Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

What is everybody up to? As for me I am excited that summer is almost here. It will be short and yet full of activities. May is winding down. I had a great weekend in Encampment. They put the Bishop's visit on for the nines! I don't know how it compares to other Bishop visits and I don't know if the Bishop had to visit two congregations on the same weekend. In this case it when really well and he was given a full range of experience of the life of Encampment/Saratoga region. St. Thomas has pushed itself in faith and has broken ground to install a new lift and handicap accessibility restroom. Pray for the St. Paul's congregation as they are facing flooding issues again this year. The reports are that the snowpack is higher than last year and they experienced flooding then. Driving through Baggs on Monday I noticed that the water is not has high, but the water is running fast. Yesterday I visited with Arlen's preaching group in Laramie and we had a very productive meeting. Let's jump in to the sharing of the news around Carbon County. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. James (Encampment): Last week it was the Bishop's visit in the Saratoga/Encampment region. The Bishop met with the senior wardens of both St. Barnabas and St. James on Friday night and spent the night at the Wolf Hotel. The next afternoon he drove to Encampment where I met him at St. James. I was working with the local organist planning music for the Sunday service. The congregation of St. James gave the Bishop the full tour along with sharing their plans to build a parish hall that will include the long awaited bathroom and it will also serve as handicap accessibility to the church. St. James counts among its active members a 92 year old woman who is sharp as a tack and charmed the Bishop during his visit. She was present for both the Saturday afternoon dinner and Sunday morning worship. It was good to see her involved and laughing. This concludes the Bishop visit in this part of the state and it was a good send out.

St. Paul's (Dixon): As I pointed out in the beginning of this posting, the water around the Little Snake River Valley is running fast. They have not hit the flood stage, but there is standing water in some fields around the area, but the roads are still clear. The LSRV had a famous flood of I believe 1984 in which they received national attention and from what I have heard, they are experiencing similar conditions. How appropriate that they should be reading Jeremiah and hear the comforting words of restoration from God's weeping prophet. It was said to one of the snowbirds, “It is good to have you back. Are you here for the flood?” I had to laugh.

St. Luke's (Medicine Bow): Yesterday I gave the senior warden a call to let her know what I was up to. I was on the road to Laramie to meet with Arlen's preaching discernment group at St. Matthews. We talked about the questions in the study guide and also gave Arlen an opportunity to learn and discern more about his calling to preaching. This group is very supportive of Arlen and it is exciting to see how different congregations are working together for the greater whole. Medicine Bow too has some concern about flooding, yet I have not heard any alarms of concern.

St. Thomas (Rawlins): I received a text message on Sunday informing that Rhythms of Grace was going to be canceled for this month. I can really appreciate all that is going on in Rawlins in the month of May with graduation coming up, soccer games taking place, and recitals being presented. It happens every year. Meanwhile St. Thomas has broken ground on their major project and it is moving right along. It was a couple years in the making and it nice to see it come to life. I am sure there will be much celebration and blessing taking place in a couple of months. I was in the office on Wednesday and the Livingstones along with a memorial service is printed and ready to go.

What is coming up? Graduation is the theme for this weekend as Rawlins High School Graduation will take place on Friday at 7pm. Sunday I will be heading to St. Paul's (Dixon) for an abbreviated Sunday service and then off to Reader Cemetery to recognize Memorial Day. Upon completion of that event Summer for me will be kicked off at the Savory Museum for the hamburger fry. I am planning on taking Monday off and jumping back into the grove on Tuesday with the Gospel Study at Kraft Hall starting at 9am. Wednesday is the usual office hours from 10 am to 12 pm. Have a great weekend.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County

I don't know how this happened, but it seemed like almost two weeks past since I last wrote to everybody. I don't know if anybody missed the weekly postings, but I am feeling a bit out of the loop. Easter has come and gone. We are now given the gift of love to play and relax in the presence of God. For me I have completed a commitment for personal and professional growth that included making ten trips to Denver for the past thee months. With the completion of this body of work I find myself taking a deep breath and looking forward to the next set of challenges and opportunities as they present themselves. It looks like the churches that I work with are also transitioning from the winter sleep to becoming awake to the spring life and activities. I know of two building activities that are either starting soon or have begun. The other two congregations are starting a deeper formation process. St. Paul is continuing to work on their work in preparation of the calling of priest and we have begun preparing the next family event in June. There is also discussion at St. Luke's to set a time for a training around DiSC using the Biblical Profile System. Now it is on to the activities of Carbon County. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. Thomas (Rawlins): A couple of weeks ago I attended the monthly worship breakfast. During our time together the group discussed placement of the microphone and how to keep the intercessor prayers up-dated and current from week to week. The next week I met with both the Ministry Support Team and Vestry. For the past two months St. Thomas as been having a conversation about the role and expectations of a priest. One important concept that was discovered is that all rectors are priest and all priests are not rectors. St. Thomas did not call a rector and that gave this group of people a powerful insight in how they understand priests. The conversation is continuing. I love this work when it comes to this kind of growth. One another front the ground has been broken to begin building the lift and handicap accessibility bathroom.

St. Paul's (Dixon): I have kept with my regular schedule and have gathered with the faith group who meet every other week to read the Bible one chapter at a time. During one of my visits in the valley I arrived in time to check in with one of the families of the congregation to begin planning a Family, Friends and Faith event for June. I also sat in on a Ministry Support Team meeting in which a young man approached the congregation in seeking summer employment of mowing the lawn. He was very adult in asking for what he wanted and I was impressed on how the leadership honored his effort in making a clear agreement with him. St. Paul's is also scheduled a DiSC training using the Biblical Profile System.

St. James (Encampment): They are prepared for the up-coming Bishop Visit. I have been in contact with the leadership and they have everything prepared. They will have music, festive meals, and time for relaxation all built into the schedule. They are in a holding pattern for their parish hall, bathroom, and handicap accessibility entrance as they await word from a grant request that they submitted to the UTO.

St. Luke's (Medicine Bow): The Rev. Jess Smith and I traded Sundays this month to accommodate the Bishop visit in Encampment. Arlend preached from a seated position. I have been in conversation with Arlend about building a hand rail in the church to help assist people to the Altar and we are scheduling a DiSC training using the Biblical Profile System.

What is coming up? The big event for me is the Bishop Visit in Encampment/Saratoga this week end. I will also be assisting in Rhythms of Grace at St. Thomas on Sunday. Talk to everybody soon.