Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

Does it seem that the month of March stretches on and on? Where February was quick this month seems to go on forever. Well this is the last Monday of this month and now it seems that everything is happening quickly. As the fine folks of St Luke pointed out their Bishop Visit in about two week away. Now that came up quickly. As I put together my pictures for this posting I realized there was a theme. Everybody was smiling. That sure seems counter to the idea of Lent, but this year I think it is appropriate. There is much to be grateful about. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. Luke's (Medicine Bow): Last Thursday I drove through town and picked up Lillian and together we headed to Laramie to meet with Alren's preaching discernment group at St. Matthews. Arlen has put together a fine group who asked good questions about the process and expectations. Two churches will be working together in this effort. St. Matthews will be working on Arlen's theological development and St. Luke's will be working on presentation and content of the sermons. Together, along with the prompting of God's calling, we will discover the abundance of God's love among us. Yesterday the dedicated members of St. Luke's gathered after the service to (a) plan the Bishop Visit in April and (b) to plan a DiSC(r) training using the Biblical Profile System. There was some discussion about replacing a furnace for next year. There was honest sharing and I am looking forward to seeing what God does with our prayers and dreams.

St James (Encampment): I have been in conversation about the building of a parish hall. They want to respond to an e-mail that was sent to them from the UTO. During the pondering of the e-mail that there may be a time line issue that needed to be worked out. I am really impressed with the attitude of integrity. I am confident that God will honor the intention of the spirit of honestly and openness that this faithful group of people bring to this effort. I also have been working with Vonnie to make plans for the Bishop Visit in May and this event will be shared with St. Barnabas in Saratoga. It looks like that is coming together nicely and once again another opportunity for different Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Wyoming are working together for the grace of God.

St Thomas (Rawlins): I met with the Gospel Group last Tuesday and I didn't envy the preach last week the reading was full of threads and ideas for preaching. I shared with Arlen (who preached at St Luke's) that it was almost too much to cover and one had to pick to one idea and allow the grace knowing that there will be more preaching events in the future. I didn't make it to Rhythms of Grace, but I did receive a picture and it looked like the kids were having a great time. Last night I did make it to the Square Dancing event at the Jeffery Center and members of the Methodist Church were counted among the crowd. It was fun watching people dance. The caller was good and in some ways when we listen to God as the caller we all can dance and beautiful dance. When I got home the middle child took some paper, cut it up in the shape of people, taped them together, and showed Kellie and I what she did at the Jeffery Center. Yup, it was people square dancing. Nice image.

St. Paul (Dixon): This was my off week and I did not travel to the Valley. Linda wrote a sermon this week and I read it. I was impressed with the theme of invitation and sharing what it means to being an Episcopalian. We are often a bashful bunch when it comes to sharing our faith with others, well simply because we (as a church) are people who prefer to have our actions do our talking. Yet, talking also requires listening. Linda has gently pulled out the power of sharing and the importance of sharing the Good News of Christ with others. It is not about recruiting, but caring for one another.

What is coming up? Today (Monday) is a WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers at 8 am. Then I head to Baggs to meet with the Spring Bible Cafe group at 2 pm. Tuesday I will be meeting with the Gospel Group of St. Thomas at Kraft Hall starting at 9 am. Wednesday is office hours at Kraft Hall from 10 am to 12 pm. That afternoon I will be meeting with the Communications Visioning Group via the VTC at 3 pm. Thursday is sermon writing day. Saturday I meet with the preaching ministry group of St. Thomas at 10 am. Sunday I will be preaching and presiding at two churches starting at St. Thomas (Rawlins) at 9:30 am and St. Paul's (Dixon) at 3pm. There will be a Ministry Support Team meeting following the service at St. Paul's. Keep on smiling!