Letters to the Churches of Carbon county

Hello fine folks who gather weekly around the table to discuss what have taken place and will take place throughout the South-central part of Wyoming and beyond! Again this was a week in which I attempted to double the workload with various levels of success. I was talking to a fellow priest in the Diocese of Wyoming and I told him that I am giving up bad attitudes for Lent, which means that all complaints will be addressed AFTER Easter. He laughed and said that he is going to make a sign and post it in his door to his office. Well, off to the weekly musing of Carbon County and Beyond. I hope this letter finds you well.

St. Luke (Medicine Bow): I made it over to Medicine Bow for the Sunday service. There was a pleasant surprise as a family who lives in Hanna (the McCartney’s) had decided to make the trip over. They have been occupied for the past year or so with various other tasks and now are available to attend on a regular basis. Joy said that she knows quite a few Episcopalians in the area and Ida mentioned that it is one of St. Luke’s goals to reach out to the surrounding communities and to invite them to attend. Arlen preached and I was impressed by his message and found what he had to share was insightful – “Walk to Walk” as we as a church move of the mountain top experience and move into mission.

St. James (Encampment): Before I went to bed on Saturday evening (Feb 13) I realized that I had overlooked calling Jess to line up Wade in the Water program. So, first thing on Sunday morning I gave him a call and asked if he is ready to lead the discussion which Jess said with sincerity, nope. Not a problem when I called to Roxan about it. We talked briefly and got a quick up-date on St. James project of building a parish call and Roxan said they had some important work ahead of them. However, when the project is complete the building will be in great shape to last another 100 years or so. We will prayerfully look forward to seeing where God is leading the church in this endeavor. Nevertheless, Jess got to spend this first Sunday with this congregation as their Associated Priest.

St. Paul’s (Dixon or Little Snake River Valley): I arrived in the “Valley” last Monday (Feb 8) for their bi-monthly bible reflection also known as Winter Bible Café as they continue to read the Psalms. I bring along the Book of Common Prayer to read as we all shared and read from different versions of the Psalms. A phrase has caught my attention “Tears in a bottle” and when time permitting I am going to see if that has any cultural meaning in the bottle. Standing in front of the text I interpret this to mean great sadness. That however does not reflect upon the morale of St. Paul’s!

St. Thomas (Rawlins): Monday as it turns out was a full day. Before I headed to St. Paul’s I joined a bible reflection session at Kraft Hall on Monday morning in which Kathleen and I reviewed and pondered about the assigned Gospel reading. While I was there I quickly reviewed my calendar with Stephanie (the parish administrator). We did schedule a MST (Ministry Support Team) meeting for Wednesday, however I made a trip to Denver for an appointment and was not able to return in time. So, we will reschedule for another time.

Ministry Developments: This occupied most of the second part of the week as I drove to Casper for two nights. Thursday I spent time at the Diocesan Office to learn more about the compress video equipment as a backup administrator. It is not uncommon for “Murphy” to arrive when it comes to using and learning new technology and so Andy and I spent the day trouble shooting. The day was not completely lost and I learned how to “podcast” and soon I will be working on putting together my own podcast to post on this blog site along with the Diocesan web-site. On Friday I had lunch with Anthony Guillen who led a Latino Ministry Workshop on Saturday. That evening the Ministry Developers also met with Anthony to share what we are doing with Shared Ministry and to listen to what Anthony is doing with his ministry. On Saturday the workshop took place and something that I discovered was that in the Southern half of the state of Wyoming has the largest Latina/o population in the state. This also means that there is a large potential for ministry right in the area. Anthony has given us all new eyes to see and discern how we can connect with people beyond our walls. Good stuff!

What is coming up? Monday is President’s Day and I am planning on making a few calls and prepare for Ash Wednesday services. Tuesday is an All Day Web/Phone conference with the Ministry Developers and it will end with Strove Tuesday dinner in LSRV. Wednesday I will be at Kraft Hall (Rawlins) for a couple of hours and then will preside at St. Paul’s that evening. Thursday I will be hosting a Web/Phone conference in which Zone 4 (Torrington, Wheatland, two churches in Cheyenne, and Laramie) will decide collectively where to have a compressed video site for the coming year. Friday I will be in Laramie to working on my personal project and perhaps write a sermon for Sunday. Saturday I will be attending a worship breakfast at St. Thomas (Rawlins) and then participating with an Apostolic Team face to face meeting from 10am to 2pm. Sunday I will be heading to St. Paul’s to preside. I don’t think I could add another thing on my calendar! Have a great week.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond

Hello fine folks of Carbon County and Beyond! It is time to gather around the table and add a leaf or two. It is growing. Before I get into the weekly events and sharing I want to share with all of you something important.

