Letters to the Churches of Carbon County

What a week. The announcement of the budget and more particularly the Ministry Developer for Region 4 change in job status has created conversation. There seems to be a process in play as we go from shock to anger and now moving toward ok now what we we need to do. As for me I have this quote running around in my head - “The best is yet to come, there is more work to be done.” I think that is the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Our work is working through the range of feelings and thoughts. Ok lets move to the life of Carbon County.

St. Luke's (Medicine Bow): It was a beautiful day last Sunday. I arrived to find Arlen fussing around and getting everything ready for the worship. We bantered back and forth as we waited for people to arrive. Ida had headed over to pick up Lilian and so it was the two of us. Then another person arrived. Shortly after that Lilia arrived and we began. Arlen preached on Sunday and it was clear right way that he was energized and excited about what he had to share. He took us through the bible and talked about Moses, Peter, and Paul who all a great pat on the back and also blew it! Nevertheless God continues to work with us and that is a wonderful blessing. Now that may not be what Arlen said, but that is what I heard! Afterward we gathered at Lilian's house for lunch and I forgot that we had planned on finishing up the biblical DiSC training. Grace abounds and we have rescheduled for September.

St. Thomas (Rawlins): I have seen it! The lift is installed at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. What a wonderful view. The outside of the building is complete and the are currently laying down the tile in the bathrooms. I have begun talking to people about what my future looks like and what the future looks like for the church. There is some sadness, questions, and moments of hope. St. Thomas was a host site for the Pre-Convention meeting last Saturday and it was nice to see Encampment being represented.

St. James (Encampment): Talk about buildings coming together I heard that the new parish hall now has walls. What was only a dream a couple of months ago now has moved into reality. Within a couple of weeks this project went from a hold in the ground to now having walls. I cannot wait to see what it will look like when I visit them again in a couple of weeks.

St. Paul's (Dixon): Yesterday I arrived for the Summer Bible Cafe meeting and we have been working through Ezekiel and I believe we are coming to a better understanding of this book. We have secured resources that helps us get a better perspective of what is taking place and better understanding of the references that are used in Ezekiel. And the conversations that follow are priceless. Linda had a great time telling about the “mystery trip” that the members of the church took and the misunderstandings that happened during their trip. She was smiling as the group shared their laughter and humorous adventures. A Safeguarding God's Children training has been scheduled for September 20, 2011 @ 5pm at the higher education building.

St. Barnabas (Saratoga): Not much to report this week other than the senior warden was recognized by the local newspaper for his work in the school system that serves … small communities! Some of this work (formation and leadership development) has many crossover applications and it sure nice to see how the church can serve as a support in helping the surrounding communities become more vital. It was a really nice article.

What is coming up? Well I will be heading to St. Paul's on Wednesday to participate in their Compline/Thanksgiving event for August. Those are always fun. I will also be at Kraft Hall on Wednesday from 10 am to 12 pm so feel free to stop on by if you like. The remainder of the week is light. Sunday I have two services starting at St. Thomas in Rawlins (9:30 am) and a second service at St. Paul's starting at 3 pm where we will dedicate a Clavanova which includes homemade ice cream!

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

As I sit down and to compose my weekly letter I have mixed emotions. The public news of the budget and the position of the Ministry Developer in both Regions One and Four moving to part-time has stirred up emotions in myself and others. Change at this level is difficult because it effects people's lives and the church. For some of the churches I work with I think I am one of the longest serving clergy they had. For all the churches that I work with we had been through many defining moments and we have created a body of work that I am proud of. As I pray the image of Moses comes to mind. Moses lead a people in the “wilderness” to help them form an identity and a sense of purpose, yet he was not included in the population who entered the promise land. I think of Paul as he wrote letters to the churches that he established, yet he didn't get to see how much of impact he had on history and the Christian Church. I don't put myself on those levels, but I do know that the church is a resilient organization that finds a way forward through major changes. So, I pray that a Joshua and a Timothy emerges both in spirit and in presence for the days to come.

For me I don't know what my future holds. What I really focused on is doing my best work to this point. To see and point to where God is working in mysterious and miraculous ways. Please be patience with me as I continue to pray and process what this means for you are a people that I love and are in many meaningful ways my family. The coming months is a good time to complete things with me and be intentional about what you will need from the future Ministry Developer of this Region. Please get in contact with the Diocesan Office if you have questions and they will be available to answer questions that you may have. I stand ready to help where I can and now is the time to expand the network of relationships beyond our region. With that being said, I now turn to the news of Carbon County and I hope this letter finds you well.

