St. Thomas (Rawlins): For reasons that are not easily understood it was a week of closure for this Episcopal community of faith. On Monday (July 26th) afternoon in the warm sun, we said good bye to a person who left her mark on the hearts of many in Rawlins. Her life was not always easy and she may have not always believed in God, God always believed in her. The presence of so many family and friends at the graveside is a witness to the love of Christ. Where relationships may be strained, they will not be broken. Following that same theme, on Thursday (July 29th) another chapter of life was brought to a close with the laying of rest of two parents who had died over seven years ago. There is something deeply healing as we say good bye to our loves ones with the assurance that we will meet again in the fuller presence of God.Karen continues to work on her Family System’s work and shared with a reflection group at St. Thomas some of the concepts that she has been learning for the past six months. She talked about the difference between chronic and acute stress and how that effects churches. She also talked about our tendency to focus on our weakness at the expense of our strengths and we need to celebrate our success from time to time. Karen also reviewed that on-going dynamic of triangles in our relationships and how we need to remain focused on how they are working in our relationship in our personal and church families.
On Sunday (August 1st) I presided at St. Thomas. It has been over a month since I last presided in Rawlins. It was good to see everybody. The service was a break from the normal routine in that music was not played. The change was nice and it invited all of us into a deeper more rich relationship with God in the silence. The music brings a nice contrast to the different ways we worship as a church.
As you can read, I spent most of last week working with St. Thomas.
St. Paul (Dixon): Last Sunday evening I presided at St. Paul’s in Dixon. There was a good feel that carried over from the Installment and Consecration of Rt. Rev. John Smylie. This Episcopal Community of Faith was very proud of their banner and cross stands that were made. You can see from the picture they are unique and special. As the Prayers of the People were being said, a request was made for rain and within minutes the rain began to fall. It was nice timing due to the fact the church was a bit warm. As I was wrapping up and heading out the door one of the parishioners noted that I am a special priest that has my very own acolyte who will travel with me (my middle daughter). He was right!
St. James (Encampment): I have been in conversation with this group around two things. One, I talked to the members of the church asking about their thoughts about attending the Seating of the Bishop on August 8th in Laramie and as it turns out this will work out just fine. Most of the congregation will be engaged in other activities as they wrap-up the last of the summer activities. I have also been talking to them about moving forward the Church in the Park gathering that is scheduled for August 22nd. This is going to be a fine day even if the rain comes. It was good to see St. James being represented at the Installment and Consecration in Casper last Saturday. Yes, they picked up their plant and took it back to Encampment.
St. Luke (Medicine Bow): Here is a community that works hard to include everybody. It was a joyous event for them in Casper last Saturday as they too had a great opportunity to participate in the life of the larger Diocese. Both members of the church made it a point to come over and say hi to my family and me. The smiles they had on their face were one of pride. I am really proud of their dedication to the church. On another note there was a gentleman who was on a journey throughout Carbon County. He visited St. Thomas (Rawlins) on Sunday morning, traveled over to St. James (Encampment) and saw the church. He then traveled over to St. Luke’s (Medicine Bow) and read the overall church schedule that is posted on the door and drove to St. Paul’s (Dixon) and arrived just in time to enjoy the coffee hour. Talk about connectivity!
Ministry Developers: It is nice to have the Bishop in place now. The liturgy was powerful and I was deeply moved during the litany with the music playing in the background. Talk about emotional impact! I enjoyed the sermon and fully understand that not all of us are called for that kind of work; however a couple of quotes resonated with me. We are all one family. I agree with that even if we are dysfunctional we are still one in Baptism. Bring on the love! And we all may have come over in different ships, but we are all in the same boat now! Without a doubt! I am looking forward to working with my fellow sailors in this boat called the church.What is coming up? Today (Tuesday) is a day for me to work around the office and slow down a bit from all the traveling over the weekend and Monday. It also seems like a day to work on weddings as I put together a bulletin for a wedding on August 14th in Vedauwoo and start my correspondence in regards to my cousin wedding in September in California. Wednesday I will be assisting in the planning of the Church in the Park, office hours, scheduling a MST (Ministry Support Team) meeting for St. Thomas. Thursday I will be attending a memorial service for Bob Woodhouse at St. Thomas in Rawlins. Friday will be an official day off as I tinker around the house. Saturday is a graveside service for Henry Smith Larson in Rawlins. Sunday I will be traveling over to Laramie to participate in the Seating of the Bishop at 9:30am. Take care everybody.
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