Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

Before I move onto the news of the week, at the State Convention of 2009 there has been a resolution passed asking that the leadership of the Diocese seek ways to fund Wyoming Wilderness Camp also known as HR Wilderness Camp. The Camp itself is in a middle of a fund-raising event and is asking for people to make a ONE TIME donation of $20 but NO MORE than $50. More to the point this fundraiser is a process to increase more support for the camp through broader participation. Rather than having one or two large givers it would be beneficial to have many smaller givers contributing to this wonderful ministry. You can send your donation to 123 Durbin Street, Casper WY 82601 and write Wyoming Wilderness Camp in the memo. Thank you for your prayerful consideration in this matter. If you would like to read more about the camp you could go to this web-site www.hrcampfoundation.org.

November 16, 2009

Good morning fine folks of Carbon County and Beyond. I trust that your week went well and I am taking this time to catch you up on what has happened throughout Carbon County. A quick run down of the area looks like this, St. Thomas is doing well and has an administrative week lined up; St. Paul’s is in the midst of preparing for Wade in the Water; St. James is getting ready for the holiday season (Thanksgiving and Christmas); St. Luke is finishing up Wade in the Water; I hope this letter finds you well.

Last Monday I headed over to Laramie to work on my professional development and also was able to have quick pastoral visit. A member of St. Thomas (Rawlins) was involved in a rollover on the interstate a couple of weeks ago. He is recovering and by the grace of God was not seriously injured (if you consider broken ribs not serious). His spirits remain high and he has a great prayer support system in place.

Tuesday I participated in a web/phone meeting with the clergy of Region 5 to plan church services for the next three months. The meeting when really well and the quote of the day was, “We desire a developer not a presider.” This means that the Ministry Developer is now freed up to focus more effort in developing ministries rather than providing supply Eucharistic services. A great sign of growth!

On Wednesday I was a web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers as we work on putting together a Ministry Review using the Baptismal Covenant to guide our work. We are currently working on the second promise which is about sin and repentance. Now that is a difficult subject to address, yet I think we have a process that helps congregations and individuals look at this par of their lives without being threatened or hit with a heavy guilt trip. We will continue to work on putting together this Ministry Review in the coming weeks.

Thursday was more or less an administrative day for me. I worked on writing a couple of reports for the COM and that afternoon I headed to Saratoga for a preaching discernment meeting. The folks of Saratoga have been working hard with a member of that congregation to discern a preaching call. As a part of the process they too are assisting me along with the COM as we look at the preaching licensing process. The reflection questions are getting better and so is the feedback from this group. Ralph Hicks, the person who is discerning, will be heading to Texas for the winter months and will be returning in the spring of 2010 to complete the discerning process.

Friday I continued to read another chapter in the book Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry. Starting to write my sermon for the up-coming Sunday and touch base with Linda Fleming as we prepare for the Apostolic Team Meeting for Region 4 on November 21, 2009 in Laramie.

Sunday was a full day. It started at St. James in Encampment. We all gathered a brief discussion about Christmas and determined that everybody will be gone for the season and so there was no need to have services on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. We also decided that it would be beneficial to start Wade in the Water at the first of year. That afternoon I drove to St. Paul’s in Dixon and my two oldest girls accompanied me. I met with Linda Fleming early and so we reviewed the case study that will be presented at the Apostolic Team meeting this upcoming Saturday (21^st). Before Linda Fleming arrived I briefly looked over the church registry and noticed that slowly the attendance has increased over the years and again another sign of the sustainability of Shared Ministry. St. Paul will begin Wade in the Water on November 23, 2009 and have two presentations with the first one starting at 2pm and a 2^nd group meeting at 6pm.

The remainder of the week looks like this: Monday I head to Hudson to meeting with Linda Wilson (Ministry Developer for Regions 5 & 6) and together will work on putting together some goals for our shared work. Tuesday I will be on a web/phone meeting with the Regional Reps. Wednesday is an all day web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers. Thursday I will be meeting with the Ministry Support Team of St. Thomas and the vestry in Rawlins. Saturday is the Apostolic Team meeting for Region 4 in which we will have a case study; Norm Peterson will explain where we are in the process in the election of the next bishop of Wyoming and some general sharing. Sunday I will be heading to St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow to preside and conclude the Wade in the Water program. That evening there is a Community Thanksgiving Service in Rawlins.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

November 8, 2009

Hello good folks of the church, how has life treated last week? I managed to get a day off from work and relax. Talk about Sabbath and the value of resting the body, mind, and spirit. It can change one’s outlook on life. I have noticed that people are a bit rough around the edges as we deal with the challenges of life, yet if we can get some space from all the pressures of the every day, we can almost see God in our midst. I hope this letter finds you well.

