Pictures - May 24 2009

Oh the faithful at St. James in Encampment. As the service begins, the people spend a bit of time catching up with other parts of their lives. It is like the "announcements" start before church, continue in the middle, and wraps up as people are heading out the door. They are working hard with their Mustard Seed Project and it looks like they have a long term view with this work.

What more to say? Karen Buckingham was welcomed into the transitional deaconate on May 21, 2009 at St. Thomas in Rawlins Wyoming. Take time to welcome Karen into this part of her journey may it be one of many fruits.

What a great picture. It is a celebration of Mother's day and the senior Warden of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Dixon was putting on the charm. It is a good group of people who are faithful in their gathering every Sunday and are truly a fun group of people to worship with.

Talk about a resourceful group of people that would be St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. They don't have a parish hall or running water, but don't let that scare you. This group of people don't miss a step as they continue to gather and share good fellowship. The building across the street has been recently renovated and maybe the church could use it in the future. We will see what the future holds.

Weekly Letters to the Churches of Carbon County - May 24 2009

May 24, 2009

Ok it has been four days since I last wrote. This will be a quick letter. The large event that took place in Region IV was the ordination of Karen Buckingham into the transitional deaconate. This took place last Thursday night in Rawlins at 6:30pm. The event had members from all around the region in attendance. Medicine Bow, Little Snake River Valley or LSRV, Encampment, and Cheyenne were accounted for. It was a good service. I heard commitments like, “The Holy Spirit was present.” and “What a beautiful service.” Linda Fleming preached a sermon about how a butterfly slowly unwraps itself from a cocoon and this image reflects the journey of St. Thomas. Bishop Caldwell pointed out that although it was Karen who was being ordained it is the work of community to work with her as people continue to grow in their ministries.

Friday I was in Encampment to participate in establishing a “foot print” for a parish hall. The parish hall will include handicap accessibility to the building itself and also will provide a way for people to enter the church as well. It is believed that this building will be used by the community. It is a big step for this group and they are being smart in planning their effort and to have a detailed plan as they move forward into the future. They are on the right track.

Sunday I was in Dixon. The service started @ 9am (normally it is a 10:30am) and it was well attended. From there we when to the Reader Cemetery we braved the cloudy day and honored those who gave their all (their lives) and reminded ourselves that how important it is to support others in their call to duty. Those who have chosen to serve believe in us.

The remainder of the week looks like this --- Monday will be a day off (the computer thanks me!). Tuesday I will be in Green River to help the community of faith work through some important growth. Wednesday is an all day web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers. Thursday I will be in Casper to assist on an Evangelism project. Friday I will be in Kraft Hall in Rawlins. Sunday I will be presiding at Ft. Bridger and Green River during Pentecost.

Be well my friends,

Doug

This picture was taken at St. James in Encampment. It was one of those morning in which creation was bursting out in color, richness and clarity. The wind was still, the views were breathtaking and all seem right in the world. It is one of those blessings that I receive in this line of work which is to see many parts of God's Kingdom.

Talk about capturing a wonderful moment with a picture that was taken at St. Paul's in Dixon! Almost like Ascension as people look up to watch Jesus return to heaven. This is a picture of three generations (the mother was at home). It is encouraging to see children being active in our worship communities.

Here is a picture of the group who gathered for 6 sessions for a book study at St Thomas. They read and discussed "The Bible for Today's Church" from the original Church Teaching Series. The group learned and grew during their time together.

