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!

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
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 (Call 915-598-2621 by December 3 to register)
10 Carlsbad - St. Peter (Call 505-887-3033 by December 4 to register)
11 Albuquerque - St. Luke (Call 505-299-2621 by December 5 to register)

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

Santa, Sugarplums and Surprise is Saturday, December 1
Lutheran Family Services invites you to a holiday brunch to benefit foster care, adoption, and family and teen programming in Northern Colorado. The brunch includes the Canyon Concert Ballet performing delightful snippets of the Nutcracker, selections from Bas Bleu Theatre¹s holiday live radio show and a jolly visit from Olde St. Nick.

The event will take place at the Lincoln Center, 417 West Magnolia, Fort Collins, Colorado 80521. Tickets prices are $30 adults and $18 for children. To purchase tickets, call 970-266-1788 or email Kim at Kim.Rais@LFSCO.org .

Academy for Adaptive Leadership and Spiritual Formation is
January 14-17
Every January, pastors, congregational leaders and seminary students from around the country converge on Abiding Hope Lutheran Church (6337 South Robb Way, Littleton, Colorado 80127) to participate in RE-FORMATION, an event of the Abiding Hope Academy for Adaptive Leadership and Spiritual Formation. The theme of RE-FORMATION 2008 is: "For the Sake of the World" and will feature Reggie McNeal, Beth Lewis, Barbara Rossing, Brad Binau, and Rick Barger as keynote speakers. In addition to dynamic keynote addresses, nine very practical and lively workshops will be offered in the areas of Leadership Development, Discipleship and Worship. The dates of RE-FORMATION 2008 are January 14-17 and the schedule of activities can be found at www.abidinghopelutheran.org . Registrations can be either through the website or by contacting Michelle Benko at the church office (303-972-1283).

Handel's "Messiah" Presented by The Lutheran Chorale
You are invited to a lively presentation of this phenomenal work which includes the Lakewood Symphony Orchestra and the Green Mountain High School Choir. This is their third annual collaboration with the Lakewood Symphony as they raise the roof with the inspiring music of Handel's Messiah. You may want to dust off your old Messiah score and join them for this Sing Along!

Come out to the Lakewood Cultural Center (470 Allison Parkway, Lakewood, Colorado) on Tuesday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m. and enjoy this classic musical tradition. Tickets are $14 for adults; $10 for seniors/students/children. (No family tickets available.) Please call 303-987-7845 to order tickets. Visit The Lutheran Chorale website for other concert. information.

Mission Trip to Nicaragua is July 25-August 5
Trinity Lutheran Church in Loveland, Colorado invites you to join them on a work trip to Somoto, Nicaragua, this summer, July 25-August 5, 2008. For several years Trinity Lutheran Church has participated in building homes, medical missions, and church ministries in Somoto. They have made life-long friends with some wonderful people there and they invite you to get to know them, too! Ask any of the 47 people (ages 14-76) who participated last year and they will enthusiastically share an experience of a lifetime.

The cost is $500 if you arrange your own airfare or $1200 if you would like one of the group tickets they have reserved. The $500 cost includes hotel stays, most meals, ground transportation and a $200 contribution towards the cost of building a home. Spaces are filling up fast, so register soon! Please contact Pastor Ed and Cheryl Smith for more information or if you would like a presentation. 970- 663-0458 or csmit@frii.com.

Idaho Springs, Colorado, Soup Buffet is Nov. 24 & 25
The United Church and Zion Lutheran Church of Idaho Springs, Colorado, are planning a Chili / Soup Buffet with baked goods for sale at The United Center on Saturday, November 24 and Sunday, November 25 from 4-7 p.m. The cost of the luncheon will be a free will donation, for the purpose of raising funds to help the Loaves & Fishes ministry. All proceeds will be matched by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, up to $1,000.00. There will also be musical accompaniment with The Cowboy Band playing Saturday afternoon (4 p.m.) and "open mic" on Saturday night for karaoke.

"Called To Be a Public Church" is A resource guide intended to encourage, empower, and equip congregations to engage responsibly in the 2008 election cycle by participating in voter registration drives, voter mobilization campaigns, and poll monitoring. This guide also contains nonpartisan issue briefs on issues related to the ELCA social statements.

"Our Christian faith compels us to attend to the world through the lens of our relationship to God and to one another. As a public church, we have a responsibility to step outside our comfort zones and challenge ourselves to address issues that affect families, communities, and neighbors throughout the world. As a church body, the ELCA uses its prophetic voice boldly to address important political, social, and economic issues that affect local and global communities. This work grows out of our theological understanding of God at work in the world and is articulated in the social statements of this church, which you can find at www.elca.org/socialstatements on the Web."

