News from RMS Pastors Meghan and Gabi Aelabouni, West Bank, Palestine

Dear friends in Christ in the Rocky Mountain Synod,

Since 2019, our family has had the blessing and the privilege of representing this synod as ELCA missionaries in the Holy Land. Currently, Gabi serves as the ELCA Area Desk Director for the Middle East and North Africa, connecting the ELCA to our partnerships in Israel/Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and more. Meghan is the ELCA Theologian in Residence for the Middle East/North Africa, assisting the bishop and office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) and serving as co-pastor of the English-speaking congregation at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in Jerusalem, alongside the Rev. Sally Azar, the first Palestinian woman to be ordained and serve as a pastor in the Holy Land. We live with our three kids (who are 15, 11, and 8) in Jerusalem.

Over these past weeks of devastating violence in Israel and Palestine, we have been grateful to receive messages of support and to be in your prayers. Our family is safe in Jerusalem, and we continue our work in accompanying our local partners: especially the ELCJHL, the Palestinian Lutheran church that is part of the local Indigenous Christian community in the Holy Land. Even though Christians are a small minority in Israel and Palestine, Christian churches have a crucial role to play in the community. The ELCJHL is one of those churches, serving its neighbors of all faiths through education, health care, social work, gender and environmental justice work, and ministries for youth, Deaf adults, and much more. The ELCA is part of that important work through financial support, short- and long-term personnel (like our family, and the Young Adults in Global Mission program), and the accompaniment, awareness-raising, and advocacy of ELCA members in a campaign called Peace Not Walls—which is now in the process of receiving a new name and identity, as SUMUD: for justice in Palestine and Israel (more on that below).

As many of you know, these are heavy days, filled with a palpable grief and anxiety. The violence directed against Israeli civilians in southern Israel on Oct. 7 was terrible; and the Israeli military response in Gaza—airstrikes, incursions, displacements, and a total cutoff of electricity, water, food, and fuel—has also disproportionately affected civilians. Of the many thousands of people killed in Gaza so far, the majority have been children and women, in large part because children are half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population. A number of the victims have been part of Gaza’s small but faithful Christian community, including whole families killed by airstrikes while sheltering in a local church, or killed in the explosions at the Al-Ahli Hospital, a ministry of the local Anglican-Episcopal Church that is also a partner of our Lutheran World Federation hospital (Augusta Victoria) in Jerusalem.

These heartbreaking statistics and stories are likely already known to many of you. What is harder for the news to capture is how this violence has rippled out in waves, affecting our partner communities on the ground. Many of our colleagues and friends in the ELCJHL have loved ones or colleagues in Gaza who have called them with messages of farewell, assuming they will not survive this war. Many have lost family members or other loved ones. Meanwhile, Palestinians in the West Bank have essentially been locked in, as the military checkpoints that are part of their daily reality have remained tightly closed, keeping many from getting to work, seeing family in Jerusalem or other parts of the West Bank, seeking medical treatment, or visiting their own farms or fields (in a harvest season with much work to be done). More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in revenge attacks, many by extremist Israeli settlers who have acted with the aid (or without being prevented) by Israeli soldiers.

Our fellow pastors, who have the challenging task of preaching the Gospel to their people living under occupation, are traumatized and demoralized by the suffering of their members, searching for some kind of hope to offer but feeling like this is the beginning of the end of the Palestinian people. Why? In part, because so many voices in the international community are making no distinction between Hamas and Palestinians in general, including Palestinian churches like the ELCJHL that have always been committed to nonviolence, and so they are justifying what is looking more and more like a genocide of the entire population of Gaza (and, at least half of Gazans live there today because they, or their parents or grandparents, were forcibly displaced from their homes elsewhere in the Holy Land in the Nakba (the catastrophe) that accompanied the establishment of Israel in 1948.)

And yet, the church keeps going, in all of its ministries. Yesterday, we gathered in Jerusalem with Bishop Azar and several pastors of the ELCJHL, along with remaining members of the international community, for a Reformation Day service that lifted up prayers for the Holy Land. We worshipped in Arabic, English, and German and heard prayers in seven different languages. We were also joined by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem and representatives from the Roman Catholic church: a powerful reminder that in times of life and death, the Christian church can still find more ground for unity than cause for division. Every day, this church—living not only in the ancient land of the Bible, but close to the heart of the living Gospel—is teaching us what faithfulness looks like. Even now, and maybe especially now, we believe God has called us to be in this place at this time, to do what we can to support our Palestinian siblings in Christ as they, in turn, represent us all in embodying the caring and healing presence of Christ for their neighbors.

