Letters to the Churches of Carbon County - August 30, 2009

August 30, 2009

Well the month of August is about in the books. I hope your summer has been one full of wonderful surprises, interesting discoveries, and good memories. School is right around the corner and for some it has already begun. Looking around the County this is what I see – Not much news from St. James in Encampment but I am sure that will change soon in a good way; St. Thomas is plugging along and it now seems funerals are coming up soon; St. Paul is shifting gears and getting prepared for (Rev) Warren Frelund’s visit this up-coming Sunday to help them understand and engage Deaconate (sorry Warren if I missed spelled that word) ministries; St. Luke’s is looking forward to the conclusion of the summer and the closing of the local museum for the season. I hope this letter finds you well.

Before I get going to far into reporting what has happened the past week, I was unable to make it to Fort Bridger and Green River for Sunday services. On Saturday night I hit a deer on I-80 right before Creston Junction. I am fine, but my car is off the road for the time being. Aw the joys of living with wild life so close to us.

Last Monday I caught up some administrative duties, got a newsletter written, scheduled a couple of meetings for the month of September in Rawlins, and helped put together a WebEx meeting for the Ministry Developers Collaborative. Tuesday I managed to connect with Andy as we continue to learn more about how to use WebEx and other features. That afternoon I was riding technology shot-gun with Andy with a web meeting with the Ministry Developer Collaborative. When the meeting came to a conclusion I headed out to Saratoga to meet with a preaching discernment group for Ralph Hicks who wants to discern a calling to preaching.

Wednesday I was on the weekly web/phone meeting with the ministry developers. We talked about what is taking place throughout the Diocese and received a book assignment for all of us to read. I am looking forward those discussions. There are some exciting events happening throughout the Diocese in different ways. I can tell the church is reorienting themselves for fall activities. Wednesday afternoon I had a great conversation with Jess Smith as we talked about Wyoming Wilderness Camp and other items about the work that we share. He has opened up for me another area worth exploring in spiritual discernment.

Thursday I meet with Karen in the morning as we mapped out the next three months of work. It was a good meeting and Karen has a clear focus with her formation work. I am looking forward to seeing what kinds of fruits will be harvested from her effort. That afternoon I headed down to LSRV for Compline and Sharing. Speaking from personal experience “Garvin” (a GPS system for cars) is not infallible and can take you on a strange journey. All was well and really enjoyed the stories that were shared, the food that we ate, and the laughter. Saturday morning I made some phone calls, sent a couple of e-mails and did some correspondence. I don’t have to go into much detail about what happened that evening.

The up-coming week looks like this – Monday there will be a joint Apostolic Team meeting on the web with Regions 4 & 5. Tuesday may be a day to deal with transportation issues. Wednesday is the weekly ministry developer web/phone meeting with an evangelism web/phone meeting that evening starting at 7pm. Thursday will be office hours at Kraft Hall in Rawlins and given if I have a set of wheels I will be going to Laramie to work on my personal project. Sunday I will be working with (Rev.) Warren Frelund at St. Paul’s in Dixon with a presentation and discussion about Deaconate ministries following the service.

Be well and talk to you all soon,

Doug

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County - August 23, 2009

August 23, 2009

Oh the lazy days of August summer! I think it is starting to act like summer around Carbon County, but don’t get your hopes up too high. School will be starting soon and that sounds like more like fall than summer. Looking around the area this is what is taking place – St. Thomas is plugging along, nothing to report other than I have been seeing members of St. Thomas out and about throughout the County; St. James is steady as she goes; St. Paul has a full week coming up with Summer Café (bible reflection) and Compline and Thanksgiving Service; I have spent some time this week working with St. Luke as we planned and hosted a funeral. I hope this letter finds you well.

This past Tuesday spent some time working on my contribution to the Evangelism project that Kathy Robinson has been leading. My specific task was to create bookmarks that could be handed to people throughout the Diocese. Kathy was happy with my work it is nice to learn a bit more about how to use Microsoft Word in new ways. I also worked on setting out a joint Apostolic Team meeting between Regions 4 & 5 that is scheduled for August 31, 2009. We will be using WebEx and I am becoming more familiar with how to make it work for our communication purposes. I am also planning on working with Andy to fine tune the process!

Wednesday the ministry developers had a limited amount of people on the weekly web/phone check in due to vacations and other activities. Those who did get on the call we had a chance to learn more about using WebEx by experimenting with different commands and choices that are offered. We try this and that and even those who are not completely comfortable with technology got in on the action and had some fun playing around. That afternoon I up-dated the Wyoming Wilderness Blog site and I can tell you Pat has been one busy dude this summer! That evening I met with the family of (Frank) Les Chessbrough from Medicine Bow. Les was 97 years old at the time of his death. The family lives in Rawlins, but they wanted to have the memorial service in Medicine Bow.