It came to my attention last week that listing blogs on this weekly posting could have been interpreted as campaigning for the next bishop of Wyoming. For any misunderstandings that I may have created, I want to apologize. It is my intention to communicate what is taking place and to provide information so that we all can make a well informed decision regarding the next bishop of Wyoming. Also I listed blogs to encourage others to find what is being posted as well as to encourage people to think about starting a blog for themselves as well. I see one of my roles as a Ministry Developer, is to connect with others and blogging is another means of doing just that. I do ask that you please direct your questions about the election process to Cindy King (St. Mark's-Casper) 307-259-2023 cindylking@juno.com and John Peacock (St. Mark's-Cheyenne) 307-631-8914 mettenheim@msn.com. Also the Wyoming List Serve that is monitored by Ann Fontaine is an excellent source for on-going developments. The Search for the 9^th Bishop of Wyoming @ http://www.wyomingbishopsearch.org is another resource that people can access to get information about what is taking place. Again I want to say that I am sorry for any misunderstandings about my postings last week. I remain supportive in the discernment process and pray for God to direct our efforts for the future of our church.

Now on to the weekly events! Have you ever had a week that one attempts to pack two weeks into one? This past week was one of those weeks.

St. James: This past Wednesday I had lunch with the leadership of St. James (Encampment) in Rawlins. During our time together we discussed briefly about plans for the Apostolic Team Meeting on Feb 20, 2010 and to get a brief up-date on their plans for building a parish hall to be used for outreach and handicap accessibility for the church. We also set our next “lunch date” for March 10^th for on-going checking in and connecting.

St. Luke’s: Again not much to report for this week. I am planning on presiding this up-coming Sunday @ 4pm. Perhaps I will have more to share next week. I am sure I will.

St. Paul’s: I was in Dixon last Monday (Feb 1) for a Wade in the Water Session Two. The first group met and we used a liturgical format to gather us into this learning experience. There was some good sharing and one person noted that we don’t celebrate our baptism like we would a birthday or another important event. Why not? That is not a bad idea. The second group didn’t meet and so I got an early pass to head home that evening. On Sunday I drove to Dixon and enjoyed spending some time with the fine folks of the Little Snake River Valley. They hosted their annual meeting following the service and they discussed upcoming goals. They are in good shape for the coming year.

St. Thomas: Last Wednesday I was hanging out at Kraft Hall. During my time there I made a couple of phone calls and scheduled a Ministry Support Team meeting for the coming week. I also called Norm Peterson and we discussed briefly how the selection process is going with the video compression site is going throughout out the Region. Now, we have 9 zones throughout the state and two zones in Region 4. St. Thomas has agreed to become a host sight for this zone that includes Dixon, Encampment, Saratoga, and Medicine Bow. Great news!

Evangelism: The team that Kathy has assembled (I am counted as one of the members) got together for a web/phone conference on Wednesday (Feb 3) evening for an hour. Kathy shared what she learned from an Evangelism workshop that was hosted at the Diocesan office. The team is also looking to make presentations throughout the state and if you are interested please contact me, Kathy -> wyomom50@gmail.com or Roy -> rwalw@allwest.net. They would love to visit your congregation and make a presentation.

Ministry Developer: This is where my week became really full! I drove to Denver early Thursday and arrived in Des Moines for the pre-Living Stones Workshop: More than Survival: Financial Concerns of Ministry Developers. This was an informative workshop that took place over Thursday evening through Friday after dinner. For the coming days and months I will be working with Linda Wilson and we will develop a presentation to share with the congregations that we work with and throughout the Diocese.

What does my week look like? Well by the time I get this letter sent it will be Monday evening and so I did make it to St. Thomas Gospel reflection and beginning to ponder the up-coming sermon. Monday afternoon I arrived in Baggs to join in the Winter Bible Café as St. Paul continues to read the Psalms and share what they discover. Tuesday I will be working on writing a sermon and writing a report for St. Thomas vestry. Wednesday I will be joining the Ministry Developers for the weekly web/phone call and then that evening participate in the Ministry Support Team Meeting at St. Thomas. Thursday through Saturday I will be in Casper for training on the compress video equipment and to attend the Latino Ministry Workshop. Sunday I will be presiding at two services with the first service at St. Thomas @ 9:30 am in which they will recognize the ministries of the church. The second service will be held at St. Luke @ 4pm in Medicine Bow. Have a great week!

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County

Ok folks it is time to gather around the table to have our weekly check in chat and to share what is taking place throughout Region 4 (Encampment, Dixon, Medicine Bow, and Rawlins) and to briefly check in from Fort Bridger and Green River. It has been a joyous week as Karen Buckingham was welcomed into the priesthood on Saturday with representatives from Casper, Laramie, Cheyenne, Lander, Standing Committee, Hudson, Encampment, Saratoga, Dixon, Evanston, and Rawlins. I am sure I am missing a community or two and please forgive me! As the month of January draws to a close the month of February opens up and it is promising to be a month full of activities and exciting events as the Church draws the season of Epiphany to an end and begins Lent. I hope this letter finds you well.

Before I get on to the news of the week, how about seeing a list of who is currently or have blogged throughout the Diocese of Wyoming? They are:

Marilyn Engenstrom http://www.marengstrom.blogspot.com

Kathy Robinson http://storieswithkathy.blogspot.com/

Andrew Kerr http://kerrepiscopalwy.blogspot.com/

Margaret Babcock http://margaretinwyoming.blogspot.com/

Ann Fontaine http://seashellseller.blogspot.com

I am sure they are more; however, check those out when you can it could provide a richer view of the diversity of our wonder state.

