Being a Public Church

What's OK and not OK when mixing church and elections?

As we prepare for the upcoming election season, the ELCA understands government as a means through which God works to preserve creation and build a more peaceful and just social order in a broken world. From our social statement:

Along with all citizens, Christians have the responsibility to defend human rights and to work for freedom, justice, peace, environmental well-being, and good order in public life. They are to recognize the vital role of law in protecting life and liberty and in upholding the common good. Christians need to be concerned for the methods and the content of public deliberation. They should be critical when groups of people are inadequately represented in political processes and decisions that affect their lives. (ELCA social statement The Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective, 5)

But an important part of faithful civic engagement is abiding by the law. Any participation by congregations in activities related to the electoral process must be strictly nonpartisan and abide by Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines. 

According to the IRS: “All section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office” (irs.gov). Noncompliance with IRS Tax Code 501(c)(3) can cost your institution its tax-exempt status. Congregations and rostered ministers must ensure that activities related to the electoral process are transparent, nonpartisan and legal. See the excellent documents linked below.

more information:

ELCA Civic Engagement Guide

A resource guide to encourage, empower and equip voter education and other responsible civic participation shaped by faith values.

Being a Public Church

Guidance for churches and clergy participating in the electoral process

ELCA Advocacy Website Resource Page

Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp

Join us for educational & spiritual conversation about the RIC process

Help the Sky Ranch faith community deepen and expand our welcome to people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. We are committed to work for racial equity/anti-racism. We hope to vote on a revised Welcome Statement and whether Sky Ranch will become an RIC camp at our Annual Meeting in February 2023. 

We will hold three Zoom meetings over the next few months to discuss Sky Ranch's decision to look at becoming a Reconciling in Christ organization. We encourage you to join us for one of the meetings, ask questions, listen to stories and experiences from the community, and learn more about what is means to be RIC. Please consider one of these dates. 

• Sunday: October 16, 2022, 3:00 - 4:00pm MST
• Weekday: Wednesday, October 26, 12 noon -1:00pm MST
• Weekday: Monday, November 7, 7:00 - 8:00pm MST

Zoom link for all meetings: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88648275039

Visit skyranchcolorado.org/reconciling-in-christ for more information and to take a short survey. 

If you have questions or would like more information, please call Lori Bode @ 970-493-5258 or lori@skyranchcolorado.org.

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado Voter Guides are here!

Our 2022 Voter Guide is here! Through the faithful discernment of our Policy Committee, this Voter Guide offers recommendations on how to think about our eleven Colorado ballot measures. Lutheran Advocacy has taken a position on four of the measures, including YES on Prop FF (Healthy School Meals for All).

You can download our Voter Guide electronically on our website at rmselca.org/ColoradoBallot2022. To request printed copies, please reach out to our office at advocacyco@rmselca.org.

For more info visit rmselca.org/ColoradoBallot2022

ALL ZOOM MEETING

Zoom Meeting ID: 992 2724 5869

Passcode: 274795

"You are not alone! Join us every Third Thursday for our RMS Faith Formation Network meetings! (next meeting is October 20)

We are primarily online now due to the surge of COVID cases. Stay in the loop with all things Children Youth and Family Faith Formation in the Rocky Mountain Synod!"

Western States Youth Gathering '23

July 6-9, 2023

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 of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The Western States Multicultural Youth Leadership Pre-Event (WYLE) will be held July 4-6, 2023.

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.”

Early-Bird registration for the Western States Youth Gathering is now OPEN!

Learn more and register your group for the lowest possible prices at wsyg.com/registration!

SHOWERING MILITARY CHAPLAINS WITH PRAYERS AND SUPPORT 

Veterans Day 2022 is Friday November 11, 2022. Veteran Servant Corps Project’s initiative this year will be to shower chaplains with prayers, love and support. Please share how your congregation chooses to do this. Pictures, stories, etc. are all welcome. Please send them to me at Director@veteranservantcorps.org. I will share them via eConnection in the weeks to come.

Are you interested in being part of our Veterans Day 2022 initiative by donating? Click here then select the General Fund Gift option, enter “Veteran Servant Corps Project” in the note/memo line. If you prefer to mail a donation, send it to the Rocky Mountain Synod, 7375 Samuel Drive, Denver, CO 80221, adding Veteran Servant Corps Project to the Note portion of your check.

The ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program invites ELCA young adults ages 21-29 into a transformative, year-long journey in international service. After a two-year, pandemic-related hiatus the ELCA relaunched the YAGM program this summer. The RMS has three young adults serving as YAGM's this year: Ryan Barnhouse and Heather Hufford, serving in the United Kingdom, and Harper Bolz-Weber, serving in Jerusalem and West Bank. In the coming weeks, we will introduce you to these vibrant leaders! Please keep them in your prayers!

Harper Bolz-Weber begins Year of Service in Jerusalem/West Bank

Harper Bolz-Weber, from Denver, has begun her year of service as a Young Adult in Global Mission in Jerusalem/West Bank. She is serving at Dar Al-Kalima school in Bethlehem and the Environmental Education Center in Beit Jala. Her worshipping congregation is the Church of the Reformation in Beit Jala.

Harper has begun learning Arabic, and is excited for her language skills to improve over the year. She has only been there about a month, but has already fallen in love with the place and it's people (and the coffee!). She looks forward to her continued journey, the growth and learning it will bring, and the opportunity to share her story via her blog (here).

Please support Harper through your prayers! If you would also like to support her year of service through financial gifts, you are invited to do so at here giving page here.

Spaces Still Available in Both 2023

Rainbow Trail Confirmation Camps 

As you are planning your 2023 Confirmation program, consider including a week of confirmation camp at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp as a part of it. This is a great chance to build deeper relationships with your confirmation youth which you can build on once you return home. You can reserve spots now and your campers don't need to be registered until February 15, 2023. Adult leaders and pastors come free for the week. The two Confirmation weeks are June 25-July 1, 2023 and July 16-22,2023. There are still a few spaces available in both weeks, but spaces will fill quickly. For more details and to reserve your spots, contact Dave Jarvis at dave@rainbowtrail.org.

Rainbow Trail 2023 Summer Registration Opens November 1

DON’T WAIT! Registration for the 2023 Summer season at Rainbow Trail opens on November 1st for Rocky Mountain Synod congregations. All of our summer weeks fill quickly; by January 1st, registration is open to anyone. Register online starting November 1st!

Young Adults:

Gather Pikes Peak

Welcome!

Join young adults from the Pike's Peak region in fellowship, worship, community, and discussion. Gather meets twice a month to spend time asking challenging questions of ourselves, our faith, and our world. All young adults (18-35) from across race, faith background, gender, sexuality, and perspective are welcome here to meet, to be, to gather.

HYBRID EVENT

Allies in Earth Work Inside and Outside of Church

Thursday, Oct 27 at 7:00pm MDT

Episcopal and ELCA conversation partners invite your participation virtually or in-person as The Rev. Wes Aardahl, retired ELCA pastor; Ron Barness, Creation Care Minister and volunteer with The Episcopal Diocese of Utah; and Dave Pacheco, Utah Faith Organizer for Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, meet in-person at Ascension St. Matthew's (ASM) Church, Price, Utah. 

Pastor Wes will provide biblical and theological grounding for the urgent response of the faithful to collaborate with allies to act for the sake of our home, the earth. Ron Barness and Dave Pacheco will raise the "beyond Utah" call as they report about the Utah Episcopal Church's Wilderness Resolution, which they wrote with Diocesan Vice Chancellor Branden Burningham.

Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/83582903923?pwd=ZzUxOFhvckEwQ3Y1YXFNUkR6VWp6dz09

Meeting ID: 835 8290 3923 Passcode: 703880

Get flyer here

AUGUSTANA ARTS PRESENTS

Snarey Sounds

& Scary Stories

Halloween fun and music for families

Sunday, Oct 30, at 3:00p.m.

Experience exciting percussion music and sounds paired with scary stories for the perfect Halloween celebration. Enjoy music from Harry Potter, Frozen, and Encanto, along with “the scariest" music by Beethoven, Grieg and Mussorgsky. A concert sure to be funsational for kids of ALL ages, and everyone is encouraged to wear a costume for the rhythmic parade!

Also, enjoy a "trunk or treat" hosted by Music Director Adam Torres immediately after the concert! You’ll hear unique instruments as they click, clank, rattle, whirl, and see the strangest looking instruments that create sounds sure to make you jump, march, tap, or twirl. Join us for an afternoon of soundsational fun!