Excerpt from the foreword of the 2008 ELCA Voting and Civic Participation Guide. The foreword is written by the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Reverend Mark S. Hanson.

This resource is now available to download for FREE from http://www.elca.org/advocacy/publicchurch/ . It is available for order from Augsburg Fortress now and will be shipped after November 26.

Marsha Hansen
and
Peter Huchthausen

Marsha Hansen's latest book, co-authored with Peter A. Huchthausen, is a collection of war stories coupled with reflections that cover a number of faith concerns. Notably, Hansen is intrigued with Dietrich Bonhoeffer's call for courageous intervention and the readiness to suffer for what is acknowledged as right. At the same time, her book echoes Bonhoeffer's question, "Is God's love any less for our enemies, for whom God just as much came, suffered, and died, as God did for us?"

The stories in this volume are of men and women who exhibit moral courage and who take responsible action despite hardships, privations, or the burdens of making life and death decisions for others. Most of the stories are set against the backdrop of war or conflict and incorporate parallel historical moments from the Bible that help frame the questions raised by the contemporary story. By searching the concrete realities through which many people of faith encounter God, Hansen and Huchthausen encourage a closer reading of and reflection on the stories in the Bible. We can meet God, they say, most distinctly through ordinary means.

Martin Doblmeier, President of Journey Films, says of the book, " War casts a dark and often sinister shadow over human expectations. But these stories- like tiny gems- reflect the hope God has for his people even in moments of pain and horror."

Marsha welcomes the opportunity to speak at churches within the Rocky Mountain Synod about this book, and her previous book from Augsburg Fortress, My Soul Is A Witness: The Message of the Spirituals in Word and Song. She resides in El Paso along with her husband, Pastor Rodney Hansen, Mt Hope Lutheran Church.

Contact her at psalm148@msn.com. Marsha's books are available through most major book sellers as well as through the Augsburg Fortress website.

Elder House, 50+ Living! will host a six residents in an independent/interdependent home that is completely accessible. Ideally, the home will be adjacent to area congregations which have provided land donations to the Project.

The Elder House community will design their own way of doing meals, shopping and whether to hire a cook or not; and they will design their own housekeeping too. Before LSS of Utah begins construction, we'll have the down-payment, contingency and first 12 months mortgage in the bank; and six 'intent to rent' leases signed. It is approximately $300,000 to build and 3000 square feet.

Elder House - 50+ Living! fills the niche of the step prior to Assisted Living Level 1, where people begin to experience some disability, and yet, are completely independent. Perhaps residents want more social engagement and home demands are wearing; or people may have a disability in full and yet are independent. The residents will be low-income affording $500.00 per month with a built in 5% annual increase and monthly division with utilities by number of residents. There will be a gerontology student apartment where the person is provided rent for communicating about resident needs in a timely manner, assisting residents on a very limited, as needed basis, and providing daily, light housekeeping. The main living room and dining area will have assistive hearing technology (funded by LWML).

While LSS of Utah fully explored a Phase 1 Assisted Living concept given the Utah community and congregation visioning, in the end it did not prove practical for our size in Utah. The Phase 2 model provides a small, quality experience for church and society and will focus on the beginning of the aging spectrum.

LSS of Utah begins presenting Elder House - 50+ Living! -- Phase 2 at St. Matthew's Lutheran Church Congregational Meeting on Sunday, November 18, at 4:30 pm. If you are interested in the Elder House, Phase 2, you are very welcome to attend.

To schedule a tailored presentation, please contact lssutah@yahoo.com with preferred dates. For ELCA congregations, Leslie Whited Vance can preach on Sunday texts (while the Pastor is present) on a Sunday and provide the presentation on Elder House at an Adult Forum.

For donations, please consider donating stock or monies to the exclusive LSS of Utah Elder House account which is managed by Douglas Felt, VP, Morgan Stanley.

AdventFest '07
AdventFest is November 30 - December 2. This weekend is a wonderful spiritual weekend where we will walk through the four Sundays of Advent during our worship experiences. Let this weekend become part of your family's Christmas traditions. Registration information is on Rainbow Trail's website: www.rainbowtrail.org . Register soon!

Rainbow Trail Confirmation Retreat
January 4-6, 2008 . For more information, visit the Rainbow Trail website at www.rainbowtrail.org.

RTLC Youth Workers' Retreat
From January 21-23, 2008, Rainbow Trail is offering a free retreat for youth workers in the Rocky Mountain Synod to give them a chance to be renewed and refreshed to returned to your ministry. For more information and to register, go to the Rainbow Trail website: www.rainbowtrail.org .

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. Registration deadline is December 20!