The year 2010 is drawing to a close. It is natural to take this week between Christmas and New Years to think and review all that has taken place. As I write this letter I am surprised to discover that much has taken place. At the Diocesan level we said good-bye to one bishop and welcomed another. The first part of 2010 was about the walk-about and election. The Ministry Developers said good-bye to Rev. Margaret Babcock, Rev. Warren Frelund, Rev. Tommy Means, Rev. Linda Wilson, and Rev. Kathy Robinson; the Ministry Developers also welcomed Rev. Joel Dingman, Rev. Melinda Bobo, Rev. Roy Walworth, and Rev. Walt Seeley. The Diocesan Staff also has been through some changes with Andy Kerr, Katie and Pat Walsh all moving on to explore and do other things and welcomed Rev. Tristan English. This time of a year is bitter/sweet as we say good-bye and welcome. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. Luke (Medicine Bow): Prior to Christmas I spoke to Arlen on the phone. As it turned out one of the steady members of the church was not able to attend the Christmas service this year. Her family arrived a week early and she spent the holidays with her children. Yet the show went on and I heard that there were 21 people in attendance! It is looking like a new tradition is starting to form in Medicine Bow when it comes to Christmas services. That is encouraging news.

St. Thomas(Rawlins): These past couple of weeks have been full of fruitful activities. I have heard in passing that St. Thomas sponsored a family for Christmas and used some of their Mustard Seed Money to make a bleak Christmas a brighter one for a family in Rawlins. There was a soup and sharing dinner on the Monday prior to Christmas in which some honest and open sharing was done in preparation for the arrival of the Christ child that changed everything. I was able to participate in the worship event at St. Thomas from the pews. Sticking with the good-bye and welcoming theme (with an emphasis on welcoming) St. Thomas experienced their first Christmas with their local priest preaching and presiding. That is a major mile stone for this congregation.

St. James (Encampment): I started my Christmas Eve day in Encampment and worshiped with the congregation of St. James. I arrive and the parking lot was plowed! I was told that the snow was really high, but some of it had melted off. The people in attendance participated in an activity in which they were invited to “Look around you People of God” with the intention that they will discover that God was present among them (sticking with the idea that God was born as child and lived among us human beings). It went really well. This congregation will be saying good bye to no more running water and hello to a parish hall with running water! We also prayed for one of the grand-daughters of the member of the church as she will be deployed in Afghanistan for four months. We pray for a speedy return to the United States.

St. Paul's(Dixon/LSRV): Sunday the 19^th I spend my whole day in the valley. It started with preaching and presiding, followed by a Ministry Support Team (aka MST) meeting in which this congregation is using the “wheel” to lead the discussion, and then I ate lunch and the Senior Center. After having a wonderful meal and fellowship I headed to 3 Ladder Ranch to visit with the Salisburys. After my visit I returned to St. Paul's to wish Jesus happy birthday. On Christmas Eve I arrived to visit the Salisburys again and to pay George a visit along with his extended family. As it turned out George passed away on Christmas night around 10pm. The evening service at St. Paul's was a fun event and there was a young couple (mostly my age!) who are musically talented and they led “Silent Night” by playing the flute and singing the first verse. It was a holy moment. George's memorial service will be January 3^rd at 11 am in Baggs.

What is coming up? It is a quieter week for me (as you can see I am writing in the middle of the week). I will be meeting with “building committee” of St. Thomas as they work through figuring out the next steps in building a lift for the church at 3pm on Wednesday. On Sunday I will be preaching and presiding at St. Thomas starting at 9:30 am and then I will be going to St. Paul's for a 3pm service. Monday I will be spending most of the day in the Little Snake River Valley attending to George Salisbury's Memorial.

Like I said, there has been some saying good-bye and welcoming that took place during 2010. It looks like 2011 will be more changes that will be woven throughout the entire Diocese. Take time to mourn what has been lost and celebrate the new discoveries of the coming year. Happy New Year!