 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 4pm and 7pm. The greatest need for donations are:

• Winter apparel (coats, scarves, gloves)
• Undergarments for men and women (including sports bras)
• Long-sleeve shirts
• Pants
• Shoes (closed toe gym shoes) & Shoelaces
• New socks

Denver Community Church (Pastor Dave Neuhausel, Pastor of Mobilization) appears to be doing the most work to find housing and shelter for folks at this time. The biggest overall gaps that the Denver Office of Emergency Management has identified are:

• Bilingual staff or ability to access language translation services
• Showers (access to)
• Food Access or Kitchen Access
• Transportation support
• Accessibility features (ramps, etc.)

GRATITUDE

The Lutheran Center says "thank you" for your campaign support

The successful Phase One of our RMS "Next Faithful Step" Campaign provided funding for the replacement of the parking lot and for upcoming work on the church building.

The pandemic resulted in a screeching halt to our vision to transform the former Valley Lutheran Church sanctuary into a place of arts experiences and education. What we already know, however, is that the Artfully Adams: Adams County Arts & Culture Master Plan named the lack of opportunity to attend cultural activities in Adams County as one of the county's greatest challenges. Our Lutheran Center is poised to be a tremendous asset in its location in unincorporated Adams County, far from other arts venues.

We hope to do construction work early in 2023 on the church interior in order to provide a flattened stage area, conducive as a multi-purpose hall, eliminating the many layers of original steps and landings up front.

Thirty-one arts organizations responded to a survey about potential use of the facility. Of those, 23 suggested they were extremely or somewhat likely to host concerts, educational events, outdoor activities, recitals, and rehearsals there!

Pictured, above is an outdoor event that took place on the Lutheran Center grounds several years ago welcoming the community to a concert of Stratus Chamber Orchestra (of Augustana Arts) and the Life/Art Dance Ensemble. That was a preview of what we hope will unfold in the coming year!

Our gratitude for campaign pledges and gifts! It's not too late to give to the campaign!

MESSIAH MOUNTAIN

Workshop series invites reflection and art exploration

Three Saturdays: February 4, 11, 18

9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with lunch provided.

$175 Cost: sessions, supplies, and lunch.

Location: Messiah Mountain Retreat Center, 5200 Parmalee Gulch Road, Indian Hills, CO, a short drive into the foothills west of Denver, just 8 minutes from C-470 and Highway 285. 

Artist journals combine writing and various media (drawing, water color, pastel, collage, etc.) with the purpose of exploring ideas and making a written and visual record of experience. In this workshop series, we will mine elements of our own life story and experiences using various media and written reflections, all brought together and bound in a journal format. No artistic experience required, but a willingness to reflect, write, and engage with art media is essential. Expect some work outside class sessions each week.

Workshop Host: Ken Phillips is our host and co-traveler in this workshop. (Ken was our Park City Theological Conference artist!)

Registration is online, as well as additional information about the workshop and our workshop host. January 25 registration deadine. Contact Kent Mueller with questions.

FORWARD TO YOUR FINANCE FOLKS

Click on the letter to read more about what we are doing to combat check fraud

Right now, don't send checks in window envelopes.

We are also requesting that treasurers and financial staff be sure to reconcile the statement emailed or sent each month (from Jon Johnson, our financial manager) with your records to confirm that the RMS has received payments that you have sent. Some checks have been deposited fraudulently. Banks have been efficient in issuing the funds to us correctly, but we have to track down missing funds first!

We are working on fraud prevention strategies, including a system for authorizing electronic fund transfers. Read the letter by clicking on the graphic, and watch for details in the new year. Please contact Jon with questions.

ASSEMBLY 2023

Pre-Assembly 2023 Preparation: El Paso, TX and Southern NM

As we prepare for the coming of Christ this Advent, we also prepare our hearts for the “Cruzando Fronteras” Synod Assembly 2023 in El Paso, TX.

It is in this spirit that we invite you to learn, advocate, and reflect using the “Preparing Welcome: An Advent Devotional for Immigrant Justice” created by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition.

This week’s theme is “Waiting for Family Reunification,” focusing on the scripture “Therefore the Lord will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14. Read this week’s entire devotional here.

Bonus! Highlighting a Virtual Las Posadas

This week, we also highlight a special Virtual Posadas Celebration – created by the Ignatian Solidarity Network and the Kino Border Initiative – for a daily virtual experience of music, prayer, reflection, and action as we journey with “Holy Families on the Journey of Hope” from December 16-24.