Pay-What-You-Can Tickets

For too long the Religious Right has masqueraded as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. But in her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart reveals a disturbing truth: America’s Religious Right has evolved into a Christian nationalist movement. It seeks to gain political power and to impose its vision on all of society. It isn’t fighting a culture war, it is waging a political war on the norms and institutions of American democracy. 

Katherine Stewart, the author of The Power Worshipers, will be interviewed by Rabbi Daniel Bogard and Pastor Dohle to probe into what this rise means for Christians and non-Christians alike.

The Social Concerns Forum at Bethany Lutheran Church in Denver, is sponsoring a program on understanding and dealing effectively with racism.

Join us in Bethany's Great Hall for a morning of focused learning, coffee, food and dialogue. We will use small group and large group conversations to deepen our understanding about the surrounding racism, and how it impacts all of us people of faith.

Although all are welcome, the initial program is primarily designed for white people who are seeking to understand race more deeply, and who are wanting to understand to understand their role in this conversation. We are aware that sometimes what white people honestly and openly share, can nevertheless be inadvertently wounding , and hard on people of color. Debbie's approach is very gracious, courteous yet non-threatening. Please know that this is a personal, spiritual, informational and non-partisan approach to deepen our understanding about the issues surrounding racism, and how it impacts all of us as people of faith.

Sky Ranch

High School Retreat!

Nov 11-13, 2022

Students will learn more about how they can recharge in the midst of a busy life "down the mountain." Sky Ranch is a place to step back and take time to breath fresh air in a place we love. During this weekend there will be time to grow in community as well as time to reflect on the school year and other parts of life "down the mountain."

For any questions contact Cole Hemmah - cole@skyranchcolorado.org or call (970)493-5258

Join Stratus Chamber Orchestra along with Grammy-nominated Soprano Lindsay Kesselman, hailed by Fanfare Magazine as an “artist of growing reputation for her artistry and intelligence…with a voice of goddess-like splendor.”

Adam Torres and the Stratus Chamber Orchestra will search for new perspectives and unheard voices through John Mackey’s Songs from the End of the World alongside works by Borodin, Piazzolla, Whitacre, and Verdi.

Special Wine, Music, and Cheese Pairing Experience

Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 7:00pm

Historic Grant Theater - 216 S Grant St, Denver, CO 80209

Seats are limited to 100 people!

Get tickets before November 11 for exclusive early bird pricing, for $60 per person or $100 per couple (after 11/10, prices are $65 and $110).

Free parking is available on the street or lot for this event.

Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp Senior High Retreat

Friday, November 18 to Sunday, November 20

The Senior High Retreat is specifically geared for high school youth. This retreat can be an opportunity to connect on the real struggles that high school presents, explore what life after high school might look like, and how we can live faithfully through it all.

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. November in the mountains can be chilly, but also refreshing both physically and spiritually. Join us and other senior high youth in the Synod for a faith adventure in the mountains!

Get more info and signup at: rainbowtrail.org/retreats/rtlc-senior-high-retreat

CANÕN CITY & COLORADO SPRINGS

As Foretold

an oratorio for chorus, strings and organ

Saturday, November 19, 4:00pm and Sunday, November 20, 4:00pm

The Royal Gorge Philharmonic presents As Foretold, an oratorio for chorus, strings and organ with performing choral groups from Shepherd of the Hills ELCA, Air Force Academy Cadet Choir, Church of Latter-Day Saints Ward One Choir and Saint Michaels Episcopal Church Choir.

Saturday, November 19 is at 4:00pm at The Steeple Community Events Center, 701 Macon Ave., Canon City, CO.

Sunday, November 20 is at 4:00pm at Saint Michael's Episcopal Church, 7400 Tudor Road, Colorado Springs, CO. 

Questions, contact bearblanca@aol.com.

CENTENNIAL,COLORADO

Lord of The Hills Lutheran Church receives a 2022 Lily Endowment Grant

Lord of the Hills Lutheran Church in Centennial Colorado, has received a grant of $50,000 to enable its minister, Pastor Margot Wright, to participate in the 2022 National Clergy Renewal Program.

Lord of the Hills Lutheran Church, ELCA is one of 168 congregations across the United States selected to participate in this competitive grant program, which is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and administered by Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Established by the Endowment in 2000, the program’s grants allow Christian congregations to support their pastors with the gift of extended time away from their ministerial duties and responsibilities.