What can you do? Many of you have asked us how you can help. Here are a few suggestions:

• Support healing in the Holy Land: Lutheran Disaster Response has a current appeal that will focus on humanitarian aid to Gaza for the long term. Give a gift here.
• Sponsor our missionary work: Gifts can also be given to the ELCA to support our missionary work in the Holy Land. Become a sponsor at this link and choose our names from the drop-down menu.
• Learn, Pray, Act: the ELCA has collected a number of updates and statements from our partners on the ground in the Holy Land, as well as worship resources, background information, and opportunities for advocacy to encourage elected U.S. leaders to call for a ceasefire and end to the war that is devastating the civilian population of Gaza. Learn more here.
• Join the SUMUD initiative: We are just beginning to share more about our new ELCA initiative, SUMUD: for justice in Palestine and Israel, which will be the new name and face of what was formerly called Peace Not Walls. You can learn more about this initiative, and the reasons for this change, here.
• Tell the story: Many of you have traveled to the Holy Land before; we have had the joy of welcoming a number of Rocky Mountain Synod members over the past four years. Now is an important time to “go and tell” what you witnessed, learned, and experienced while you were here. Help people you know to move beyond simplistic or dehumanizing narratives and to understand the very real needs for justice in Palestine and Israel.

Thank you again for your prayers and support.

In Christ,

Meghan and Gabi Aelabouni

Have you wanted to participate in Excellence in Leadership, but haven't been able to find the time? Perhaps the cohort beginning in January is the right choice for you. On January 5, 2024 we will be launching a 13-month cohort which will meet from 9:00am-12:00pm on Friday mornings twice per month. You will have the opportunity to grow together with leaders from around the United States in resiliency, courage, and faithfulness. You will be equipped to face challenges and manage conflict. You will learn leadership practices and deepen spiritual practices.

Excellence in Leadership has been changing culture in congregations and building up healthy leaders for over 4 years. The tools learned, practices developed, and relationships built actually make a difference. Listen to Flip Wilson's testimony here:

Brave Experiments Round 2

Our first experiment with the Brave Experiments Zoom event clearly resonated with folks so we are going to do it again. We are looking for congregations and ministries that have conducted a brave experiment and might be willing to share at our next event. Do you or someone you know have something worth sharing? 

A brave experiment is something that came about because of a recognized need, required some risk and took a thoughtful process of making changes to adapt to new realities. Our first event highlighted new partnerships, targeted strategic planning and creative uses of property. The actual experiment is not as important as the process by which the idea was conceived and attempted. The goal of Brave Experiment is to guide us all in conducting our own ministry experiments that suit our specific context. 

Please use this form to share your ideas.

Look for the next event next year before Lent! 

If you missed Brave Experiments Round 1 (October Event) and you'd like to view the recordings click HERE

Produced by the Rocky Mountain Synod Church Ministries Committee

A LESSON FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN SYNOD

GENEROSITY 101

"What is a Qualified Charitable Distribution?"

NOTICE: If you are 70.5-years or older (or plan to be), currently have retirement assets (or plan to have them), and give an offering to your church (or plan to give an offering to your church)...

THEN YOU SHOULD READ THIS!

I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Katie. She has been attending the ELCA Lutheran church in her neighborhood, and just received an invitation to fill out a pledge card during the fall Stewardship initiative. Last week, Katie and I were chatting on the phone when she shared how important her church is in her life - in between the worries and excitement she has about the future. And, almost like a gift from God, Katie shared the most innocent and casual comment that changed our whole conversation, she said... “I sure wish I had the ability to give more.”

Katie’s desire to be more generous is not unique – most people report they would be more generous if they were given the opportunity. However, there are some common situations where we actually could be more generous with the assets we already have... and decrease our taxation at the same time. Let’s take a look!

CASE STUDY:

Katie is 75 years old, and she has an IRA valued at $425,000 with a current annual Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) of $16,000. After state and federal tax withholding, approximately $12,000 will be deposited into her checking account this December. Katie has been giving $1,000/month to the church through the congregations online giving platform that pulls those offerings from Katie’s checking account – for an annual offering of $12,000. Katie certainly understood that her Required Minimum Distributions are... required, so not taking that distribution was not an option. Also, by receiving that RMD she was obligated to pay income tax on the distribution. And honestly, Katie is like most people, and she was spending the RMDs she was receiving, so she hadn’t actually considered an alternative... but there is another option! Instead of taking the RMD, Katie – can instruct her investment advisor to send that money directly to her congregation through a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), which will not impose a tax on Katie – or the congregation! Now here is where it gets fun! Since Katie’s financial plan was already taking into consideration the RMD’s, but the QCD is eliminating $4,000 in direct taxes and maybe even more by reducing her taxable income – instead of sending the original $12,000 to her congregation, Katie is able to increase her pledge to $16,000 (the full RMD amount) with no financial impact to her overall financial plan!