The story of the Holy Family leading up to the nativity is an apt metaphor not only for the struggles that migrants are facing at and within our country’s borders, but also the promise that migrants bring. It is for this reason that Posadas, a celebration of the coming of Jesus with the focus on the young family finally finding a respite on their journey, is a time for celebration throughout Latin America. Join in the Virtual Posadas Celebration as we listen to and reflect on the stories of Holy Families in our midst, and celebrate the gifts that migrants bring with them. Sign up to receive the daily mailings – from December 16 through Christmas Eve – here.

For the week of December 25:

This week’s theme is “Welcoming with Light!,” focusing on the scripture “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light…for a child has been born for us. He will establish and uphold a kingdom with justice and with righteousness.” Isaiah 9:2, 6, 7. Read this week’s entire devotional here.

In November 2020, Colorado voters approved Proposition 118, which established the new Family and Medical Leave Insurance (FAMLI) program. Beginning on January 1, 2023, employers will begin deducting 0.45 percent of an employee’s pay and matching that with an employer-paid contribution of 0.45 percent. The employer will remit the full 0.9 percent premium to the Colorado FAMLI program to provide funding for the benefits that will be available beginning in 2024.  

Churches and non-profits are all required to participate in this program, so it is important that you take steps to work with your payroll service provider or the person responsible for preparing your congregation’s payroll, to set up your account with Colorado FAMLI and then begin withholding the employee contributions from any payrolls issued after 12-31-22. 

Colorado FAMLI has confirmed that for the purposes of this program, rostered ministers are not exempt from this program and will be required to contribute to the FAMLI fund. For more information, please visit the Colorado FAMLI website – https://famli.colorado.gov . There is an abundance of information on their website that will answer a lot of your questions.  For specific questions, you can reach them by phone at 866-263-2654. 

Effective in January 2024, Colorado workers will be eligible to receive up to 12 weeks of FAMLI leave benefits to provide financial assistance for various situations requiring an extended time away from work for family or medical situations. This program will be funded by contributions made by employers and their employees .

CONNECT WITH OTHERS

Join the RMS Faith Formation Network!

FAITH FORMATION

Western States Youth Gathering '23

July 6-9, 2023

Early Bird registration is $385/person.

Prices increase January 4!

Registration prices for the Western States Youth Gathering (WSYG) are increasing on January 4, 2023! Have you registered your youth group yet? Registration prices increase $100 - so be sure to register today!

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 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). WSYG will also include the Western States Multicultural Youth Leadership Pre-Event (WYLE), happening July 4-6, with WSYG happening July 6-9.

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.”

Learn more about the event and register your group here: https://www.wsyg.com/ 

Stay up to date by following our social media accounts!

Instagram: instagram.com/westernstatesyg23

Facebook: facebook.com/wsyg23 

Twitter: twitter.com/wsyg23 

Questions can be directed to info@wsyg.com.

RMS WOMEN'S ORGANIZATION

Views from the Rockies

December 2022

Download Views from the Rockies, which contains a note from President Anna Thompson; reflections about its first hybrid convention that was held at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Greeley CO, on September 30; a report from the Women of the ELCA churchwide organization; a reminder for Bold Women’s Day March 5, 2023; an appeal for Katie's Fund; and more!

VETERANS MINISTRY

Join us in wishing our veterans a Merry Christmas!

Did you know that each part of the Rocky Mountain Synod has at least one Veterans Home? The Vision Statement of one of these homes is “Working together to provide the highest quality of care and the best quality of life for veterans and their families.”

For Christmas 2022 let's “shower” each of these Veterans homes with Christmas cards!? Click the links below to get the address(es) for our Synod’s Veterans homes.

Imagine the joy a card from you might bring to a lonely Veterans’ heart this Christmas! Questions? Contact Vicky Daub at director@veteranservantcorps.org.

Thank you. Merry Christmas to you and yours!

• Colorado Veterans Community Living Centers
• Veterans Home of Wyoming
• Utah Veterans Homes
• New Mexico State Veterans' Home
• El Paso - Ambrosio Guillen Texas State Veterans Home

Update from Heather Hufford, Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM)

I can sum up my current experience very briefly: I am busy and I am cold.