St. James (Encampment): Last Monday I met with Vonnie as we put together the service bulletin for the 2nd Annual Church in the Park. The work went quickly and smoothly. I really value the intentionality of having this work done a week ahead which saves time and lowers my stress. The growing edge for me is to do this on a regular basis! The actual service on Sunday went well! At one point the Rev. Susan Dyer when over to the playground to invite the kids to join in the communion and they said, “No, we are waiting for the real food.” Susan told me that she was begging for more time to sit down and talk to these kids about what is happening. I laughed and realized that she was right. After we wrapped up I headed over to the church and to my surprise the “footprint” of the foundation of the new parish hall had grown! The sub-floor is laid and the area it covers will work nicely. It is sure nice to see that work in progress.

I drove to (St. Paul's) Baggs last Monday for the Summer Bible Cafe that the members of St. Paul host ever two weeks. We are working through the book of Ezekiel which is full of imagery that has many cultural connections. It takes time to sort through what is being said and expressed and so we don't move through the text very quickly. After we are finished reading it is nice to hear the everyday friendly bantering of the news of the Little Snake River Valley. They were gracious in adjusting their church schedule to accommodate the Church in the Park in Encampment.

Last Sunday I heard a funny story about St. Barnabas (Saratoga) on Sunday. As it turns out we have a “Passover Truck” in Saratoga. One of the members of the church was a firm presence in dealing with a difficult person in Saratoga and the word got out when this person saw this truck she didn't visit the establishment that the truck was located and avoided the driver of the truck at all cost. I am proud that the people of St. Barnabas took on a very difficult task in establishing boundaries and didn't get pulled into the guilt of being a “Christian Organization” and not “loving” when they held this person accountable for her actions. Summer also has caught up with this church were most of the members of the church enjoying the last days of August. Nevertheless they were present at the Church in the Park event and offered their singing talents.

Again there is not much to report about St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. It is my understanding that extended family members of the member of the church were in town and she wanted to spend some time with them. That makes sense. Arlend and I spoke on Sunday and he will be preaching this coming Sunday.


Although I didn't receive any pictures of the DOUBLE baptism (vs the dual baptism – wink, wink) that took place yesterday (August 21st) at St. Thomas in Rawlins, I heard that it was a wonderful event. The Mother of the baby, and who also is the step-mother of the baby's older brother, posted on her facebook wall that she really enjoyed the service and gave the Rev. Karen a thumbs up. From I know the handicap lift as been installed or will be very soon. I looked at what has been completed to date and the walls and surrounding area is looking nice.

What is coming up? Well this week I will be participating in two WebEx meetings one on Monday at 5:30 pm with the Ministry Developers and a second one on Tuesday at 5:30 pm with the Regional Reps. Wednesday I will be in Casper for a face to face meeting with the Ministry Developers and the Bishop. Thursday I head to Laramie to meet with Arlen's preaching discernment group at 2 pm. On Saturday there is the Pre-Convention Meeting using the VTC (Video/TeleConferencing) network. That meeting starts at 12 pm and will conclude at 3 pm. This Sunday I will be presiding at St. Luke's in Medicine Bow.

For those who do not receive the e-Spirit of Wyoming I have provided a copy of the text of “Pre-Convention Agenda, 2012 Budget and letter from Bishop Smylie”

Friends,

In the budget for 2012 you will notice changes in assessment revenue and our staffing model. Our assessment structure is one that has challenged our churches financially. Due to this, we will be reducing our assessment percentages for our churches in the coming year, and this change will decrease our diocesan revenue. This new assessment structure will be shared in detail at Pre-Convention and Convention. With this reduced revenue we will be changing the staffing structure for our ministry developers.

We currently have only two full-time ministry developers, the Revs. Joe Galligan and Doug Wasinger. In 2012 their positions will become part-time. Joe’s position has been moved to part-time as his Region’s needs have changed significantly over the past year. There are only two communities without priests, Thermopolis and Meeteetse, and because of this I cannot realistically present a budget with a full-time ministry developer for the Region. Joe will continue to serve this diocese in 2012 as a part-time ministry developer and will be serving at Holy Trinity, Thermopolis as their part-time rector.

Doug’s position is also changed to part-time in 2012. The office is currently assisting Doug in his discernment and exploring where our Lord may be calling him, and I ask that you keep Doug in your prayers.

I recognize that these staffing changes may cause concern for some of our communities. I assure you that I am committed to the future of Mutual Ministry, of having well-trained clergy and look forward to working with our Ministry Developers, our communities and our clergy in shaping the ever-evolving world of Mutual Ministry.



