Pastor's Letter for November

It was a difficult weekend. Jim Rasmussen who has been the pastor at Trinity, passed
away. The congregation not to mention his family was caught completely off-guard. Please put
their congregation in your prayers.
I had the privilege of proclaiming the promise of Christ Jesus in the midst of this crisis .
Due to the short-term circumstance of his passing (he died Friday night), and being the only ELCA
congregation with 2 pastors, I was asked to help the congregation through this difficult time.
Praise the Lord I was not alone in proclaiming hope to this congregation. Stephen Ministers from
Shepherd of The Hills and Spirit of Joy joined one of our own Stephen Ministers, Laura Burlingame-
Lee, and our Parish Nurse, Shirley Sullwold in anointing the crowd through a healing service
that had already been planned previous to Jim’s fatal heart attack. Bev Watson also assisted
their altar guild so they could worship without interruption. This outpouring of support helped
Trinity through a difficult day.
As difficult as the day was and as difficult as the days to come will continue to be for Trinity,
I was struck by the understanding that in the midst of crisis we together are the church. Today
we mourn the loss for Trinity and we look for ways to further their ministry.
It is difficult to transition from this to anything else in a newsletter, but there are other
struggles in the church that deserve our attention as well. Sky Ranch Lutheran Camp has been in a
financial crisis since this summer. This ministry of the ELCA needs our attention. Its offices are
located in Fort Collins and we use its facility regularly. The good news is that they have received
almost one hundred thousand dollars in donations since late in the summer. They are not out of
the woods, but this outpouring of support has affirmed the importance of this ministry. If you
would like to find ways to be more involved please talk to me. I am on the board for the camp.
Lutheran Campus Ministry at CSU (St. Thomas) also appears to be losing much of it’s funding
from the greater church (perhaps beginning December 1st), and we and the other Northern
Colorado churches are being asked to look at creative ways to carry on this ministry. Pastor Connie
Winter-Eulberg has served this ministry faithfully for over 10 years and continues to have a
viable ministry to the campus.
Just as a few of us reached out to Trinity, we are called as a church to look at these other
ministries and determine ways to strengthen them. Together we are the church.