I will go quickly through my week. Tuesday I spent most of my effort working through my to-do list that had about 7 items to work through. I managed to get it all done, make and take phone calls. Not much as in the way of exciting stuff to report.

Wednesday I smaller to-do list and two web/phone meetings along with office hours. The Ministry Developers are working on our relational meetings, discussion about Apostolic Team meetings, and working on a Ministry Review process that engages the Baptismal Covenant in a deeper and reflective way. During my time at Kraft Hall Karen came over and we wrote a blessing for the “Blessing Bundles” for St. Thomas and scheduled a Ministry Support Team meeting for November. That evening I was on a web/phone meeting with different people throughout the state to begin looking at programming for Wyoming Wilderness Camp 2010. Some really great ideas are coming up. I reflected on what we did is to open our focus around youth ministry and to see the care providers of our kids and children as other area of ministry.

Thursday I followed up on some phone calls, wrote my sermon, and scheduled some web/phone meetings for next week. I also got caught up on my notes from the web/meetings the day before and forwarded them to all the participants of the meetings. I try to keep the information flowing by sharing what I heard with everybody.

Friday I took the middle of the day to work on other administrative tasks like reviewing some work that was given to the Ministry Developers to prepare for our next meeting, putting together the Apostolic Team Meeting face to face agenda and professional development. I am currently reading a book called Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry written by Margaret J. Marcuson. It is a good book about family systems (a way of looking at the network of relationships that make up the church and your personal family). Saturday was my day off.

Sunday I was at St. Thomas in Rawlins. During this service we blessed the “Blessing Bundles”. Blessing Bundles is a ministry that gives children ranging from infant to teenagers a small “backpack” of simple items that they can keep for their very own. These bundles are given to children who have been placed in Foster homes at a moments notice. As the service wrapped up I was blessed by the presence of one such child who was placed in a foster home at birth. The kid just smiled at everybody. Following the service we had continued our fellowship with chili and wonderful soup. It was a good time by all.

Looking forward to this up coming week this is what is on deck. Monday I will be in Laramie to work on my personal project in the morning. Tuesday I have a web/phone meeting scheduled to look at the church service coverage in Region 5. Wednesday I am planning on making follow-up calls for the Apostolic Team for Region 4, and have office hours at Kraft Hall from 10am to 12pm. Thursday I will be writing a sermon and a vestry report. That afternoon I will be heading over to Saratoga for a preaching discernment meeting. Lately Fridays have been my professional development day in which I continue to work on family systems and catch-up on any items that I missed throughout the week. Sunday I will be presiding at two services starting at St. James in Encampment 9am with their first Wade in the Water session following the service. That afternoon I will be heading to St. Paul’s in Dixon for their 5pm service.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

Hello folks of Carbon County and a big Wyoming hello to those beyond Carbon who receive this posting. How was your week? The early snow storm affected most of Wyoming and it dipped into Colorado. Now as I write the snow has melted away and there seems to be little if no evidence of chaos shut down highways. Halloween was untraditionally warm this year and the kids (and the Wasinger Parents) are recovering from the candy binge. As I look about in this part of the state this is what is taking place: The Apostolic Team for both Regions 4 and 5 (mostly the southern half of the state) met about a week ago using WebEx; Saratoga continues to work through their discernment process in calling a local preacher; St. James in Encampment started Wade in the Water with the assistance of Rev. Ray Grieb (Ray is also working with Saratoga with the preaching discernment); St. Thomas is getting prepared for their Mustard Seed Project – Blessing Bundles; St. Luke is about complete with their Wade in the Water; and I have been receiving reports from St. Paul that their afterschool program has drawn in a large group of kids (about 30 kids). I hope this letter finds you well.

Last Monday (October 26) I was in Laramie in the mid afternoon to work on my personal project and that evening I was a host for the joint Apostolic Team meeting between Regions 4 & 5. We talked about what took place at convention; shared what other churches are doing with their formation processes; and scheduled our face to face meetings in November.

Tuesday (a week ago) I drove over to Saratoga to participate in a preaching discernment process for Ralph Hicks. We are coming to a conclusion soon as Ralph has worked hard to prepare his responses to the questions that have been listed in the study guide. We have generated a new set of discernment questions for the next round of discussions. Fortunately I made it home before the scheduled winter storm hit for the week.