Thursday I traveled to Green River (St. John’s) for their final Wade in the Water Session. We had a good discussion. One question that was asked was what did you learn and one person noted that she always saw baptism was a means to staying out of the place that nobody wanted to go; but now she sees baptism as an invitation into ministry. What a moment of transformation. Green River is now looking at ways of presenting Wade in the Water to the entire congregation and I like their ideas! I will let you know how that turns out.

Friday I talked to Linda Wilson about what has been taking place in Green River and their plans to present Wade in the Water. That afternoon I caught up with Arlen in Laramie to plan a funeral for (Frank) Les Cheesebrough. Arlen worked on the printing out the service bulletin and I worked on writing the homily. On Saturday I traveled to Medicine Bow for the service itself.

Sunday I returned to Medicine Bow for the church service. I noted laughter and some great singing. Jane Ross came to us from Texas and is a great singer. She sang a couple of songs (sequence and offertory) and it was a blessing to hear her voice. During the Wade in the Water discussion we discovered that we had 7 out of 8 people active in the service ranging from reading, preaching, presiding, playing music, and singing. What a level of participation!

The up-coming week looks like this – Monday is an administrative day in which I am planning on making phone calls, writing a contribution to a newsletter and the like. Tuesday Andy and I will be playing around with WebEx and increasing our ability to use this platform for our communication purposes. That afternoon I will meet with a group of people in Saratoga to start the process of licensing a local preacher. Wednesday the ministry developers will be back in the saddle as we meet again for our weekly web/phone meeting. Thursday I meet with Karen during office hours at Kraft Hall in Rawlins. That afternoon I will be heading to LSRV (Little Snake River Valley) for a compline and thanksgiving service. Sunday I will be at Fort Bridger and Green River to preside.

Be well my friends.

Doug

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - August 17, 2009

August 17, 2009

Good morning fine folks you take time from their busy life to read a couple of words that I write on a weekly basis. I realized the other day that I have been doing these weekly up-dates for about nine years. That is amazing. When I was in college my writing skills were really lacking and my Grandfather (the guy was I named after) who is a good writer told me there is one proven way to improve your written communication skills is to write and write. Mission accomplished! Looking around Carbon County this is what I see. St. James (Encampment) had quite a gathering yesterday with families gathering from all their summer travel; St. Paul (Dixon) had family visiting and enjoying the lazy summer days before school starts up and I have heard favorable reports of the annual fall trip which a group from the church will be going to Yellowstone this year; I trust all is well at St. Luke’s (Medicine Bow) and I am looking forward to spending some time with them during this up-coming Sunday; St. Thomas is plugging along and have been working with Shirley Bates with pastoral care this past week. I hope this letter finds you well.

Monday (August 10) was a day of catching up and talking to Ministry Developers about various topics and happenings throughout the Diocese. I spoke with Linda Wilson about what is taking place in Region 5 as we work on our worship schedules and formation of the congregations that we work with. I got slightly confused on my scheduling with St. Paul and managed to miss everybody that day! It was quite amusing if you think about it, but the people in the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) took it all in stride.

Tuesday I spent about an hour with Andy was we continue to become more familiar with WebEx. WebEx is a program that is similar to Adobe Connect (but it is NOT Adobe Connect) in that it gives us (the Diocese) tools to communicate and to meet on-line. The more we become familiar with WebEx the more effective it will become in our gathering to do the work of the church. That afternoon I went to Saratoga to meet with Ralph Hicks to begin a process of discernment around preaching and getting licensed. I am looking forward to getting to know the people of Saratoga for the next six months or so.

Wednesday was the weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers. We are becoming more familiar with WebEx and our meeting was quite productive. We discovered that having the notes being posted for all to read as they are written was not necessary. The ministry developers worked on planning for convention, ethics on-line course, a continuing education opportunity, and general check in – all in one hour! Impressive. That evening the regional reps and ministry developers met for a conference call only to talk about Safeguarding God’s Children resolution along with another resolution around the Regional Reps that needs to be modified to reflect the life of the Diocese. We also talked about pre-convention attendance along with the Mustard Seed Projects. We have several Safeguarding God’s Children training opportunities coming up throughout the state and keep any eye out for those dates in the eSpirit. If you are not signed up to receive the eSpirit go to this site and sign on (on the right side of the page) http://www.wyomingdiocese.org/.

Thursday I was “on-call” for a pastoral concern for St. Thomas in Rawlins. There is an elderly woman in the hospital who desired prayers from a priest and her daughter had questions about who does the church respond to a person who may be in the process of dying. Shirley and I worked well as a team and all pastoral concerns were addressed and the family experienced peace.

