Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

On Sunday, Sept. 13, I had the joy of joining Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Gillette, WY (one of our furthest-north congregations) for their 50^th anniversary. During the children’s message, I explained that my job is to connect the 150+ congregations and ministries of our Rocky Mountain Synod, from Wyoming all the way down to El Paso, TX. After worship, one young member of Prince of Peace shook my hand and gave me a mission: to tell all the kids in El Paso “hi” from the kids in Gillette. So to all my young sisters and brothers and siblings in Christ at Cristo Rey, Milagro de la Frontera, New Hope, Peace, and St. Timothy: hello from Kenley and her friends at Prince of Peace!

The following Saturday, Sept. 19, I shared this story with a group of more than 30 women from Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico who gathered for the Rocky Mountain Synodical Women’s Organization conference (“Wisdom and Worth”) at St. Stephen’s in Northglenn, CO. Over three days, these women leaders shared worship and meals, laugher and much learning: about Period Kits Colorado, a local ministry providing menstrual products; new directions for Urban Servant Corps in partnership with New Beginnings Worshipping Community, the importance of respecting names and pronouns as a way to love our LGBTQIA+ neighbors, the church’s grappling with the harmful legacy of Indian Boarding Schools, and more.

I am now in my third year of serving as bishop; and I can say that the above is a fairly good representation of the unique blessings of this call, and of our Rocky Mountain Synod! In traveling to visit our people and ministries, in meetings and prayerful conversations, in working alongside our faithful synod ministers and synod council members, and in seeking to relate, support, connect, and equip this part of the body of Christ to the wider church and to our neighbors, I continue to find holy ground in every part of this work and in every part of our synod. Dios está aquí, en nuestra vida en Cristo. God is here, in our life in Christ.

This month, I invite your prayers as our ELCA Conference of Bishops gathers in Chicago this week, and as more than 100 rostered ministers, seminarians, TEEM and SAM candidates, and guests gather next week at Shepherd of the Mountains in Park City, Utah for our fall theological conference, “Baptized in Muddy Waters.” And I join you in praying for all of the ministries that are gearing up and kicking off this month: for Confirmation and Sunday School classes, campus ministry events, adult forums and youth groups, food pantries and advocacy teams, and invitations: to worship, to belong, to give, and to serve.

Proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed is no easy thing in the midst of uncertainty, discouragement, and tumultuous times. Yet the Gospel itself is the promise that God is incarnated in the world; and it is precisely in the realities of human time, space, bodies and communities that Jesus can always be found. This life and world are holy ground, too. May this good news strengthen, sustain, and inspire us.