Wednesday I was in Kraft Hall in Rawlins for office hours and that evening I was on another WebEx meeting with the Regional Reps and my fellow Ministry Developers. We meet monthly to discuss what is taking place throughout the state and to stay in touch. Lately we, as a group, have been working on Safe Guarding God’s Children training and to move the resolution from the last convention forward. Following that meeting I was on another conference call with Evangelism in which we have discussed what we have been doing and to plan a face to face meeting in November.

Thursday I met with Karen Buckingham to review her checklist for priesthood and to debrief from her first of six retreats to learn about Family Systems. At this point the winter storm was in full effect throughout the state and it seemed to quite life down for about 72 hours. It is amazing and humbling to realize how much control we really have in this life. With that in mind was scheduled to go to Denver on Friday to take care of an appointment with Alexis, but the roads were closed so I caught up on my other administrative tasks.

Sunday I was in Dixon and presiding at St. Paul’s. As I looked about it was great to see so many people who were able to make the adjustments to the time change and yes even children were in our midst. We had a Ministry Support Team meeting following the service. The question of the Mustard Seed Money came up again and there was some jovial frustration about how the money is not being spent. One person said, “I know God has a plan for the money and we just need to figure it out.” Five minutes later there were three to four ideas that were presented. How it has been working is that the Church will make an offering and then the local community will rally and take care of it themselves. The church provides the spark the people of the community provide the fuel and energy.

This is how my week is shaping up: Tuesday is an administrative day in which I am writing this letter and have taken a couple of phone calls. Pat Walsh and I are in the process of planning a youth event in the area this December and more details will be coming out soon. Wednesday I will be on a weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers starting at 8am and then I will have office hours at Kraft Hall from 10am to noon. During my office hours I will be taking to Karen and developing a blessing for the “Blessing Bundles” for St. Thomas. Wednesday evening I will be hosting a WebEx meeting with the Wyoming Wilderness Camp leadership to begin planning 2010 programming. Thursday is another administrative day to write a sermon and other various items. Sunday I will be presiding at St. Thomas in Rawlins in which the church will be launching their “Blessing Bundles” and perhaps do a house blessing in Rawlins that afternoon.

Letter to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - Oct 25 2009

Hello folks of Carbon County and beyond. How is life treating you these days? October strikes me as a month of transition from the activities of summer, playing, and warm days to activities of school, homecoming (more like reunions), longer nights, and colder days. It is a funny place to be where we are not in once place and yet we have not completely arrived in the other. Life as a way of carrying us forward, sometimes this happens on our own effort and other times it is done by the effort of God; and there are times when we all work with God. I hope this letter finds you well.

It has been a busy week of travel (more than usual) starting last Monday I drove to Little Snake River Valley (Baggs, Dixon, and Savory) for the Fall Café Bible Study in which the group from St. Paul’s has gathered faithfully for a couple of years to read the bible one book and one chapter at a time. The group likes to cover about 10 chapters every two weeks and they are about ready to wrap-up the book of Job. I also noted with delight that the readings that we hear on Sundays in church for the past couple of weeks have been coming from the book of Job. What timing!

Tuesday was a day to get most of my administrative tasks taken care of and boy was my list long. I did manage to write a chapter report, a contribution to the printed eSpirit about Region 4, and submit an article for St. Thomas’ Livingstones (their monthly news letter). I also set up a web/phone meeting for the Apostolic Teams for both Regions 4 & 5 for this up-coming Monday. That does not include all the other activities such as making phone calls and running about in town.

Wednesday and Thursday I was in Thomas the Apostle Center in Cody for the Ministry Developer’s face to face meeting. We took most of our time together to discuss and discern what we will be doing for the next nine months and beyond. We too are aware of the changing of leadership and the effects it has with the congregations that we work with. We also shared what is taking place both in our professional and personal lives. Meeting in Cody is a blessing.

Friday I caught up on some phone calls and mostly took a half day off. Saturday was another full day with St. Thomas. I met with the Worship Team to plan the services for the month of November and finalize Christmas Eve services. St. Thomas also will be having a baptism at the end of the month because it was a good time for the greater family to participate. At 1pm I was once again at St. Thomas with my girls to help put together “Bundle Blessings” which are bundles of a couple of items that will be given to children who are placed in foster care homes. Following that activity my girls received some Acolyte training. It was a full Saturday.

