Senior High Gathering Is This Weekend!
The annual senior high gathering takes place November 16-18 at the YMCA of the Rockies under the theme, "Connected." Please contact R.C. Reiman at 307-630-0642 or by email: rcr@reimancorp.com with any last minute questions.

Church in Society Awards: Incentives for Ministry
The Rocky Mountain Synod Church in Society Board provides annual awards up to $1000.00 to assist efforts in this Synod that demonstrate an "inciting to action" of the church in society. The objective of the award is to provide incentive and support to assist the church's efforts and engagement in meeting the needs of society through projects that involve the members with those being served through ministry.

These projects should demonstrate ways of going beyond providing financial contributions to a charity. For example, projects might provide services for persons affected by poverty, homelessness, hunger, domestic or substance abuse, aging or health related issues. The project may represent the effort of a single congregation or the co-operative effort of several congregations, related agencies, or other entities; e.g. Interfaith Hospitality Network, Refugee Services, etc. The application may be downloaded. The deadline for application is February 15, 2008.

Rocky Mountain Synod Theological Conference
This year's conference takes place January 28-31 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Colorado Springs, CO. Information is posted on the web, including a link for online registration. Rostered leaders, as well as youth directors, education directors, and other lay leaders are encouraged to attend. Those who select a double, triple, or quad room must submit mutual roommates on the online registration form. Registration deadline is December 20!

Where in the world did RMS folks reach out this summer?
We know that a lot of congregations were planning mission trips, service projects, and immersions. We'd like to highlight those trips and have created an easy form for you to click and complete to submit info about your trip. Please share your stories!

Video Contest:
How to Spot a Lutheran in the West
Two minute videos that capture the spirit of our "Lutheran Identity" in the Rocky Mountain Synod are to be submitted by April 1, 2008. The video may be a commercial, skit, story, song, art piece or any other means and will be judged in the areas of Lutheran identity, evangelism, diversity, variety of ages involved, and creativity. Prizes will be announced at Synod Assembly in May. First place will receive $1,000, second $600, third $250, fourth $150 (made out to the sponsoring congregation or ministry group.) The prize money is provided by a grant from ELCA Synodical Relations in support of communicating Lutheran identity within the synod. Download the details!

The Middle School Youth Gathering Registration is Underway!
The Junior High/Middle School Youth Gathering will take place January 11-13, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Registration is now open! Be reminded that one adult must register for every four youth of the same gender. Regular registration deadline is December 10.

The Planning Team is looking for someone to help with taking video and editing it during the weekend. Ideally, this person would help during large group to do some "live" video of the gathering participants and speakers to put up on the big screen for large group times.

Also, the planning team is looking for EMT's (emergency medical technicians) who can be present to help in case of emergency. In the past, the Gathering has been fortunate to have folks who were participating in the weekend activities, but this year the Team is looking for a couple of dedicated medical technicians or emergency nurses who could be available throughout the weekend. Please contact Kim Sandfort at kimclym@qwest.net if you or someone you know would be interested.

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.

A series of gatherings are taking place for you to gather with others to bring the Vision Passion Action conversations to your context. In Utah, 32 were present, and over 50 are registered for the Colorado Springs event tomorrow evening.

Each congregation should bring four or five lay leaders, along with rostered leaders.

Materials have been mailed to each congregation, but they are also available electronically. Each events begins at 6 p.m. with a meal (with the exception of the Casper event which will begin at noon with lunch). The events will take place as follows:

NOVEMBER
14 Colorado Springs - Bethel (Call 719-570- 9800)
15 Greeley - Our Savior's (Call 970-352-4816)
26 Longmont - Faith Community (Call 303-776-8771 by November 19 to register)
27 Highlands Ranch - Christ (Call 303-791- 0803 by November 20 to register)

DECEMBER
4 Aurora - All Saints (Call 303-752-4083 by November 27 to register)
5 Wheat Ridge - Glory of God (Call 303-421-2721 by November 28 to register)
9 El Paso - St. Timothy
10 Carlsbad - St. Peter
11 Albuquerque - St. Luke

JANUARY
22 Grand Junction - Shepherd of the Valley
26 Casper - Prince of Peace
TBD Durango - Christ the King

An invitation to Youth Ministers, Lay Workers and Candidates
Every year Iliff School of Theology in Denver offers one Lutheran course. Two courses have been developed as a part of the Rocky Mountain Synod's relationship to Iliff and to Lutheran students at Iliff. The two courses are offered on a yearly rotation.