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 payment for all synod related 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.

INTRODUCING

New RMS Synod Champion for 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering

July 16-20, 2024

We are “Church Better Together"! As we plan and prepare for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering in New Orleans we are putting together a Synod-wide team of youth and adults who will help plan our Synod Day at the Gathering. I recently agreed to serve as the Synod Champion for the RMSELCA so I am inviting you to get involved and connected in these months of preparing for the Gathering. Please email me if you are interested in helping serve on the Gathering Synod Day planning team. Do you have questions about the Gathering? Do you want to meet other RMSELCA youth and adult leaders who will also attend the Gathering? As your new Synod Champion please contact me, Pastor Margot Wright, by email pastor@lordofthehills.org or text or call my cell phone 720-427-8352 so we can work together to find ways to get questions answered, invite and encourage youth and adults from our Synod to participate in this milestone event. I look forward to hearing from you!

An update from Kinna -

Hello RMSFFNET! For those who don't know yet, I am in Tulsa, OK for a new call and my time with the Synod is drawing to a close in December. Since the Bishop's term is coming to an end, the decision has been made not to have a new Faith Formation Coordinator for the remaining few months. 

THIS MEANS our young people (especially) need YOUR HELP! We are most in need of: 

1. Volunteers for the RMS Youth Gathering - Presidents Day weekend.
2. A NEW SYNOD CHAMPION for the ELCA Youth Gathering. 

PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP if you are feeling called to serve our Synod in these ways. 

Thank you for your friendship, your support, and participating in God's ministry, especially for the sake of young people in the First 3rd of life!

Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp Senior High Retreat

Friday, November 17 to Sunday, November 19

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!

Sky Ranch Advent Retreat

December 1-3

Come join us in wonder and anticipation as we celebrate the season of Advent together! Our theme for this year’s retreat will be the Gifts of Advent: Love, Hope, Peace, and Joy. We will spend time in community as we worship, create, eat, and have fun together!

Join us on December 9th as we give thanks for and explore the creativity that lives inside of each of us!

If you have any questions, contact Bekah at bekah@skyranchcolorado.org!

Lutheran Advocacy releases 2023 Colorado Voter Guide

Our 2023 Voter Guide is here! This Voter Guide from Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado offers recommendations on how to think about our two statewide ballot measures. Read more here.

Election Day is November 7, 2023. Your ballot will be arriving in the mail soon. Remember, in Colorado, you can register to vote up to 7:00pm on Election Day!

You also received one or more "Blue Books" in the mail. One describes statewide measures; others would describe local measures on your ballot. Copies of the Blue Book in English and Spanish are also available online at leg.colorado.gov.

New Mexico Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Updates for October!

Greetings to you during this beautiful New Mexico Fall! You are invited to the 2023 Fall Advocacy Conference that takes place on Saturday, November 18 from 9:00am to 2:00pm. Again, the conference will be hosted by All Saints Lutheran Church in Albuquerque. The format for this year's conference will be very similar to last year's. Our guest speakers will represent several of our key advocacy priorities this coming year. We are hoping to have a guest legislator or two as well. More details will be included in the registration email that will be sent later next week. Please invite all from your congregation or faith community who are interested in public policy advocacy at our state level.

ZOOM MEETING

RMS Environmental Advocacy

Saturday, November 11 at 10:00am

Peter Severson, Director of Lutheran Advocacy Colorado, and Kurt Rager, Director of New Mexico Advocacy, will join us to inform us about upcoming environmental issues at the state capitals and share with us ways that we can engage with our representatives.

ZOOM - us02web.zoom.us/j/83008940316

The Cornerstone Chorale & Brass presents a Powerful Message Of Reconciliation and Unity

Friday, November 3

6:00pm

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 6322 South Lakeview Street, Littleton, CO

The program features a unique combination of traditional choral and instrumental

music with narration woven together with newly composed musical themes. The 2023 Tour program offers a unique faith experience reflecting on the pervasive fear that underlies our everyday lives, and focusing on the message that “Perfect love casts out fear.” ( I John 4:18 )

Cornerstone is the creation of its conductor, DR. BRUCE VANTINE, and consists of 30 professional vocalists, instrumentalists, narrator and staff currently on a 3½ week tour including 20 performances in 12 states across the Midwest and Southwest. Members of the ensemble include experienced professional performers from all over the United States. The group has presented more than 480 performances since 1988, offering unique and uplifting programs which often help raise awareness and funds for charities in the local sponsoring community. (Read more here)

Christian Film Festival

Friday, Nov 3 & Saturday, Nov 4

FREE Admission!!!