Prayerfully,



The Rt. Rev. John S. Smylie

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

All is well in Carbon County! Well the Wasingers have completed a full week of Fair. Thank you for all who were supportive of the activities. During the Livestock Sale I was taken aback by how connected we are to one another. It was fun to see familiar faces throughout the Fair Grounds and most of them were from out of town. I have often been the force that attempted to “slow down” the activities, however this year I jumped in with both feet and everything worked out. Everybody is now recovering and moving toward a new part of the year that does not include getting up early in the morning to go feed animals. This has misplaced us. Enough about me and my family. It is time to move to reading about what is taking place throughout Carbon County.

I started my Sunday morning at St. James in Encampment. When I arrived the sacristy has been removed and a new foundation for the parish hall has been poured. What was ironic was the door was nailed shut to keep people out but it kept us in. It was noted that several times somebody tried to go into that now non-existent room. Good thing that the general contractor was thinking ahead. It was one of those quiet blessings, but St. James now has music and it was fun to watch how the selection of music was created as the service unfolded. The organist was able to make her selections based on the mood of the service. When I first arrived at St. James in Encampment the only singing we had was done without music. Now this church has a new parish hall and lively singing. Everything is a go for Region's 4 Church in the Park next Sunday starting a noon.

I arrived at St. Barnabas in Saratoga on Sunday evening for a service. This was their second service for the day since they held Morning Prayer that morning. We didn't have music, yet we sung during the service. During the Prayers of the People a bowl of sand was set up with candles around it. There was an invitation for people to come up and light a candle and put in the bowl in the spirit of prayer. It was a nice way to slow down the Prayers of the People and to invite everybody to be a bit more intentional about what they were praying about. Good idea.

I don't have much to report about St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. I do understand that the members from that congregation are planning on attending the Church in the Park next Sunday and given the number of people attending, St. James made adjustments on what St. Luke should be bringing. On another front, Arlen's preaching discernment is coming along quite nicely.

Last Wednesday's ice cream social at St. Thomas went well. At the event the Ministry Role Description of a priest was presented. There was one minor change that was made in the introduction. Now it is up for other people of St. Thomas to let myself or a vestry member know if they have any further comments, questions, or affirmations they may have about the MRD. It is my intention to give this work the the vestry for their official support. Yesterday (Saturday August 13th) I met with the worship team during breakfast and they made plans for the month of September and reviewed an up-coming duel baptism.

Because of Fair Week I stayed close to Rawlins and did not travel this week. Nevertheless I was in contact with Linda Fleming in the LSRV and we talked about planning a Safeguarding God's Children Training for the coming month. Dates are not set as of yet, but they will be soon. I also got to see members of St. Paul's on the Fair Grounds during the week and they provided words of encouragement and support in spite of not having Kellie's breakfast burritos and cinnamon rolls on sale. I received a report that Linda's sermon received applause from the congregation. I read Linda's sermon and it was good. Who is in and who is out? With God everybody is in! Now that is preaching!


I end my posting with a small explanation of what this letter is about. This weekly letter is to provide information and a means of connecting the different communities of Carbon County. In some ways people discover that they are really that much different from one another even though we live miles apart. It makes coming together easier because we are more aware of what each of us are doing from a week to week basis.

What is coming up this week? Monday I will meet with Vonnie to prepare the service bulletin for the coming church service at 9 am at Kraft Hall. Monday afternoon I head to LRSV for their Summer Bible Cafe. Wednesday I will be having office hours at Kraft Hall from 9am to 12pm. At 2pm I will be on a WebEx meeting with the Attractive Church group that starts at 2pm. Sunday I will be in Encampment for the Church in the Park starting at noon. Talk to you soon.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County

Hello everybody. I trust that this wonderful summer week has been refreshing. A quick up-date about what has taken place at Carbon County Fair. The oldest did very well for her first time. She placed 4th in Showmanship (first time she had shown); 3rd in place in Market Lamb and her sisters had a fun time entering the 4-H junior showmanship class. Why do I share this? Well it was a project that took time and effort without any promises of desired outcomes. We did this work on faith. As it turned out the oldest is pleased and excited about what she accomplished and is hungry to get going again. How I desire and embrace this kind of attitude when it comes to the church. I am sure we all have this unfailing enthusiasm in our churches. I hope this letter finds you well.

I preached and presided at St. Thomas last week. I also heard that the two members of the church took a trip to Lander to share some of the inventory from the Choir Loft (thrift store). As I was giving communion a little child said “Thank You” with such sincerity it brought a smile to my face. It was a good time.




My time at St. Paul's was enjoyable as the warm and pleasant days of August remind me of when I first arrived in Carbon County. During the celebration of Holy Eucharist I was almost overwhelmed with memories. Moments like those I am grateful for having a written text to follow and to keep me on track.