St. Barnabas is bustling with a barrage of Christmas preparations. It's easy to get bogged down in the haze of weekly grocery orders, playroom setup and washdown, coffees and cakes and lunches, youth group meetings, and phone calls to waylaid Domino's delivery men. We haven't started ordering (but need to) for Messy Church, which is a monthly event that is a bit like having a week of VBS in two hours. Also, we are renting camels for the Christmas Eve procession. If you have never rented camels before: beware. It's a whole thing. There's a lot of drama. There's a lot of health and safety rules. You need to be reasonably certain that you will not be sending anyone to the hospital (or indeed, to heaven) in honor of Jesus's birthday. I'm not even in charge of anything camel, but I don't see myself participating in a camel-renting scheme ever again.

Clearly, there's a lot going on. And, in the midst of it all, I am cold. England has this pervasive, weighty cold that nips to the bone. It feels like being haunted. I've consulted my friend and fellow YAGM Ryan Barnhouse, who also hails from Colorado, and we've agreed that this cold is completely foreign to what we're used to. Is it survivable? Yes. Is it pleasant? No. We blame the humidity.

This, by the way, is calling "moaning." English people love starting conversations this way. I'm learning so much!

As of November 30, I have been in England for 100 days. Triple digits! I am often asked if I "feel settled," which is a funny question to receive as someone who is both guest and resident in this place. I don't have family here or pay taxes, but I have a favorite grocery store. I can give strangers directions. I'm about to move. I run into people I know in the street. Is that settled? Or is settling an action I take—the choice to sit quietly in a 700-year-old chapel in the middle of a bustling metropolis?

Despite the busy Christmas season, I look forward to more everyday adventures and more impromptu alcoves of peace in the coming days. London is a city with so much to say. I'm incredibly delighted to be here and listen.

If you wish to donate, please check out Heather's fundraising page: pgombb.clicks.mlsend.com/te/cl/eyJ2Ijoi

Applications Open for 2023/24 Young Adult in Global Mission (YAGM) Program

The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission program invites ELCA young adults ages 21-29 into a transformative, year-long journey in international service. As they offer themselves in service, ELCA young adults are shaped by the witness of our global neighbors. They share in the journeys of companion churches and organizations in one of nine countries around the world.

A year of service through the Young Adults in Global Mission program invites young adults to become the hands and feet of Jesus in the world, providing critical support to ministries and projects in communities of need. It also invites volunteers into a journey of self-reflection, providing space to consider their sense of identity, God’s work in the world, and their place within it all.

To learn how you can support Young Adults in Global Mission, visit their sponsorship page here.

Learn about the program details and apply at ELCA.org/YAGM by Feb. 1, 2023. Priority will be given to those who apply before January 15. For more information contact YAGM at 1-800-638-3522, ext. 2861 or by email to Mae Helen Jackson, Young Adult Outreach and Placement Manager at maehelen.jackson@elca.org.

GRAND JUNCTION & ONLINE

Classes on Grief and Living with Meaning begin in January

The in-person course Pathways Through Grief will meet on Wednesdays, 9:30-11:00 am at Shepherd of the Valley, Grand Junction, (Room TBD), January 4, 11, 18 and 21. The online course will occur on the same dates 6:30-8:00 pm on Zoom.

A new course, Living With Meaning & Purpose in Life, will meet in person at Shepherd of the Valley, Grand Junction, Friday mornings from 9:30-11:00 am on January 6, 13, 20 and February 3.

The online course will be on Monday evenings January 9 16, 23 & 30.

REGISTRATION CLOSES ON DECEMBER 15!

For more information, contact Deacon Gail Britt and register by email to Brittgail2545@gmail.com.

AUGUSTANA, DENVER, CO

New Years' Eve Concert and silent film with Organist Andrew Peters

Saturday, December 31

7:00 p.m.

You will be astonished at the amazing sounds coming out of the pipe organ! Ring in 2023 with a New Years' Eve concert featuring organ music and a silent film! Organist Andrew Peters will improvise on Augustana Lutheran's incredible pipe organ as you watch the 1923 Harold Lloyd silent film, Bumping into Broadway on a giant screen, featuring Harold Lloyd. This film is notable as Lloyd's first two-reeler featuring his "glasses" character.

The evening also includes great works for the organ including Chapman’s Fanfare and Procession, Vivaldi’s Concerto No. 2 in a minor, Pamela Decker’s Tangos for Organ, and the all-time favorite, Handel’s Fireworks Music.

Join us for this exciting New Years' Concert! FREE for the family or Pay What you Choose - available by clicking the button, below!

