Prayer from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers,
Consultation on English Texts, 2002.
Photo of synod cross by Dale Horkey.

Bikes for Madagascar
The Don Johnson Memorial Team completed the 7-day, 422-mile Ride the Rockies bicycle tour this past Saturday. Many thanks to all who supported the team through prayer and pledges and to Thrivent Financial for Lutheran for providing matching funds. To date the team has received over $9500.00 in pledges and donations which will go to purchase bicycles and parts for teachers, medical and church workers in Madagascar. To fulfill pledges or to donate, please make checks payable to The Rocky Mountain Synod-ELCA, memo line: Seeds of Hope - Bikes for Madagascar. Send checks to: The Rocky Mountain Synod, 455 Sherman Street, Suite 160, Denver, CO, 80203.

Senior High Youth Gathering Seeks Faith Encounter Stories
The music and worship committee for the high school youth gathering needs your help! We would like to collect student stories about a time in their life where they felt the presence of God, or somehow had an encounter with God that made them feel connected to God. The stories will be shared at the evening worship on Friday night as a catalyst for others to share their stories. The stories will be shared at the evening worship on Friday night as a catalyst for others to share their stories. Have your youth send their one-paragraph stories (no more than 200 words) to Brandon Newton at brandongslc@qwest.net.

Senior High Gathering Seeks High School Musicians
The worship planning team for the 2008 gathering at Estes Park in November would like to put together a worship band for morning and evening devotions during the event, such as a hand drummer, guitarists, vocalist, and more. Email Brandon Newton at brandongslc@qwest.net if you have talent to offer!

Ending Hunger: Mission Possible
The Rocky Mountain Synod Hunger Network, Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado and the Global Mission Committee are co-sponsoring a second Ending Hunger Summit. This year's event will take place on Saturday, October 27, at Bethany Lutheran Church (Cherry Hills Village) and will focus on the GOOD NEWS that ending hunger is really possible if we each take concrete steps to change ourselves, our communities and our world!

The planning committee is exploring the possibility of organizing a "youth track" designed for middle and high school students (featuring hands-on service opportunities). If you are interested in bringing youth to the Ending Hunger summit, please contact Kayla Aspeslagh (kayla@lordofthehills.org or 303.726.7944).

A more extensive packet of marketing and registration materials will be available by the end of August. Actual registration will begin the middle of September.

At the Rocky Mountain Synod's website, you will find information as a flyer and bulletin insert.

Vision, Passion, Action Blog
A "blog" is short for "web log" and it is a way to invite conversation about topics and issues. The new RMS weblog is designed to facilitate conversation about the Vision, Passion, Action process. The address of the RMS blog is www.rmselca.blogspot.com. If you post a comment please include your name and congregation. If you would like to post an entry, send your entry to kmueller@rmselca.org.

It's official! The theme of The 2009 ELCA Youth Gathering will be: JESUS * JUSTICE * JAZZ and the event will be held in New Orleans, Louisiana July 22-26, 2009.

The theme draws from the rich faith history, diverse cultures, and arts of New Orleans. It will stretch our understandings of what it means to live in relationship and service with each other in the manner of Christ - for life!

The Gathering program will be different than Gatherings before. Planning teams and staff are working with local congregations and organizations, young people, and the city to pay attention to what makes The City of New Orleans unique, as well as the changes it is going through as the entire Gulf Coast region continues to recover after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The focus will be on service and justice as we live our shared reality as Christians: Marked with the cross of Christ forever, we are claimed, gathered, and sent for the sake of the world.

Be sure to visit http:// www.elca.org/gathering often and explore the links to see what new information is posted or changing. You can also sign up to receive e-updates that will start in July 2008. We encourage you to freely distribute and publicize this e-mail announcement and the attached documents.

We can't wait to see you in New Orleans in 2009!

In 2007, the Global Mission Event will take place July 19-22 in Columbus, Ohio, on the Ohio State University Campus.

Global events like the Global Mission Event help ELCA members receive the gifts of Christians and churches around the world. The goal of global events is to equip participants to deepen their understanding of the accompaniment model for mission, which stresses mutuality and acknowledges that all members of the body of Christ are gifted. At the 2007 Global Mission Event, congregations, families, youth, and seniors - along with international guests and missionaries will discover a global community of God's grace.

GMEs begin on Thursday evening with an opening celebration and conclude on Sunday morning with global worship. In between, participants choose a variety of Global University Sessions that interest them, and gather twice a day for global music and a thought-provoking plenary session. Through special programming for children, junior high school students, and senior high school students, young participants learn how they can live as faithful Christians in a global culture.

Global Devotions and Worship Helps
If you or members of your congregation are unable to attend the event in Ohio for 2007, there is a wide array of resources are available to congregations and individuals interested in the global mission work of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at the ELCA website: www.elca.org/globalmission/resource/index.ht ml .

Global Mission Tool Kits
have been distributed free of charge to all ELCA congregations since 1999. For your convenience, some of the materials from previous kits are available on the website for downloading or ordering. Go to www.elca.org/globalmission/resource/toolkit.html .