Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

It is truly amazing how well prepared plans get changed at a moment’s notice. This past week was one of those kinds of weeks. Somehow and some way I was able to accomplish must of what I wanted to get done, however it took some adjustments on the fly. It is starting to feel like spring which means at my weeks are quickly filling up with activities with the girls as their fall/winter activities draw to a close and summer activities are getting planned. This is the same with the churches. People are getting ready for the summer months which are most often filled with travel and other leisure activities. For the next couple of weeks it would be a good time to plan lightly and prepare for a major event in July the installment of the Bishop Elect John Smylie. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. Paul’s (Dixon): I caught up with the fine folks of Little Snake River Valley aka LRSV today (May 16) at church. The day was perfect for traveling as the day was crisp and clear. The cows were not on the road (a good thing considering this is the time of year for them to be moved around). I arrived to look up and notice that the bell tower is in a state of repair. I heard a funny story about that bell tower before we got started for the church service. The kids from ARK (Amazing River Kids) were gathering last Thursday and one of the events is to ring the bell. The poor guy was working on it when the kids pulled the rope! The adults went out later and found that he packed up and went home. I am sure he will be back; however, he will stop working when the kids arrive. I also heard that the prayer shawls are making a noticeable presence in the valley itself. This is good news.

St. Thomas (Rawlins): I met with the Ministry Support Team last Thursday. We are currently working through customaries. They have finished up weddings and now they are looking at funerals. When this is completed they will the look at baptism. This is important work. I stay briefly after the MST meeting and spoke with the vestry and gave my report. My report included vacation times (I am taking time for holiday in June, July and August) and the up-coming Safe Guarding God’s People presentation and the preaching workshop in June.

St. James (Encampment): Not much to report at this time as they begin to work on putting together the details for the CCW BBQ in August. I am looking forward to hearing their progress on the putting together a bid to build a parish hall with a bathroom in the coming weeks.

St. Luke (Medicine Bow): Again not much to report other that I spoke to Arlen last Friday about the passing of his sister. This was expected but Arlen will have to spend some time on travel and preparing for her funeral. We decided that I will preach on the up-coming Sunday and so Arlen would not have to be concerned about writing a sermon among all the other activities that he needs to tend to.

Ministry Development: Last Thursday (May 13) I traveled to Laramie and caught up with Pat to begin preparing for Safe Guarding God’s People presentation. I will be putting together an electronic information packet for those who will be taking the training. Please contact me or Andrew Kerr andrew@wyomingdiocese to let one of know that you are planning on participating.

What is on deck for this coming week? Monday I will be traveling to LSRV for their bi-monthly Spring Bible Café as we read the Psalms and that evening I will be meeting the Regional Reps and Ministry Developers for our monthly WebEx meeting. Wednesday I will be starting my day with the weekly WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers then head over to Kraft Hall for a couple of hours. That evening I will be meeting with Jason and Nicki to continue on their pre-marriage counseling. Thursday and Friday are days for sermon writing and general correspondence that I need to catch-up on. Saturday will be the Safe Guarding God’s People presentation on the video compression network from 9am to 12pm. Sunday I will be heading to St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow for Pentecost (Happy Birthday Church!) with the service starting at 10:30am. Have a great week!