DISCERNMENT RETREATS 2008 - "Discerning God's Call"

The Rocky Mountain Synod Candidacy Committee Announces Two Discernment Retreats for 2008.

February 4, 2008 ~ Albuquerque - St. Luke Lutheran Church, 9100 Menaul Blvd. NE, Albuquerque, New Mexico - Register by January 10.

April 16, 2008 ~ Denver - Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 E. Alameda, Denver, Colorado - Register by March 25.

For all persons who may be discerning a call to leadership ministry in the ELCA. Whether you are ready to commit to the Candidacy process, or just beginning to ask the questions regarding this vocational call, you are invited to attend this retreat. During this retreat we will explore how we do faithful vocational discernment, discover gifts for ministry, learn about the variety of opportunities for services through the three rosters of the ELCA: Ordained pastors, Consecrated diaconal ministers, Commissioned associates in ministry, and answer questions about the ELCA Candidacy process. Anyone planning to begin Entrance into Candidacy in the next year is required to attend.

Contact Madelyn Busse, assistant to the bishop, 303-777 6700 or mbusse@rmselca.org with questions. To register or to submit names for invitation, please call Janice Ladd-Horkey at 303-777-6700 or 800-525-0462

Lutheran Course at Iliff School of Theology
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. 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 .

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.

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.

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.

Again this year, St. Peter Lutheran Church, Greenwood Village, Colorado, is having their members post signs on their lawn or at their office to publicize their Christmas Eve worship and invite others. (They note that people should not display the sign in any location where they don¹t have permission, however.) Also, St. Peter offers a unique 24-hour commercial-free Christmas music channel on their website with both sacred and secular music, devotional messages and greetings from members of the congregation. Go to www.stplc.org and click on the green tree.

Ringing in the Season
Rocky Mountain Ringers Bell Choir Concert is Wednesday, December 12 at 7:00 p.m. at Saint Paul Lutheran Church, 1600 Grant Street, Denver. Music at Saint Paul is pleased to present the Rocky Mountain Ringers in a program of seasonal music for hand bells entitled "Holiday Memories". There is no admission fee for this concert, but a donation of $15.00 is suggested ($10.00 for Seniors/Students).

Augustana Lutheran Church is Seeking a Bass/Baritone and Mezzo Soprano Section Leader and Professional Quartet Member
Augustana Lutheran Church, 5000 East Alameda Avenue, Denver, Colorado, is seeking a bass/baritone and mezzo soprano to fill two vacant positions effective January 10, 2008 in the Augustana Vocal Ensemble (AVE). The candidates must possess excellent sight-reading skills, be amenable to a wide variety of repertoire, exhibit collegiality, be flexible, and willing to perform outside the church for various performances. Time commitment required: Wednesday evening Chancel Choir rehearsals, two Sunday morning worship services, special services, and quartet rehearsal. The positions are compensated. If you are interested, please e-mail a cover letter and resume to: Cindy Lindeen-Martin, Minister of Music and Organist, at lindeen- martin@augustanadenver.org

Luther College Nordic Choir Performs in Colorado
The Luther College Nordic Choir will present two concerts of sacred choral music for your enjoyment: On Thursday, January 31 at 7:30 p.m. the Ensemble will perform at First Presbyterian Church, 219 Bijou (at Nevada) in Colorado Springs [Sponsored by First Lutheran, Colorado Springs and Trinity Lutheran, Monument]. The second concert will be at Augustana Lutheran Church (5000 East Alameda Avenue) in Denver on Friday, February 1 at 7:30 p.m. [Sponsored by Augustana Arts, Denver]

The Nordic Choir has performed around the world, appearing in Norway, England, Germany, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Baltic countries, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The Nordic Choir has also appeared throughout the United States, performing in well-known concert halls as Lincoln Center in New York and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

For ticket information, please visit www.luthertickets. com or call 1-800-4-Luther.

Association of Lutheran Older Adults Sponsors Lutherhostels
The Association of Lutheran Older Adults (ALOA) will sponsor Arizona¹s 14th consecutive Lutherhostel March 3-7, 2008 at the Redemptorist Renewal Center, north of Tucson, Arizona. Like the previous Lutherhostels, these five-day programs are designed for inspiration, edification and Christian fellowship.

The Rev. Dr. Jerry Schmalenberger, past president of Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, Berkeley, California, will lead us in Bible Study. His theme is "The Miracles/Parables of Jesus and their Flip Side". Elizabeth Gotsch of Northbrook, Illinois will lead the music for our worship. You'll tour the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, seeing animals living in their natural habitat as well as viewing a raptor show. For more information about this event and other ALOA Lutherhostels, visit www.aloaserves.org and click on events.

More Job Postings
New job listings are now posted on our website for a Director of Administrative Services and for a part-time Associate Director. Please visit the webpage for more job listings.

What is the ONE Campaign?
"ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History" is an effort by Americans to rally Americans - ONE by ONE - to fight global AIDS and extreme poverty. Founded in 2003, ONE is the U.S. expression of international anti-poverty movements inspired by the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. Today, ONE has more than 100 faith-based and humanitarian partners that work together as ONE - to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's) and make poverty history.