Sunday I presided at two services. The first one was at St. James in Encampment. Olivia came
along and she kept asking where are the people? I smiled and said that we were a bit early and not to worry. Sure enough right around 9am everybody arrived and we had about 12 people in attendance. It was good to see all those smiling faces. That evening I drove to St. Paul’s in Dixon and had a good conversation with Linda Fleming as we waited for others to arrive for the service. Jill Webb brought real bread for the Eucharist. She was inspired by all the Gospel readings about the bread of life. The bread itself was made from all the ingredients from the Holy Lands it was good!






The up-coming week looks like this – Monday I am heading to Cheyenne for eye appointments. Tuesday will be an administrative day and working on various projects. Wednesday is the weekly web/phone meeting with the ministry developers. Thursday I will be heading to Green River for the final Wade in the Water session with St. John’s that is amazing! Friday I am heading to Laramie to work on my personal project. Sunday I will be heading to St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow to preside and planning on hosting Wade in the Water session following the service.






Be well my friends,

Doug

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County - August 10, 2009

Hello folks of Carbon County and beyond. I hope this month of August is treating you well. For those who live in Carbon County they can breathe a sigh of relief now that fair week is in the books. Kellie was talking to Reba from Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) and she has faithfully attended the County Fair for close to 60 years! I once read a quote from a person at the fair, “I live in Carbon County and I find my friends at the Fair.” It was a good time for all. St. James in Encampment is busy playing and I spoke to Roxan last week and she is engaged with fair activities; St. Thomas (Rawlins) is plugging along and from what I can gather enjoying the month of August; St. Paul continues to read the bible on book at a time; St. Luke is also enjoying their August summer month. With the conclusion of fair days it is a sign that summer is coming to a close and early fall is right around the corner. I hope this letter finds you well.

Last Monday I was privileged to spend an important hour with the folks of St. Thomas (Rawlins) for sermon preparation. I am now meeting with this group on the Monday before I am scheduled to preach to “check in” with the church and to discern with others about how God is calling St. Thomas to be the church in the world.

Our reflection time has a structure that has a gathering prayer, guiding principles, reflection on the Gospel, prayers of the people, Apostle’s creed, the Lord’s prayer, and wrapped up with a rule of life for the group. I also called the senior warden for the month at St. Thomas to start a conversation for a COM grant request from Karen Buckingham. I also got together with Andy Kerr of the Diocesan staff to become more familiar with WebEx. Kathy Robinson also called and we discussed her work with Evangelism.

Tuesday was a lighter day. I made a couple of phone calls and overall worked with helping Kellie prepare for fair. Wednesday was my web/phone conference day. It started with the Ministry Developers weekly check in call and we spent a bit more time this week learning about WebEx. We didn’t spend all our time playing around and learning this new platform. The Ministry Developers also discussed up-coming on-line Ethics Course that will be presented as a joint effort from EDS and the Diocese of Wyoming this fall. We also reviewed our scenario training. That evening I was a conference call (no web) with the Evangelism team and we discussed our work as a group. The Evangelism work is about how to do a theological reflection that expands our vision of God’s work in the world and in doing so we find connecting points with God’s work. Check out this web-site to learn more: http://wyoevangelism.ning.com/

Thursday I drove over to St. John’s (Green River) for another session of Wade in the Water. I am discovering some wonderful gifts about that church. They have a positive history of dealing with changes to their worship space and are open for more changes. They also have a good working model on how two different Christian Faith communities can share one space with harmony. Good stuff going on at St Johns. Also the group has met faithfully through the summer and that is no small feat!

Friday was a day of administrative work and not much to report in this posting. However, I have been working with Pat with the Wyoming Wilderness Camp this year and they have started a blog. It has been up-dated and worth checking out: http://www.wyomingwilderness2009.blogspot.com/

Saturday was the pre-convention meeting for the Diocese. Region 4 met in Laramie and was connected throughout the Diocese by compressed video. The bishop made a brief statement about the state of the Diocese and his experiences as he travels throughout Wyoming. The budget was discussed and a resolution was proposed about Safeguarding God’s Children training.

Sunday I was at St. Thomas to preside. There was a new family in attendance that Sunday and she seemed like she enjoyed the service. There also been a family coming from Wamsutter with their new born child who seems only happy in her father’s arms. There was a brief vestry meeting to sign a letter of support for Karen Buckingham’s grant request from the COM and some more discussion about the Mustard Seed Money’s. I can say that the Mustard Seed Project is doing its job people are talking about mission.

