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The last time I wrote it was the beginning of April and now we are looking straight at Holy Week. Where did the time go? Last week I was in Jackson Hole for a clergy and spouse retreat and it was a good time to reconnect with the preaching ministry of the priestly office. It was also a good time to relax and slow down which I did. I remember that I live in a world of unlimited possibilities and what the church will be celebrating in a week's time is a great example of what could happen in the world of unknowns! I also reminded myself about possibilities for the Episcopal Church, which is that the church does belong in the midst of many conversations that are taking place in our lives. God has a powerful and attractive voice and will lead us to new breakthroughs and new levels of understanding. Yes, I am gearing up for Holy Week. Before I get there however, perhaps revisiting what has happened is in order. I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Paul's (Dixon): The past couple of weeks I entered a different pattern. Two weeks ago the faithful group of St. Paul's met to continue to read the bible and I was not there. I was in Jackson Hole enjoying the retreat. The wonderful news I did receive was that Linda Fleming has been officially recognized as a Postulant which is an important step in the process toward holy orders. Yes folks it is official Linda Fleming has completed her paperwork and the clock now starts. This Sunday I preached and presided at St. Paul's. We marched around the parish hall because it was raining outside and concluded the service with the reading of the Passion. Linda and I co-read and it worked really well. After the service we all headed over to the Senior Center for lunch and then to the Savory Museum to listen to stories of people's lives. When I arrived another St. Paul parishioner was a bit nervous because she didn't know if anybody would come, the fears were unfounded the event well attended. I was deeply moved and touched by what I heard. It was impressive.
St. James (Encampment): Two weeks ago St. James had their quarterly meeting. There was a slight change in how this work was done because in the past quarterly meetings were not held. This group of people are getting more organized and prepared for the next level of performance as a community of faith. I see big things happening there. A personal goal was also met this week. I have been working with DiSCtm off and on since 2007 and received training how to become a facilitator of this material in January of 2011. Once of the insight modules is called Biblical Personal Profile System. The fine people of St. James agreed to participate in the training and so we met for a training on Saturday. Toward the end of our time together people were laughing and asking good questions and getting new insights for themselves and others. It was a successful training.
St Luke (Medicine Bow): I have been in conversation with Arlen about the bishop visit and other important event that took place in Medicine Bow. The powerful and moving news that I received was one of reconciliation between a mother and her son. Talk about an affirmation about the work that God has called us to do in the ministry or restoring what has been broken. All those miles of driving and time sitting in a car driving around is paid in full when I hear about these kinds of stories and events. The plans for the Bishop visit are set for this week.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): I met with the Ministry Support Team aka MST last week and we quickly reviewed all that is taking place in the five areas of ministry by using what I call the Ministry Circle. The Ministry Circles looks at five areas of a church's life – administration, formation, transformation, worship, and pastoral care. After the MST meeting I participated in the vestry meeting. The bulk of the work was a discussion about how St. Thomas understands the role and expectation of a priest and how that is different from a rector. It was a productive meeting. I believe St. Thomas is on the edge of a powerful breakthrough and because of that conversation I am in a better position to respond to questions about priest, rectors, and ministry developers. This conversation has powerful implications in my ministry. I am excited about the future.
What is coming up? Well we all know it is Holy Week which means the drama of Jesus' final week on earth will be played out in our liturgy. Monday I will be close to home and I will attempt to get some preliminary work done on sermons for the week. Tuesday I will be visiting with those who are attending the Gospel Study at St. Thomas at 9 am. Wednesday is the Bishop Visit at St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. Thursday I will be participating in an Agape Meal at St. Thomas that starts at 5:30 pm. Following the meal I will be preaching and presiding at the Maundy Thursday Service and the stripping of the altar. Friday I will be leading a Good Friday Service at St. Paul's in Dixon and we will also be doing Stations of Cross that day as well. Saturday I will be heading to St. Luke's in Medicine Bow for their Easter Vigil Service that starts at 4pm. On Sunday I will be heading to St. Paul's in Dixon for the Easter Sunday services. Just like that I have worked with four churches in Carbon County! By the way or BTW if you are looking for Jesus in the tomb he is not there, he is found among the living!
April has arrived and so did the snow! What fun. One person noted as she headed out the door, “It looks like Christmas Eve.” Kellie was sharing with me last week that on the world wide scene, Easter is bigger than Christmas. Well, we are three weeks away from the grand event. It appeared to me to be a slower week. I think that has more to do with travel. I did all my traveling in the first part of the week and stayed closer to Rawlins from Wednesday forward. I am starting to really appreciate the VTC and I hope that will be a well used tool in the coming months and years. I am still quite aware that we are an incarnational people which means sharing the same air is important and I don't think technology will ever replace the face to face interaction. Talking about interaction lets move on to the events of past week. I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Paul's (Dixon): Last week I attended the bi-monthly Spring Bible Cafe. They are working through Jeremiah and it is dark. It also turns out that the assigned daily readings also come from Jeremiah. The insight that I gained last Monday was that God did not ask for much, but what was asked was important – worship and obedience. Simple concept hard to apply. Much like this quote - “If things were simple, word would have gotten around.” - Jacques Derrida. Yesterday I arrived at St. Paul's for church service. A parishioner noted, “If I can make it to school to read to kids, I can make it to church.” I am happy to hear about that simple logic. Following the service we had a brief vestry meeting to look over the financial and plan some more congregational development work. St. Paul's agreed to participate in a DiSCtm Biblical profile workshop this June. That now makes three out of four congregations that I work with who have made the commitment to this training with DiSCtm. Simple and powerful.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): It was quiet in the office at Kraft Hall last week. I provided my dates for the coming week (this week) and made and received a couple of phone calls. Last Saturday I met with the preaching group and Bob and I talked about what is taking place around St. Thomas and possible ways of “changing up” the preaching both in content and presentation. It was a productive meeting. Yesterday I preached and presided at the first part of the service and the Rev. Karen Buckingham (the locally call priest of St Thomas) celebrated the Eucharist. I believe this is an effective image of shared ministry and it was nice to participate in this sharing of the work of the Lord with others.