Lutheran Mission Identity will be taught in the coming Winter Quarter. The course description says in part, "This course introduces (our) mission heritage. It explores contemporary ELCA commitments as a Church in mission and considers implications for 'leaders in mission'". Dr. Roger Fjeld, President Emeritus of Wartburg Seminary, will lead this two-credit course. It will also include several resource specialists. It will meet Monday mornings from January 7 to March 10, from 10 to 11:50 a.m. Iliff is located at 2201 South University Blvd in Denver.

This course invites those who are working professionally in the church, whether on a lay roster or not. The course is particularly recommended for all those in the "Candidacy" process. Iliff will welcome applications from qualified folks (college degree required) for Non-Degree Student participation in the course. Tuition as a non-degree student is $575/credit for a total of $1,150 and deadline for registering is December 3. Qualified auditors (college degree expected) may also register. Cost for auditors is $100/credit for a total of $200. Auditors must register by the end of December. For more information and access to application materials, contact Vincent Tango at the Iliff Admissions Office, VTango@iliff.edu .

"One Nation, Many Faiths: A Forum on the Intersection of Religion and Politics"
This forum is being presented by The Interfaith Alliance of Colorado (a non-partisan national organization). Please join them on Sunday, November 18 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm at Cameron Methodist Church, 1600 South Pearl Street in Denver. The speaker will be Ms. Anne Sclater of the D.C. Voter Education office. Legislators and candidates for office will offer first responses in the discussion period. Questions: role of religious bodies in a political campaign; IRS guidelines; advocacy based on religious values. For more information, please visit the Interfaith Alliance of Colorado website: www.InterfaithAllianceCO.org

Festival of Hymns at St. Paul, Denver
On Sunday, November 18 at 3 p.m., a Festival of Hymns at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 1600 Grant Street in Denver, will be co-sponsored by Music at Saint Paul and the Denver Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. Entitled, Christ Has Died! Christ Is Risen! Christ Will Come Again!, the festival will focus on the death, resurrection, and second coming of Christ, and will feature readings and hymn-based music for choirs, handbells, brass, percussion, oboe, Orff instruments, organ, and congregation.

Musical leadership for the festival will be provided by the Saint Paul Festival Choir, the Saint Paul Bell Choir, the Trinity Community Children's Choir from Boulder, and the Iglesia Luterana Cristo Rey Orff Ensemble under the direction of conductor Amy Potterton and organist-conductor Mark Alan Filbert. A freewill offering will be received to help defray festival expenses and a reception will follow the festival in the Saint Paul West Community Room.

Ten synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) signed a letter November 6 with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) urging the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary to quickly pass the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2007 (TVPRA), which contains provisions to help identify and protect child victims of trafficking.

The TVPRA bill, if signed into law, would help to identify child trafficking victims, prevent children in federal custody from being released to traffickers, ensure that children in federal custody are placed in settings suitable for addressing their needs, and provide services to child trafficking survivors in federal custody.

As many as 5,000 children are being brought into the United States for purposes of sexual exploitation each year, according to the letter, which was signed by Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, LIRS president. LIRS, based in Baltimore, is a cooperative ministry of the ELCA, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It has provided services to trafficked youth since 2000, through the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor (URM) program.

"All Christians are called to act on behalf vulnerable people, especially children," said Andrew Genszler, ELCA director for advocacy. "In the ELCA's message on commercial sexual exploitation, our church calls for legal protection for victims of sex trafficking which is what the TVPRA will provide."

The full text of the letter can be found at: http://www.elca.org/advocacy/issues/immigration/07- 11-08-trafficking.pdf

Please take a moment to read the letter that Terri McMaster, Diaconal Minister and Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry - Colorado of the Rocky Mountain Synod (ELCA) wrote to seven members of the U S. House of Representatives from Colorado. The letter referenced here is to the Honorable Diana DeGette.

by Herbert Brokering

This powerful Lenten journey guides readers along forty-seven stops of faith find rest and gain vision to believe the hope of God. The stations represent places common to us in our daily lives, and the devotions are written as conversation and prayer with God. Each of the forty-seven scripture readings are from the book of Psalms where people of faith wrestle and petition, praise and plead in their faith walk.

