I hope the promise and discovery of the empty tomb does not turn out to be an April fool’s joke! Easter has arrived early this year but I am glad it is here. The Holy Week Events did its work as Thursday I began to get restless, Friday I was grumpy, by Saturday Evening I was hopeful and by Sunday I was excited about the possibilities of a fresh start. This Easter Sunday was the most relaxing since my arrival in Carbon County in 2003 because there are three priests serving at different levels (one associated priest, a local priest, and a Ministry Developer) and four congregations who are “partnered” with the Bishop’s Office. Everybody was taken care of and I didn’t have to run all around Carbon County. A couple of years ago I received a ticket trying to make up time, but this year I took my time! I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Paul’s (Dixon): I made three different trips to the Little Snake River Valley (aka LSRV) last week. The first trip I made was last Monday to meet with the mother of Aurora Elizabeth Jackson whom we baptized on Easter! Linda Fleming and I met with Ashley (the mother) to talk about baptism and discovered that Ashley has been a lifelong Episcopalian in Wyoming who traveled along the I-80 corridor. Friday I returned to the LSRV for Stations of the Cross and Good Friday Services. After the service Linda noticed that I need to make some additions to the Baptismal Certificate which I did. Sunday I awoke, noticed the usual spring snow storm got an early start and arrived at St. Paul’s in good time. I shared with the congregation that I think Mother Nature is getting a bit carried away with the Easter season colors with all the white on the ground! It was a good service and before I returned to Rawlins I stopped by and visited with a long time member of St. Paul’s for a Eucharistic Visit.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): Tuesday I caught up with Andrew Kerr the Director of Communications of the Diocese of Wyoming to install the video compression equipment at St. Thomas. Don (the junior warden) joined us as we put together the equipment and did a quick test run. You can check out these pictures to see what we did. On Maundy Thursday I presided at St. Thomas. When I arrived it was like a bit of a home coming with the O’Connell’s had returned from points south. It was nice to see familiar faces. As we stripped the altar I left the church with an empty feeling in my heart. On Saturday I returned to St. Thomas to join the monthly worship breakfast in which we talked about planning services for the up-coming month of May. St. Thomas will be looking at engaging some continuing formation this fall.
St. Luke’s (Medicine Bow): I arrived just in time for the Easter Vigil Services on Saturday in Medicine Bow. Kellie and the girls had decided to go to Wheatland this year for Easter and so the Wasingers decided to have a small celebration as a family before we headed in different directions. Everybody seemed to be in good spirits and I found my spirit being lifted as I heard the stories of creation and restoration being told. I have found this service to be moving and this year the story about the dry bones spoke to me. I pray for a spirit of renewal and excitement for the church for years to come.
St. James (Encampment): I attempted to contact Roxan last week and left a message, but the week got away from me. I don’t have much to report another than Jess Smith reported that they had a good Palm Sunday Service and he was looking forward to celebrating Easter with them this year. I am looking forward to catching up with the fine folks of St. James this coming Sunday.
Ministry Developers: We met on-line using WebEx for our weekly check in. This week we reviewed the plans for Wyoming Weekend (April 23rd through 25th) that will be held in the Riverton area this year. Also we continue to look at Latino Ministry opportunities which are rich in Carbon County due to the demographical information that we have on hand. There will be a practice WebEx meeting on April 7th with a more informative WebEx meeting on April 13, 2010.
What is coming up? Tuesday I will be writing my sermon and sticking close to the home office. I will make phone calls; write e-mails and other administrative tasks. Wednesday is a full day that starts with the weekly WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers and then I will head to Kraft Hall for a couple of hours. While I am at Kraft Hall I will put together my Ministry Developer’s report for St. Thomas’ vestry and get with Stephanie about next week dates. St. Thomas will begin their confirmation class (I will not be needed for this and that is great news!). That evening I will be on a WebEx meeting to practice Moodle using WebEx and the like for the Latino Ministry. Thursday I will be gathering with the Ministry Support Team of St. Thomas (Rawlins) @ 5:30pm. Friday I will be heading to Casper to meet with Linda Wilson along with Margaret Babcock to review some common goals that Linda and I will be working on together for the coming months. Saturday will be my unofficial day off!
Welcome to the season of Easter! May it be full of unexpected surprised as you meet the resurrected Christ.
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