Sunday I was in Medicine Bow to preside and to facilitate a discussion of Wade in the Water following the service. One of the members of the church really wanted to host a lunch at her house and so after the conclusion of the service we re-assembled at Lillian’s house, had lunch and watched Wade in the Water that talked about moving the furniture. It was a good time to check in and fellowship.

The up-coming week looks like this – Monday I will be in Laramie to work on my personal project and be back in Rawlins in time for the joint Apostolic Team meeting for Regions 4 & 5 that starts at six pm. Tuesday I will be in Saratoga to help with a preaching discernment process. Wednesday my day starts with a web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers at 8am then I will be hosting office hours at Kraft Hall from 10am to 12pm. That evening starting at 5:30pm I will be on a web/phone meeting with the Regional Reps and Ministry Developers for an hour and then getting on another web/phone meeting with the Evangelism team starting at 7pm. Thursday I will be meeting with Karen Buckingham to review where she is on the check list for those in process for the priesthood with another meeting with Karen to debrief from her first retreat where she is learning about Family Systems. Friday I will be on the road to Denver (kind of a day off). Saturday is Halloween and I hope everybody gets a treat! Sunday I will be at St. Paul’s in Dixon to preside with at Ministry Support Team meeting following the service.

Just Because

This is an interesting and fun way to use web-cams! Have fun with it. As you watch it check out the action in the background.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - October 11, 2009

October 11, 2009

Hello fine folks of Wyoming. It sure looks like winter is upon us (roads were closed on Saturday and off and on for Sunday). Now I say it looks like winter is ALMOST upon us because next week it the weather will return to seasonal normal patterns (temps in the 40s and 50s). I had a thought; do church seasons also operate the same way (moving from one state of condition to another)? I don’t know food for thought! Looking around the county this is what I am seeing – St. Thomas had hosted a brunch that was put on by the Choir Loft and they received a report from Gerry back from the Convention about what others did with the Mustard Seed Projects; St. Paul showed some flexibility in regards to their bishop’s visit and made some quick changes and is going to reschedule their visit for another date; St. Luke’s had a Sunday with the Methodist Church (I hope Rev Gary made it from Laramie); St. James is getting ready for their bishop visit next Sunday. I hope this letter finds you well.

Last Monday (October 5^th) was a full day. It started at St. Thomas in Rawlins for the Gospel study and reflection. It is good time to listen to the concerns and hopes for St. Thomas. The group is faithful in their meeting and it helps to hear what is going on. It is also a good time to challenge myself in my own work with St. Thomas. That afternoon I arrived in LSRV (Little Snake River Valley) for another bible reflection time. This group is going through the bible one chapter at a time and we are currently reading the book of Job. We came across the same passage that is read at funerals and for a while we were listening to different versions of the bible and most of us decided to stick with what is written in the Book of Common Prayer and quite possibility the King James.

Tuesday (October 6^th) I drove to Saratoga and listened in on a sermon preaching group for Ralph Hicks. The conversation that we had is going with depth. Ralph is going through the study questions in the study guide and sharing his responses with the group. Ralph has entered this process with a discerning heart and mind, and so has the group. Ray Grieb even made it over from Elk Mountain to participate. We are moving quite nicely through the process.

Wednesday (October 7^th) I was on the weekly web/phone call with the Ministry Developers. We continue to become more familiar with the use of this technology and in doing so I assisted one member through the use of a “soft phone.” We debriefed from the Convention and started to plan for our face to face meeting in Cody next week.

Thursday (October 8^th) was an “administrative day” in which I was able to write my sermon, put together a vestry report for St. Thomas and assemble a liturgy for a brief closure service that will be held next week in Rawlins. The “to do list” was long, yet I was able to accomplish everything I wanted that day.

Friday (October 9^th) I spent most of the day in Laramie. I have picked up a tool for community building called relational meetings. These meetings are designed to discover personal passions and to get to know others at a deeper level. So, I had a meeting with a member of St. Luke’s last Friday. I pleasantly discovered that this person has been in the midst of Baptismal/Mutual/Shared Ministry most of his adult life with the Church and he still finds himself working with those churches that are the fringe of the larger church. What a discovery. Working with small groups of people is this person’s natural inclination. Good to have this person around! That afternoon I met with Pat and we are starting to gather names of people who we want to invite to develop programming for the next year at Wyoming Wilderness Camp.