What are the goals of the ONE Campaign?
Through political action, the ONE Campaign advocates for:

• An additional ONE percent of the U.S. budget to address deadly poverty
• Debt relief for the world's poorest countries to help them meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
• Making the rules of international trade fair so all may benefit from the global economy

ELCA Global Mission is pleased to provide this Lenten Worship Series, "Global Companions: Who Is My Neighbor?" as a gift to congregations for use during Lent, either at mid-week services or for during Sunday worship. This is the fifth resource ELCA Global Mission has provided for web distribution only. New for 2008 is an Easter Sunday resource from Jerusalem.

The series provides for a six part, plus Holy Week, series of worship services that include a sermon, worship, prayers and hymns suggestions, bulletin covers for each week, PowerPoint of images, Lenten supper suggestions, and Global Mission resources.

There are a few items still missing from the mix of resources available but hopefully what is posted can get you started in planning. Go to www.elca.org/globalmission/lent

When you think of poverty and its ramifications, does lack of clean drinking water come to mind, also? Actually, the two go hand in hand.

More than one billion people around the globe lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation services. In developing countries, 80 percent of illnesses relate to poor water quality: someone dies of a water-related illness every 14 seconds. In the United States we seldom worry about the quality of our drinking water, but forty percent of our rivers and lakes are too polluted to be safe for fishing and swimming.

The ELCA has published a social statement which affirms its support for proposals and actions to protect and restore "water, especially drinking water, groundwater, polluted runoff, and industrial and municipal waste." Read the full article

In the past few years, more and more United Way contributors have been designating their contributions to specific agencies. Because of these designations, there has been a continuous decline in the amount of money LFS has received from regional United Way agencies and it is making it more difficult for them to maintain their services to children and families.

LFS is now inviting you to designate your United Way gifts to directly support our programs and services. You could make a general designation to Lutheran Family Services or if you choose to designate your United Way support specifically to the Foster Care program of LFS, you are also eligible for the 50% Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit from any of the following: United Way of Larimer County; Mile High United Way; and Pikes Peak United Way. Please support LFS through a designated United Way gift!
To find out about other ways that you may be able to help Lutheran Family Services of Colorado, please go to www.lfsco.org .

Handel's Messiah to be Performed by Local Choirs
Mark your calendars in December for an exciting performance of the entire Advent/Christmas portion of Handel's Messiah to be presented by the combined choirs, soloists and orchestras of Our Savior's Lutheran Church (Denver) and Park Hill ongregational Church (Denver) on Sunday afternoon, December 16, at 2:00 p.m. at Park Hill Congregational Church, 26th and Leyden Streets in Denver.

Ökumenischer Weihnachtsgottesdienst in Deutscher Sprache
Pastor Wolfgang Stahlberg and the congregation of Messiah Community Church (1750 Colorado Boulevard) invite you to join them on Sunday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m. for a Christmas service in German. If you would like more information about this Christmas service, please call the church office at 303-355-4471.

Augustana Presents! "My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord"
This concert will feature Augustana Lutheran Church's Chancel Choir, Youth Choir, AVE (Augustana Vocal Ensemble), and Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra and will performed on Sunday, December 16 at 3:00 pm. For more information, contact Cindy Lindeen-Martin, Minister of Music, 303-388-4678. Augustana Lutheran Church is located at 5000 East Alameda Avenue, Denver, Colorado 80246.

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

Bethany Celebrates 100 Years
Bethany Lutheran Church, Cherry Hills Village, Colorado, kicks off its Centennial Year by celebrating "REMEMBER THE FUTURE" on two wonderful Sundays in January 2008. On January 13, Baptism of our Lord, special recognition will be given to those who have been baptized years ago as well as those children of God who have been recently baptized. On Sunday, January 27, a FOUNDERS DAY liturgy will recall the past. For more information, call the church, 303-758-2820 or consult the website, www.bethany-denver.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 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).

A Winter Workshop for Resource Development Professionals!
ALDE (Association of Lutheran Development Executives) members and their friends are invited to attend a Winter Workshop on Thursday, January 17, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Bethany Lutheran Church, located at 4500 East Hampden Avenue in Denver. For more information, contact Jane Pope Meehan:
by phone: 303-217- 5848; by fax: 303-922-7335
by email: jane.pope.meehan@lfsco.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!

RMS Next Step Team Plans "Passing on the Faith" Conference
Before you submit your budget for next year, please include the "Passing on the Faith" Conference in your numbers. The conference will take place at Bethany Lutheran Church, Denver, Colorado in April 2008 (tentative dates are April 18 & 19). If you have questions, please contact Sarah Bjornebo at 303-797-0369 or Julie Miller at 303-841-3739.

God's Work. Our Hands.
Are you looking for an opportunity to come together with other Lutherans and demonstrate your faith in action? Lutheran Servant Event 2008 will provide that opportunity. Put May 3, 2008, (8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.) on your congregation calendar. If you have any questions, require further Information or wish someone to talk to your council or other group about Lutheran Servant Event 2008, please contact Pamela McClune at (303) 623-7558.

2008 Mexico City Trip is June 10-18
Note the dates and think about participating in next summer's trip to the Lutheran Center in Mexico City.

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. 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.

Pilgrimage to the Holy Land - September 6-19, 2008
Denver Lutheran Pastor Arnie Voight and St. Paul Parish Associate Jan Miller are leading a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, traveling to far away places like the Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem, to Galilee, the Golan Heights, Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean, Masada, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem, as well as visit the ancient ruins of Petra in Jordan. Contact Jan Miller at jan@stpauldenver.org for a brochure and more information.