This week looks like this: Monday I am headed to St. Paul’s (Dixon aka LSRV) for the summer café bible reflection. Tuesday I am heading to Saratoga to begin talking about how to license a local preacher. Wednesday is the weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers and that evening the Regional Reps and the Ministry Developers will also have a web/phone conference. Thursday it is looking like I will be having office hours at Kraft Hall (Rawlins). Sunday I will presiding at two services starting at St. James (Encampment) @ 9am and that evening I will be at St. Paul’s (Dixon) @ 5pm.

Be well my friends!

Doug

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - August 2, 2009

Hello August which for most of us it is the beginning of Carbon County Fair Week (a big deal for this part of Wyoming and for the Wasingers in Rawlins). I am coming off a great week of vacation and had a productive week in Ministry Development throughout this region. A quick glance around the County looks like this … St. Thomas (Rawlins) has worked hard through the month of July and is taking a well earned break from the business end of the church for recreation; St. James (Encampment) has been enjoying the summer and is now fully engaged with fair activities; St. Paul (Dixon) working through haying season and is moving toward fair week with enthusiasm; St. Luke (Medicine Bow) is working to support the local museum through the summer months. I hope this letter finds you well.

Before I move into up-dating people about the past week I want people to notice the picture of Alexis. Yup that is a rainbow trout that she caught by herself during our vacation two weeks ago. It is 17 inches long and she is planning on eating it with my folks in a couple of week in Colorado Springs. Alexis is quite a fisherwoman!

Last Monday I returned from vacation and jumped right back into the waters of the church by taking the plunge into the Summer Bible Café reflection at St. Paul’s in Dixon. They have now completed 2 Chronicles (the 14th book in the Bible) and will be reading Ezra for next week. They have been gathering faithfully for the past couple of years every other Monday to share what they have read, ask the community questions about what they read, and share food afterwards. It is a good time to laugh and read the bible one book at a time.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Casper for a face to face Ministry Developer meeting. The first day we learned about using WebEx a platform similar to Adobe Connect in which we can conduct meetings on-line. The Diocese of Wyoming has been graciously been extended support from EDS in allowing us to use their Adobe Connect platform, but is now time for Wyoming to stand on their own technological feet. So, for those who have been using Adobe Connect to meet on-line keep an eye out for changes that will be taking place in the weeks and months to come. Also the Ministry Developers were given “soft phones” as another effective tool for communication throughout the Diocese. More details on how that works will be coming out in the weeks and months to come. We wrapped up Tuesday activities by spending the evening at Kathy Robinson’s wonderful house for dinner.

Wednesday the Ministry Developers worked on scenarios. The purpose of this work was to think ahead for about 10 years and tell stories around different themes. The themes that we talked about were evolution of the Diocese, a revolution within the Diocese, a win/lose situation in the Diocese, and a challenge and response in the Diocese. The exercise generated great insights in regards to our work as Ministry Developers and I think it has clarified the work ahead. It has me thinking about the future in a more proactive way.

On Thursday I spend the morning at Kraft Hall summarizing the scenario work. That afternoon I sat down with Karen Buckingham of St. Thomas (Rawlins) to plan out our work for the coming months. Warren Frelund called me that afternoon and requested that he change his visit to St. Paul’s (Dixon) on Sunday and he was able to work out the details. What that meant for me was that I had to regroup quickly and write a sermon on Saturday. No problems when it comes to working with St. Paul they simply roll with the events.

Sunday I was at St. Paul’s in Dixon and Olivia came along. She requested that she light the candles and then she went into the parish hall to color and make pictures. The church was full of familiar faces which were nice considering that the Valley is in the middle of haying season and working hard to put up the hay for the winter months. When it was time to distribute the bread and wine, Olivia ran up to the doorway between the church and the parish hall took communion and then ran back to her table. What an image to keep in mind … a child running to be fed by God’s blessing with a smile on their face.

Looking forward to upcoming week is starts on Monday with a Gospel Reflection time at St. Thomas (Rawlins) beginning @ 9am. At 10:30 am Andy and I are going to woodshed WebEx for about an hour to learn more about how to make this technology work for us rather us working for the technology! Tuesday will be my planned day off for the week and I am planning on going fishing again in the Snowies. Wednesday I have the weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers and that evening @ 6pm I will be on another web/phone meeting with the Evangelism team of Wyoming. Thursday I will be heading to St. John’s (Green River) for a Wade in the Water – Session 5 starting @ 6:30 pm. Friday will be a day to catch up on all the other items that I missed throughout the week. Saturday is the Pre-Convention meeting and for Region 4 we will be meeting in Laramie starting at noon. This up-coming Sunday I will be presiding at St. Thomas (Rawlins) @ 9:30 am.

Be well my friends and enjoy fair week!

Doug