St. Luke (Medicine Bow): I received a call from Arlen as they finalize plans for the Bishop visit that is coming up in about two weeks. It was agreed upon that starting at 9am may be a bit early and so they will need to make some slight adjustments. I also heard about a pastoral concern and that person is in my prayers. I am also in the process of calling other people to see if they want to participate in the DiSCtm training that is schedule for this June.
St. James (Encampment): Not much to report this week. I am sure the work on building the parish hall continues to unfold. Given that spring has not made up it mind if it is going to stick around I am sure has a slight impact on start dates. Nevertheless, here is a group that does not get to easily alarmed and I am sure everything is progressing quite nicely in that part of the state.
Ministry Development: I met with three other people last Wednesday to continue the work on visioning the communications throughout the Diocese of Wyoming looking at five to ten years out. I was quite impressed with the use of the VTC and how effective it was to met with two people in Casper, one person in Jackson Hole, and one person in Rawlins almost effortlessly. I can see more meetings like this taking place in the future. This way of gathering is easy on the travel of vehicles, time, and effort and I like it. Again simple.
What is coming up? Tuesday I meet with the Gospel Study group of St. Thomas at 9am. Following that meeting the Rev. Karen Buckingham invited me to sit in on a conversation with a person who is inquiring about the Episcopal Church. Wednesday is an administrative day, however I will not be in Kraft Hall this week. Thursday I head to Casper for a DiSCtm training and a WebEx meeting with the regional reps and ministry developers at 5:30 pm. Friday I will be on a DiSCtm and Discipleship coaching call at 12:30 pm for an hour. Saturday St. Thomas Worship Breakfast takes place at 8:30 am at McDonalds. Sunday I will be preaching and presiding at St. James in Encampment and from there I will head to Jackson Hole for the clergy retreat that will conclude on Tuesday at noon. Have a great week that is simple and transformative.
St. Luke (Medicine Bow): Last Wednesday I was slightly detained in Rawlins before arriving in time to receive a quick bit to eat with the fine folks of St. Luke's in Medicine Bow at the Dip. That location has some really amazing wood carvings and wonderful paintings of the local ranches on the ceiling. For all my years of traveling to that quite little town I never knew about that wonderful treasure. Because we were looking at Holy Week the Bishop lead a Tenebre Service on Wednesday evening. We had to use our imagination and picture the church dark as the candles lit and extinguished. It was a moving service. On Saturday I arrived before the Rounds (that does not happen!) and talked to a long standing member of the church. As it turned out one of her best friends from Medicine Bow daughter was in town and wanted to attend the service. It was nice to show off St. Luke's. It was also nice to start “Easter” on Saturday.
St. James (Encampment): The plans for the Bishop Visit are made. I am impressed by the care and intentionality that was put into the entire planning process. Hotels were visited, times and locations were carefully reviewed, meals planned, and other accommodations were factored in and a wonderful schedule as been put together. It was also nice for me and for St. James to know that the priest who was presiding for the Easter Services was not under any pressure to get out the door. Yes this is the beginning of a new period of history for Shared Ministry in Carbon County.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): I participated in the Maundy Thursday services that included a foot/hand washing. Prior to the service there was an Agape Meal in which the Rev. Karen Buckingham blessed the wine and food for our enjoyment and fellowship. We heard of stories about people traveling to Rawlins thinking it was Cheyenne (back in the day when the train was the main mode of transportation) and Easter plans. The watch went without a hitch and from what I heard the Easter Service was a holy moment with Bob Garner preaching, the Rev. Karen Buckingham reading a book to the children. I also heard that on Monday more eggs were found that were left over from the Easter Egg hunt! The Easter Event does not end on Sunday with the resurrection. It keeps on going. What great news.
St. Paul (Dixon/LSRV): I arrived on Friday to lead the Stations of the Cross. The faithful gathered and we walked around the church and pondered at each station the meaning and power of the cross and Jesus' walk toward a defining moment in history. On Sunday I was recruited to bring a member of St. Paul's (she also considers herself a member of St. Thomas) from Rawlins to Dixon for the Easter Sunday Services. We had a full house with kids who were pumped up from their Easter Basket goodies. As the service ended the local music teacher was asked to sing Amazing Grace without music and the entire congregation joined in on the last verse. It was a holy moment.