Last Wednesday I participated in another session of LifeCycles at St. Barnabas. The session leader (a gifted individual) wanted to tinker around with the content and process of the session and took the same material and changed it around. He did a good job. This group of people continue to grow in their spirituality. The upside is that the are becoming better in expressing what they believe and why the believe it. Another way to say this is that they are becoming confident in who they are as a community.


I have not heard much from St. Luke in Medicine Bow. I believe they are in that part of the year that visiting with family and enjoying this wonderful weather is their primary focus. I did read their monthly newsletter and it looks like there will be a birthday party on August 13, 2011 to celebrate on of the best know members of the church. That should be fun.

I spoke to the leadership of St. James as they get prepared for the 2nd Annual Church in the Park on August 21, 2011 at noon. As of today they have about 50 people planning on attending. That is a great attendance. I also heard that their parish hall construction has begun and I am looking forward to seeing what they have completed to date.



What is coming up? Tonight (Wednesday) I will be hosting a presentation at St. Thomas for people to review and provide feedback on a Ministry Role Description of a priest during an Ice Cream Social starting at 7pm. Fair Days will be complete for the Wasinger Girls on Friday for the Livestock Sale at the Fair Grounds. Saturday there is a worship breakfast for St. Thomas at 8:30 am at Square Shooters. Sunday I will be presiding at St. James in Encampment at 9 am. Sunday evening I will be presiding at St. Barnabas at 7pm. Be well my friends.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County

Talk about the dog days of Summer! I have not seem to find them. With the rapidly approaching Carbon County Fair Days (starting on Saturday August 6^th) it is nice to play hard. In some ways it feels like Fair Days are the climax of the Summer and once they are completed there is a period of time to slowdown and enjoy the fruits of the labor. For the most part it is quiet around Carbon County. I will provide a quick snap shot of what has taken place for the past week. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. Thomas with their building project is taking an other important step toward completion putting in a sewer line. The outside of the addition is mostly complete and the final touch-up points are not too far way. It will be nice to see this project complete and I pray that it will be a gift that will keep on giving far into the future. I also spoke to the Senior Warden today and we were noting how smoothly things have been going around St. Thomas. Where she wanted to give the credit to the members of St. Thomas, and rightly so, I also pointed out that her leadership style had an important role. The VBS went well and it was good to see faces of people who consider themselves members of the church, yet are not always attending on Sunday morning. They are important and vital members of the church and when they host an event like Vacation Bible School everybody is touched. It takes EVERYBODY to be the church.

For St. James there is not much to report for this week. Like I said last week they are working hard to prepare for the 2^nd Annual Regional Wide Gathering on August 21^st and will be needing to hear from the other churches in the Regional to get a since of who is coming and what they will be bringing. What a good time to gather and for fellowship in the great outdoors of Wyoming in the summer. Don't worry about the roads conditions in the region, from all reports the washout and slide out have been temporary repaired and open for traffic.

I caught up with St. Paul after being on vacation and attending to other activities for most of July. The bi-monthly Summer Bible Cafe was hosted at the Art Center of Baggs (formally known as St. Luke's Episcopal Church) and the renters were in attendance. The renters (sorry I don't know there names yet) are from Texas and from the Hispanic culture. So it is nice to hear from a different perspective the readings of the Bible. Last Sunday St. Paul took the first part of the DiSC Training and it was a full group. I have to admit taking the paper assessment is a bit time consuming and so I am giving how to do this part of the training some more thought. All in all I believe people enjoyed themselves and we will be planning follow-up training in September.

I don't have much to report about St. Luke's this week. I heard that they have posted the church service schedule for the 3^rd quarter. Arlen continues to work on his discernment and preparation for becoming a licensed lay preacher.

St. Barnabas has been one of the more active churches for the past couple of weeks. They continue to work on a pastoral issue with a person who they attempted to help over a year ago. This individual was offered an airline ticket, yet this person missed the flight and is still in the area. However, new polices are being made to address this type of situation if it comes up in the future. In the spirit of shared ministry, the policy will be shared throughout the region. Another activity that this church is working on is LifeCycles and they are taking ownership and leadership on the presentation of the material. I am getting a sense that this congregation has strong leaders and teachers in their midst and they may (in time) become a valuable resource to the Diocese.

What is coming up? Well it is Wednesday and so I will give an abbreviated schedule. Thursday will be an administrative day that will mostly focus on sermon writing. On Friday from I will be participating in a WebEx meeting that is hosted by the National Church to talk about the “Emerging Church” with an Episcopal favor. Then FAIR DAYS will begin on Saturday. Sunday I will be presiding at St. Thomas at 9:30 am and St. Paul's at 3 pm. See everybody around.