Concert Encounter for Kidz

Sunday, January 29, 2023 at 3:00pm

Hey kids (of all ages)! Get up close and comfortable with music for Stratus Chamber Orchestra’s 2nd Annual “Concert Encounter for Kidz.”

Hear all the sounds! See their fingers move! Touch the instruments! This afternoon concert will feature music of horns, woodwinds, and strings –– ALL with a kid-friendly flair. Expose little young ones to the joy of music where there are no rules or restrictions to bounce, sway, dance, or stomp to the music.

A concert to inspire any future young artist!

Event takes place in the Fellowship Hall at Augustana Lutheran Church (5000 E Alameda Ave, Denver, CO 80246). Cost is $15 per adult and $5 per child.

ONLINE ZOOM MEETING

God Holds You: A Pandemic Chronicle by Sarah Scherschligt

Wednesday, January 11, 1:00-2:30pm MT

For the first thirteen months of the pandemic, Pr. Sarah Scherschligt, an ELCA pastor in Alexandria, VA, wrote nightly reflections with the aim of conveying God’s steady presence to a reeling world. She compiled those writings into a book, God Holds You: A Pandemic Chronicle, and has started using her reflections with small groups to reflect on the pandemic.

During the small groups she ask questions like:

When did you first know the pandemic was real?

Throughout the pandemic, how did joy and sorrow exist together?

When did you feel especially vulnerable to the virus, to racism, to poverty, or to something else, and how did you get through it?

Where did you find grace?

What values became clear?

And, importantly, how did you know God was with you?

These gatherings have confirmed Pr. Sarah's hunch that the act of remembering the pandemic together—as church—is invaluable. It helps us grieve, heal, build community, and commit to the values that we discovered were so important. It also helps us lay the groundwork for future generations to look back on what we have done and use our stories to make sense of their own.

The Rocky Mountain Synod has invited Pr. Sarah to be with us on Wednesday, January 11th from 1-2:30 p.m. to share about her new book and lead a small group gathering to reflect together on the pandemic.

The Zoom info for this online gathering is:

zoom.us/j/98049988778?pwd=Q1hhQS9IUUI4VklBbGVHYitoUHN4QT09

Meeting ID: 980 4998 8778

Passcode: 617701

Phone: +1 346 248 7799

In preparation, read this article by Pr. Sarah in Faith+Lead. Our hope is that the conversation with Pr. Sarah will be valuable to lay and rostered leaders alike!

GREATER METRO DENVER

Well of Hope needs storage space for their furnishings

Well of Hope, ELCA, in Castle Rock, CO has lost the lease on the building where they have worshiped for the past 5 years. Despite an extensive search, they have not yet been able to locate new worship space. At the end of December, Well of Hope will need to place the majority of their property in storage, while they worship temporarily in a neighboring church.

Well of Hope is in need of a place to store 75 chairs, an altar, piano, large wall cross and other smaller miscellaneous items. If you have an unused classroom, basement or other storage area in your building that Well of Hope could use while they continue to search for a new place to call home, please contact congregation president Tom Reed at tomcareed@msn.com. Thank you.

Free set of Luther's Works

Augustana Lutheran Church has a set of Luther's Works, Volumes 1 through 54, that are free to a good home! Please contact us at julie@augustanadenver.org to pick them up.

"The Southeastern Iowa Synod is a network of congregations and ministry partners who are called to share God’s love in Jesus Christ.

Together, we are:

• Gathered We are gathered by God’s Spirit around Word and Sacrament, the means of grace. This gathering in worship is central to everything we do, informing and shaping all of ministry.
• Claimed We are claimed in baptism, connected to Christ Jesus and through baptism into Christ, we are connected to one another. We need each other, and in Christ, we have each other.
• Sent We are sent into our local communities and beyond…sent to serve the neighbor, to share the Good News, and to invite others into a relationship with Jesus, who is hope for the whole world.
• An Anti-Hunger Synod. An “anti-hunger” approach to ministry begins with the assumption that the world is hungering for a reason to hope. In the Good News of Jesus Christ, we have bread for the world, where hunger manifests itself in many forms.
• We are called to move persistently toward the most profound need, which is why we are committed to: Feeding hungry people. Advocating for people living in poverty. Raising up leaders of every age who are equipped to proclaim the same Good News with which we ourselves have been fed."

Rev. Amy Current has served the Southeastern Iowa Synod as bishop since 2020.

Visit seiasynod.org and on Facebook.

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