Hello everybody. It is another beautiful week in Carbon County. This past week I stayed a bit closer to Rawlins. One of the few extra ministry activities that I participate in as a way to give back to the local community is being a chaplain for the Police Department. As it turns out this was a good week to be “on call” due to my travel commitments were a bit lighter. The girls are in Wheatland this week (Spring Break) and so Kellie and I are enjoying (I think) a bit a quiet. It was a technology connecting week as we use WebEx and now video compression technology to connect throughout the state. I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): Last Monday (April 12th) I started my day by meeting with Kathleen at Kraft Hall to review the upcoming gospel reading. It was an informative time as we read out loud the gospel and reflect on what we heard. The nets didn’t break really jumped out at me this time around as I pondered how God’s relationship with the Church does not break. Sure there seems to be times in which the relationship will be stretched, but it is never broken. Talking about Kraft Hall I spend about an hour and half there on Wednesday. During my time there I was able to post my dates for the coming week, and input a couple of announcements for Sunday. Thursday and Friday I was at the church testing the compressed video unit to make sure I could connect with ease and trouble shoot any problems as they may have come up. Like any first run activities there were a couple of glitches and they were resolved. Sunday I arrived at St. Thomas to preside. The music was really good the worship was good. The church looks really bright. That afternoon Shane and I worked together getting “Liturgy and Architecture” broadcast ready to go. In my mind it was a success! I am looking forward to many more of these kinds of events.
St. Paul (Dixon): Yesterday I drove to Dixon for the 5pm service. When I arrived there were only four people as we got prepared and sat down for a moment of silences and getting ready to go. Then one person came in followed by another family and then another family arrived and we had normal attendance. That was really neat. As the people gathered to receive communion a boy of about the age of 3 befriended George Salisbury and went forward to receive the communion with his parents on the other end of the rail. Ah, the feel of family.
St. James (Encampment): Last Wednesday I met with the leadership of that church who live in Rawlins for lunch. As we caught up with what took place over Easter and like. We all laughed when I told them about my time in Encampment a couple of Sundays ago and then we moved on to the parish hall plans. At first it seemed like the project was not moving forward, yet the more we talked energy began to develop. It was decided that they will continue to put a plan together and to move forward in this vision. Then we moved on to talking about finishing up Wade in the Water.
St. Luke (Medicine Bow): Well I received news about St. Luke’s after this posting was sent and it was encouraging. A couple of Sunday’s ago one of the regulars (she considers herself a Methodist but is quite comfortable worshiping with Episcopalians) has a group of kids who like to sing. So, they are making the rounds in the churches and they arrived at St. Luke’s. With kids come parents and the like and so they had a full church! Great news.
Ministry Developers: Last Tuesday (April 13) there was a WebEx meeting with Latino/Hispanic Ministries. During our time together we learned more about the demographics and current approaches to this ministry. Jackson Hole was on the call and they are working hard in establishing an outreach into this very segment of our population. They have two programs – Breaking Cultural Barriers and Bilingual Summer Youth Program and more information about that could be found at this link. Wednesday was my WebEx day in which it started with the weekly WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers. We talked about Wyoming Weekend and putting on the final touches of that event, planned the Regional Rep and Ministry Developers meeting which is today at 5:30pm, and finally we talked about agenda items for our face to face meeting next week. That evening I was another WebEx meeting with the Evangelism Team was continue to practice our ability to think theologically and connect with our stories with others beyond the church.
What is coming up? Monday I have a WebEx meeting with the Regional Reps and Ministry Developers at 5:30pm. Tuesday will be a personal office day in which I will begin writing a sermon for St. Luke, continue to work on a stewardship/value presentation and other various little projects. Wednesday there is a WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers @ 8am, office hours at Kraft Hall in Rawlins (10:30 am to 12pm), and another WebEx Meeting with the Wyoming Wilderness Camp as they move toward the summer season. Thursday Kellie, Alexis and I will be heading to Littleton Colorado to meet with a specialist on Dyslexia for an all day event. Friday is one of those days that I will catch up on any loose ends from the week. Saturday I will be participating in a Taekwondo tournament (a personal goal of mine) in Green River. Sunday I will be at St. Luke’s for a service and following the service we will begin to plan our summer months.
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