Here is a picture of the faith who gather at St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. You may note the flower on the person's right (our left) and it was a gift of acknowledgment of her motherhood. That was a nice touch. This group of people are loyal and willing to do what it takes to be a church. Nice testimony of a steady as you go approach.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - May 20 2009

May 20, 2009

Hello folks this week in flying by! As I write this I realized that Tuesday is almost behind me. Wednesday is over the hump day and everything flows down hill toward the weekend and the upcoming weekend is extended by a day. A quick look around the Carbon County looks like this – St. James in Encampment will be getting together on Friday night to create a master plan for the church, what will go where and etc. St. Paul in Dixon is planning the big summer kick off with the gathering at Reader Cemetery for Memorial Day and then reconvenes at the Savory Museum for a hamburger fry! St. Thomas is working hard for a grand event and I would ask people to save the date – May 21, 2009 and plan on attending a service that starts at 6:30pm. What am I talking about? Why not come and see for yourself. Soon I will send the minutes of my meeting with St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow and I have already thought of ways of including more Diocesan staff in their efforts to transform the world. I hope this letter finds you well.

Where to start, after all this is May, the month that we manage to do more in less time. I will start with last Monday. I was so pleased to make it to Encampment for their bible study. More importantly I got to reconnect with the leadership of the church and to find out how they are doing. All is well in the quiet and peaceful community of Encampment. That afternoon I participated in a web/phone meeting with the Regional Reps throughout the Diocese. We did a general check in and talked about the Mustard Seed Project and we are now attempting to get a reference point for Safeguarding God’s Children training opportunities.

Tuesday was an informal day off. I worked around the house, planted a tomato plant upside down (this is not a typo). Wednesday was a full day of activity. The standing Wednesday web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers took place. During our conversation we talked about using twitter (micro blogging) to keep in touch on the fly. We also talked about Safeguarding God’s Children training and did some preparation work for the month of June extended web/phone meeting. Around 4pm I was one of the technology hosts of another web/phone meeting with the group who will be attending General Convention this year. Between the two web/phone meetings I got together with Karen Buckingham to plan a service. It was a full day!

Some people may know about Karen from St. Thomas in Rawlins is a Candidate is getting prepared to be ordained into the transitional deaconate, pending the approval from the Standing Committee; so the altar guild of St. Thomas, Karen, and I got together to learn the process of setting the table. This took place on Thursday.

Friday I was at Kraft Hall and that afternoon I was in Laramie. Saturday I meet with two different, yet similar groups. The first group was the worship leaders of St. Thomas and we planned the worship schedule for the month of June, completed a book study, and talked about the Pentecost Service. About 30 minutes later I met with the Ministry Support Team (MST) and we debriefed from the DiSC training that took place; a full morning.

The reminder of the week looks like this – Tonight I will be participating in a web/phone meeting with EDS to check in with those who are taking a “Ministry Development for Ministry Developers” on-line course @ 6pm. Thursday is a celebration to take place in Rawlins @ 6:30pm. Friday I will be in Kraft Hall for a couple of hours starting @ 10am. Then it is Memorial Day Weekend. Sunday I will be presiding at St. Paul’s (Dixon) starting at 9am (please note the time change!) and then participate with the Reader Cemetery weekend event. Monday I am taking the day off! Have good week.

Doug

Pictures from around Region IV in Wyoming

Here is a picture of the Bishop of Wyoming at the Confirmation Service in Laramie Wyoming on Saturday May 9, 2009. St. Thomas had a strong attendance and this person (I am protecting the names) made a commitment to the worshiping community of St. Thomas. It was a joyous event.

Here is a picture of the front of the TABLE at St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. This little church continues to be a Godly presence in the small town. There is much discussion about what to do with the Mustard Seed Money and now they are looking to include the community at large to build a greater community buy in to transforming the world.

Here is a picture of the church in Encampment. St. James is a church that is over a 100 years old and continues to be a worshiping community. The families who gather there every Sunday and other special occasions have a long history with this church. They are a fun loving and laid back group that really enjoy the tradition of the Episcopal Church.

Here is a picture of the "Spring Cafe" bible reflection that takes place in LSRV (Little Snake River Valley) every two weeks. This group of people gather and read the bible in 10 chapter sections. They are reading the bible as a narrative and reflect with one another what they have discovered. Following the refletion time they then share in one of the time honored social events .... cake, cookies, ice cream, coffee or tea. Nice way to gather!