Ministers whose congregations are awarded the grants use their time away from the demands of daily ministry to engage in reflection and renewal. The approach respects the “Sabbath time” concept, offering ministers a carefully considered respite that may include travel, study, rest, prayer and immersive arts and cultural experiences.

Looking for volunteers in response to Marshall Fire

Are you interested in helping in response to the Marshall Fire? Mennonite Disaster Service is looking for skilled and unskilled volunteers to assist with repair and construction projects in the Marshall Fire zone in Boulder County, Colorado. The projects will run on October weekends into November, generally from 8:00am to 4:00pm. Volunteers can be 14 years old and up. Mennonite Disaster Service will be leading these teams.

To volunteer or get more information, please contact Mary Johnson at mjmanyik@gmail.com or by phone at 303-726-9890.

Join Springtide Research Institute, premier mental health experts, and expert cohosts in this 90 minute conversation about the research, findings, and impact of The State of Religion & Young People 2022: Mental Health–What Faith Leaders Need to Know.

This is a unique opportunity to dive into conversation with experts, ask questions, and come away with actionable plans from cutting-edge insights.  

You’ll hear the latest mental-health research from the largest Gen Z data set in the nation, hear from Gen Z themselves, and then apply the research in break-out room conversations cohosted by organizations in your faith tradition, empowering you to turn the tide for young people everywhere.

Can Talking Politics Be Healthy?

Tuesday, October 25

Anxiety and passions that run high in election season don’t stop when we enter our church doors. Yet we can shift the tone, facing the heightened rhetoric with tools and faith-centered convictions that break through heightened rhetoric.

We can and do foster civil relationships and dialogue that invites trust amid our differences and lead healthy community conversations on the common good.

Offered in conjunction with the ELCAvotes initiative.

• Day Session: 1:00pm ET (11:00am MT)
• REGISTRATION – bit.ly/ELCAadvocacycafe-day1025
• Evening Session: 8:00pm ET(6:00pm MT)
• REGISTRATION – bit.ly/ELCAadvocacycafe-eve1025

ZOOM MEETING

AMMPARO Quarterly Meeting

Saturday, November 5 at 10:00am

Get an update about Migrant Ministries in the Rocky Mountain Synod, hear about the Becoming Summit that happened in August, and learn about an accompaniment trip that is being planned to visit the Border of Mexico/Guatemala to meet migrants on their way to the USA and visit AMMPARO ministry sites in that area.

Questions, send email to rmsAMMPARO@gmail.com. 

Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/88514349858

Meeting ID: 885 1434 9858

Call in - (312) 626-6799

ZOOM MEETING

Discussion of ELCA Social Message on Climate Change

Saturday, Nov 12, 10:00am

The Creation Care Team will be holding an online discussion of the new ELCA Social Message on Climate Change. Everyone is invited to join us in this conversation.

Zoom: us02web.zoom.us/j/83008940316

"Acting upon a request from several sources, in November 2021 the ELCA Church Council authorized the development of an ELCA social message on climate care. Social messages are ELCA teaching documents that address a focused social topic. Drawing from existing social teaching, they provide theological rationale and social analysis to foster discernment and engagement on a relatively narrow social issue. This project was authorized in light of the grim contemporary situation affecting our global home and the need for fresh action on the part of this church. It draws its framing themes from several social statements, particularly Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope, and Justice.

The draft social message is now available for public feedback! Read the social message draft here and then use this survey to share your input by Friday, December 2, 2022.

The draft will be edited, guided by the feedback, and presented to the ELCA Church Council to be voted on this coming spring."

The Central States Synod is 50,000 baptized members in 160 congregations in Kansas and Missouri working together to make a difference.

The Central States Synod territory covers the entire states of Kansas and Missouri. The synod office is located in the River Market area, at the north end of downtown Kansas City, Mo. The churchwide organization (ELCA) is based out of the Lutheran Center in Chicago and functions with the 65 synods and nearly 10,000 congregations across the 50 states, Caribbean and U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Rev. Susan Candea was elected to her first six-year term as Bishop in 2019. She oversees the ministries of the congregations in the synod; she also oversees the work of the synod's rostered leaders and Parish Ministry Associates.

Visit css-elca.org and also on Facebook.

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