Blissfest333 and Glory of God Lutheran Church presents the Colorado Christian Short Film Festival. CCSFF is focused on spotlighting the best Inspirational and Faith-based short films from around the world.

Opening Reception: Friday, November 3, 6:00pm

Glory of God Lutheran Church, 12200 W 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO

Full Schedule and more information at GloryOfGodChurch.net

AUGUSTANA ARTS PRESENTS

Sounds of Stratus & Music Encounters

Saturday, Nov 11 at 1:00pm

Aurora First Presbyterian Church

1585 Kingston St., Aurora

Dive into a mesmerizing blend of harmony and skill as the Stratus Chamber Orchestra and Music Encounters students come together for a dynamic musical celebration. Delight in the timeless elegance of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, interwoven with other beloved classics.

Pay What You Choose Tickets!

FREE PERFORMANCES

“As Foretold” Oratorio for Chorus and Orchestra

November 18 and 19

The choir of Shepherd of the Hills in Canon City, CO will join with the Ward Choir of the Church of Latter-day Saints, st. Michael's Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs, and the Air Force Academy Cadet Choir will present a new musical work for chorus,organ, and string orchestra that is FREE TO THE PUBLIC at the following dates and times:

• 5:00 PM on Saturday, November 18 at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, 7400 Tudor Rd., Colorado Springs, CO
• 4:00 PM on Sunday, November 19 at Steeple Event Center, Canon City, CO

THE VELVETEEN RABBIT

featuring Hazel Miller, Narrator, and Stratus Chamber Orchestra

Sunday, December 10 at 3:00pm

Augustana Lutheran Church

5000 E. Alameda Ave., Denver

Tickets: $20 adults/$10 children

(Financial constraints should not be a barrier to enjoying the arts. If you desire complimentary tickets, please reach out to us at info@augustanaarts.org.)

Experience the transformative power of love and imagination with Lowell Liebermann's "The Velveteen Rabbit," a musical journey inspired by the cherished children's story, narrated by Hazel Miller, singer of Colorado’s Hazel Miller & the Collective. Also, enjoy the timeless magic of Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite," as its delightful melodies transport you to a world of childhood wonder and enchantment. Alongside these captivating compositions, Stratus’s Music Director Adam Torres presents his own arrangements of beloved holiday favorites, infusing them with a unique twist that will leave you filled with warmth and holiday cheer.

Colorado Gives Day

Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Give to these organizations through the Colorado Gives Day website:

• Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains
• New Beginnings Worshipping Community
• Eben Ezer Lutheran Care Center
• Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp
• Urban Servant Corps

A NOTE FROM DAVE JARVIS: SUPPORT RAINBOW TRAIL!

Colorado Gives Day is an annual day of giving to non-profit organizations all across Colorado. Whether you live in Colorado or not, you can donate to Rainbow Trail on Tuesday, December 5. Each donation helps RTLC receive additional funds from Community First Foundation through a sum that's divided among all participating non-profit organizations and prizes at the end of the day. You can even make your CO Gives Day gift NOW so you won't forget to donate! Gifts made in November on the Colorado Gives website will count toward Rainbow Trail's Colorado Gives Day total on December 5. Help us reach our goal of $110,000 for Colorado Gives Day!

"Poetry as Theology" Slam Poetry Workshop Series at Luther House UNM & CNM

October 11 to November 8

Please join Luther House UNM &CNM and First Congregational United Church of Christ for our

"Poetry as Theology" series -- a FREE series of Slam Poetry workshops designed to develop and express Young Adult Theological Perspectives.

• Wednesday, November 8 from 5pm-9pm

Burque Revolt Open Mic and Poetry Slam

Support our folx who want to perform!

Canvas Artistry: 1 Central Ave. NW

Free drinks and snacks!

Please reach out to Pastor Rhonda Newby-Torres with questions at Lcmunmcnm@gmail.com or at (505) 615-2688.

Join us at the Stanley Beer Hall (2501 Dallas St. Aurora CO) to celebrate the meaningful values of Urban Servant Corps!

Recently, the USC Board of Directors met with a consultant to help with our big picture visioning for the life of the USC community. We are excited to share about this conversation and would also love to hear your feedback!

No ticket purchase necessary, but please RSVP to krista@servantcorps.org so we can reserve the appropriate number of tables!

Food and beverage will be available for purchase. Bring your creativity of thought and generosity of spirit! We are grateful for your support!

"More than 100 congregations and worshiping communities in nine conferences comprise the Southwest California Synod. Read more here."

The Rev. Brenda Bos was elected to serve a six-year term as Bishop of the Southwest California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America on June 5, 2021.

See the Southwest California Synod Data Toolkit 2021, visit socalsynod.org, and on Facebook.

Click here to view a Bishops and Synods map of our 65 ELCA synods and 9 regions.