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond May 10 2009

Hello I write this letter as the rain gently falls outside of St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow. The congregation has finished up a lively meeting that started during the announcement and I will get to that in a moment. Looking around the county this is what it looks like; St. Thomas’ Ministry Support Team has completed a DiSC team building training; St. Paul continues to meet and go through the Bible on book at a time, and trying to keep the river waters within their banks; St. James is continuing in their bible study and shared with me a great story. I hope this letter finds you well.

Last Monday (May 4, 2009) St. Thomas concluded their book study, “The Bible for Today’s Church” in which the group reflected upon what they learned. They discussed different ways of interpreting the bible and how the sessions have enriched their knowledge and appreciation of this life changing gift. The group is ready to break for the summer.

That Monday afternoon I made it LSRV (Little Snake River Valley) for the Spring Café bible reflection in which we wrapped up reading 2 Kings. This is a time for people to read the bible as a grand narrative and discover the stories in new ways. It was sure nice to walk in and see a member from St. David’s in Fort Bridger participating. The family networks in Wyoming know no physical boundaries.

On Tuesday I made a couple of calls and that is when I learned about what happened in Encampment a couple of weeks ago. The propane had run out at the church, so the congregation gathered in a home, had church and then made breakfast and continued the fellowship. That is sure is resourceful if you ask me. I love the flexibility this kind of ministry provides. I also had a chance to catch up with Arlen in Medicine Bow by the way of Laramie to discuss the up-coming service.

Wednesday and Thursday I was participating in a DiSC training with the Ministry Support Team of St. Thomas in Rawlins. DiSC has been around since the 1920’s. It is a body of work that helps people understands who they are and how they work with others. From that information groups of people have a better understanding of the group culture and now can build on strengths and adapt to needs and challenges that they face. The level of trust among the team members has been increased and I walked away from the experience with a greater and richer understanding of who I work with in the church.

Saturday I rode over to Laramie for the day to participate in the Region’s IV Confirmation as a sponsor of Ralph Vickrey (St. Thomas) as he was confirmed in the Episcopal Church. Ralph and I now share more history together in the church because I was also the priest who was asked to bless his marriage to Sheri (formally known as Glassburn) three years ago. Ralph was invited to read and St. Thomas made a strong showing at the service.

Sunday (May 10, 2009) I was in St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow. During the announcement period we started a conversation about the Mustard Seed and that started to take on a life of its own. At one point Arlen pointed out that the conversation could continue after the service, but we needed to move on to the Liturgy of the Table. Good leadership call! After the service the congregation gathered at the back of the church, had cookies, cheese, coffee and tea; and continued the conversation about the Mustard Seed. It was decided that the local community of Medicine Bow will invited into the discernment process by hosting a meal with the local leadership to seek both ideas and support for making the town of Medicine Bow a better place to visit. Upon the conclusion of that discussion St. Luke will start the “Wade in Water” education program to gain a better understanding of Shared Ministry. What a productive time!

This is how the upcoming week is look like – Monday I will be in Encampment for the bible study that starts at 9am. Monday evening I will meet with the Regional Reps on a web/phone meeting to discuss Safeguarding God’s Children among other items if needed. Tuesday is hanging around the office or even perhaps take a day off for Sabbath. Wednesday I have two web/phone meetings scheduled. The Ministry Developers will meet at 8am and the Delegates to General Convention will meet at 4pm. Thursday will be an administrative/sermon writing and etc. day. Friday I will be at Kraft Hall (Rawlins) between 10-12pm and the remainder of the day I will be in Laramie. Saturday I will be at Worship Breakfast (St. Thomas in Rawlins) and meet with the MST (Ministry Support Team) of St. Thomas to debrief and evaluate the DiSC training. Sunday I will be presiding at two services starting at St. James (Encampment) @ 9am and the 2^nd service will be at St. Paul’s (Dixon) @ 5pm.