OK now for the up-coming week – October 12-18^th. Monday I will be at a Gospel Reflection and a private memorial service at St. Thomas in Rawlins. Tuesday looks like an administrative day. Wednesday is the weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers. Thursday I will be meeting with Karen (St. Thomas) and attending St. Thomas’ vestry meeting that evening. Saturday I will be heading to Encampment to have dinner with the Bishop and then head to Rock Springs to spend the night. Why Rock Springs on Saturday night? The next day (Sunday) I will be presiding at three services starting at Fort Bridger at 9am, the second service in Green River with Wade in the Water Session 1 following the service. The third service will be in Dixon starting at 5pm. It is going to be a full day of worship and travel!

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - Oct 4 2009

October 4, 2009

Hello folks of the Diocese of Wyoming and a Wyoming hello to those who receive this letter from beyond the boarders of this great state. The Diocesan Convention is in the books. It was a good one. The Diocese had made a major and important commitment to the youth of this state by working intentionally by asking the Diocesan Counsel and the Foundation to support the Wyoming Wilderness Camp in making the plant safe for all kids and staff members. This in my humble opinion was a movement from talk to action. Hats off to this group! On to other important matters, we blessed Bishop Bruce Caldwell wonderful leadership for the past 12 years and we now begin to look toward the next bishop. Bruce will be around, but he will also be missed. I hope this letter finds you well.


Monday was doing pretty good in following my plan for the week. I was able to meet with Andy and Margaret to work on interview questions and briefly discussed when we would present the answers. Then that afternoon I headed out to meet with Linda in Baggs to discuss the case study presentation for the Mustard Seed Money’s. As I worked through the day I was working with our optometric doctor in Cheyenne about Alexis’ eyes. Alexis complained that she lost sight in her left eye (that really got her parents concerned). As it turned out the eye is fine, but it will need to corrected (Alexis has a lazy eye) by surgery and so we scheduled to see the surgeon in Denver for Wednesday. I was not really sure if I would have to remain in Denver for a procedure on Thursday morning or not. As it turned out everything is ok and we now have a plan to address the eye and all is well. Whew! Nevertheless that took up all of the first part the week.

Thursday was the opening night of Convention. We had the privilege of having the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church as the keynote speaker and presided at the opening Eucharist. I was pretty tired and headed to bed promptly after that event. The next day we listed to the Presiding Bishop and she is a non-anxious presence (I almost fell asleep she was so calm) and was very astute in addressing questions directly and calmly. That evening we had a banquet and acknowledged all the work that was done through the Mustard Seed projects with the hope that they will continue.

Saturday was a business day. I will not report much on what was done, but highlight a couple of things about the sessions. Wyoming Wilderness Camp is facing some serious and large challenges to keep operating. To address the challenges it would require a significant contribution of money. Money always gets people’s anxiety going and so the conversations about what to do were tense. At one point a person stood up and mentioned a dollar amount that clearly got others upset, yet Bruce addressed the speaker gracefully and told others that everybody has permission to speak and to be heard. He was a calming presence and was able to lead us all through the conversation. Also I noted that the conversation included many different groups of people ranging from the delegates, rectors, local priests, and laity. Everybody truly had a voice in the conversation. Also I noted that the leadership of the Diocese had a “can do” attitude in addressing making sure that the canons were being followed. We had to make some slight adjustments on how we conducted our business to make sure that we followed the process without making the overall process cumbersome and de-motivating (not an easy task!). The blessing and acknowledgement of Bruce’s leadership as our bishop was a touching event. Having people sing, share stories, and present gifts was a wonderful to end our day together.

Sunday worship was moving for me. The reading of the Psalm overwhelmed my soul and I long for more of that experience. The Psalm was read with passion; the music in the background added a rich dimension to the message as I was caught up in the warmth of the words and images that were painted in my soul. It was stunning and awesome.

Ok now to come back to earth and to look at what is on my horizon for the up-coming week. Monday I will be begin my day with Gospel Reflection at St. Thomas at 9am and then head to Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) for another bible reflection activity. Tuesday I will be heading to Saratoga for a preaching discernment meeting starting at 4pm. Wednesday I will be on a weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers. Thursday will be a day to catch up on administrative items to and work on reading a book that the Ministry Developers are reading together. Friday I will be in Laramie to meet with a friend to discover some that person’s passion for ministry. Saturday will be a family day was the Wasingers of Wyoming will be attending their annual Wyoming Football game. Sunday I will be presiding at St. Thomas in Rawlins and the service begins at 9:30am with a meal following the service.