Since the Lenten season begins February 6, 2008, now is the time to at least be thinking about ways to make it more Christ centered. To order this resource, please go to the Augsburg Fortress website.

Herbert Brokering is a pastor, hymn writer, poet, and popular speaker who has authored numerous books. He lives in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Holiday Fair Trade Fair to Make Shopping Fun and Easy

Atonement Lutheran Church (6281 W. Yale Ave, Lakewood 80227) invites you to its annual Fair Trade Fair on Saturday, November 17 (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Sunday, November 18 (9 to 11 a.m.). A wonderful array of products will be offered by Women's Bean Project, Manna Madagascar, Asante Africa, Global Mamma's, Hand Crafting Justice, A Greater Gift (LWR), Santa Catalina (Juarez), Crosses Ethiopia, and Equal Exchange. For more information call 303-985-1122

You're invited to a Lutheran World Relief Fair Trade Fair and Craft and Bake Sale on Saturday, November 17 from 9:00 am to noon and Sunday, November 18 from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm at Cross of Christ Lutheran Church, 12099 Lowell Blvd in Broomfield, one block north of 120th Avenue.

Zion's Christmas Bazaar is on Saturday, November 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Zion Lutheran Church is located at 1921 Virginia Street in Idaho Springs, Colorado 80452 (303-567-4378). Available at Zion's Christmas Bazaar this year will also be a table with Ugandan Bead Necklaces for sale. ALL proceeds go to the women in Uganda who live on less than $2 per day and sometimes eat only every other day in order to feed their children. Often they cannot afford to send their school age children to school at all. Most necklaces sell for $10 each and make wonderful Christmas gifts! This project was started by Carol Davis of Christ Lutheran Church, Highlands Ranch, and Colorado. She and some other Women CPA's go over to Uganda several weeks each year at their own expense to help these families in the sub-Sahara desert. Please tell others to stop in and shop for the holidays!

Convenience Shopping at the LSS of Utah "Off Main Gallery Stroll"

Worlds of Art Shoppe @ LSS of Utah "Off Main Gallery Stroll" scheduled for Friday, November 16 from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday, November 17 from 2-8 p.m. at Mill Square, 1800 South West Temple, Suite 305 in Salt Lake City. The event offers a chance for you to buy and "give gifts with justice, beauty and relational meaning!" Click here for a poster and more information.

Every Palm Sunday, Christian communities faithfully gather, waving palm fronds to joyfully reenact Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem. Unfortunately, for many communities where these palms are harvested, palm fronds do not represent the same jubilation.

Anna Sentana lives in the town of Carmelita, Guatemala where she and her community rely on the harvesting, processing and selling of palms for their livelihood. Much of what Anna's community harvests will eventually be used in churches across the U.S. for Palm Sunday celebrations. Though U.S. palm sales total more than $4.5 million every year, harvesting communities like Anna's rarely share in this bounty.

In conventional harvesting, workers are paid based on volume. The more fronds they cut, the more income they generate, encouraging over-harvesting and threatening the rainforest. Middlemen then transport the palms out of communities for processing, where more than 50% of the palms are discarded because of poor quality.

Eco- Palms, however, are harvested in a sustainable manner. Harvesters gather only quality palm fronds in a way that allows the plant to keep growing. The palms are then brought to a community processing building, where they are processed and packaged for export. By processing the palms themselves, these communities capture more of the profits.

In addition to environmental and economic sustainability for cooperative members, Eco-Palms promote improvement for entire communities in Guatemala and Mexico. Eco-Palm cooperatives designate five cents from each palm they sell to improve the lives of all community members. Anna's community has built a processing building to improve working conditions, provided scholarships to students, paid a teacher's salary, and supported elderly members of the community.

Consider the good that can be accomplished through your Palm Sunday celebration. Include palm harvesting communities in your worship service by supporting Eco-Palms and including a bulletin insert. on Sunday. Please print out the order form which also has general information. You may then mail, fax or telephone in your order. The form provides information that will also allow you to submit your request by email.

Phone......... (612)-624-7418
Fax.............(612)-625-5212) RaeLynn Jones Loss
Email...........ecopalms@umn.edu
Mail............
University of Minnesota, Eco-Palms
Attn: RaeLynn Jones Loss
1530 Cleveland Ave N
115 Green Hall
St. Paul, Minnesota 55108

Lutheran World Relief is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS), individuals and parish groups in international relief, development, advocacy and social responsibility.