St. Paul – Last Monday I spend most of my Monday in the Little Snake River Valley. I was able to catch up with a member of St. Paul for lunch and for a getting to know one another a bit better. We discussed what is taking place in the church and discovered that they are some exciting things going on. We also had a chance to clear up some questions about how the Episcopal Church works and discernment. From there I arrived just in time for the Winter Bible Café Psalms reflection activity to enjoy the wonderful dessert. It was nice to see St. Paul being represented at Karen’s ordination on Saturday. They had to get up early in the morning to make it in time for the 9am service. Great work!

St. Luke’s – There is not much to report from St. Luke’s in Medicine Bow. I did receive a copy of the annual meeting minutes and they have delegates elected for the electing convention as well as the annual Diocesan Convention in 2010. It is a quite time for St. Luke as we prepare for the spring and summer activities.

St. James – I received a phone call on Monday requesting that we move our lunch date to this week. No problem. I heard that they met with a contractor to discuss floor plans last Monday for a parish hall addition along with up-grades to the church building itself. This Wednesday we will catch up over lunch and discuss the bishop walkabout and granting writing.

St. Thomas – This past Saturday was the big event for Rawlins. St. Thomas after working on their formation process for the past seven years had reached an important milestone in their congregational life. The ordination of Karen Buckingham was a celebration of their hard work. There were about 80 people in attendance and that was quiet remarkable considering the service started at 9am! People ask me now that a local priest in place does that help me? My response is not really, but what is really important is that St. Thomas now has more resources for their ministry and they will receive the sacraments with more consistency. In turn this helps everybody as we continue to equip the laborers for the work of God’s mission to the world.

Ministry Developers – I have been in conversation with Andy Kerr and we are putting together a Ministry Developer technology tool kit. It will include a computer, camera, and a projector. My target is to share this with the ministry developers in Feb for their input. Wednesday we had our weekly check in call in which we discussed a report from the COM about upcoming ordinations and up-date on the preaching licensing; Latino Ministry Workshop; Up-date on compressed video conferencing sites; along with general check in. Wednesday evening the ministry developers along with the Regional reps met on WebEx to check in around the video conferencing sites, Safe Guarding God’s Children Training and to learn more about the walkabout.

What is on deck for this week? PLENTY! It is going to be short week for me in Wyoming as I prepare to attend a workshop in Living Stones that will be hosted in Des Moines Iowa. I will be out the state from Thursday to Saturday. This Monday I will be leading two sessions of Wade in the Water in Dixon with the first session starting at 2:30 and the second session starting at 5:30pm. Wednesday I will be on my weekly call checking in with my fellow Ministry Developers, setting in on a WebEx Meeting for Latino Ministry Workshop, and Evangelism meeting that evening. Then it is off to Des Moines for the remainder of the week. On Sunday I will be presiding at St. Paul’s at 10:30 am and then participating in their annual meeting following the service.

Letters to the Churches - Jan 25 2010

Hello good folks of Carbon County and the extended network of family and friends. It is time to check back in again and share what is taking place in this part of the world. I was reading Margaret’s blog “Wondering in the Wilderness” @ www.margaretinwyoming.blogspot.com and she reminded me about having a blog voice. I have given this some thought. I wonder what my blog voice? Perhaps it could be understood like a family sitting around a table for a meal in which everybody shares and checks in with the family. I have also changed my format of this weekly posting and will stick with it for a while to see if this works. As of last week I have heard from two people who said they like it and one person who said they didn’t. So, I am not going to be to quick in changing back and see what comes out of this new format. “Life is a continuous process of improvement.” So, as we settle in for another review of the past week and enjoy one another’s company, I hope this letter finds you well in your part of the world.

St. Thomas – On Tuesday I received a call about a moving a funeral from the local funeral home to the church in Rawlins. I was not asked to preside because the family had asked Marilyn Engstrom (the Dean of the Cathedral) who is a close family friend to lead the service. I didn’t see it to be a problem; however the need to contact the senior warden or a member of the vestry to received the official approval. As it turned out Karen was called upon to help coordinate everything on the church’s end. The service was on Thursday and I heard it was standing room only and the service was done well. Back to Wednesday I spent some time with Karen reviewing the ordination service for this up-coming ordination and wrote my annual report for St. Thomas. Friday I wrote my “honking report” for St. Thomas’ monthly newsletter. St. Thomas said their good-byes for now to Jess Smith had their annual meeting on Sunday (Jan 24). I am looking forward to hearing how the meeting went.

St. Paul’s – Last Monday (Jan 18) I drove to Dixon to host two Wade in the Water sessions. Linda had arrived and so we got prepared and waited. As we waited for people to arrive we talked about planning the up-coming annual meeting. We figured by 2:45pm people were not coming for the earlier session, so Linda and I continued to brainstorm ideas about what activities and goals for 2010. As we talked we came up with quite a list of ideas that we will share with the congregation. By 5:45 pm we realized that the second session was another no go. Not a problem because I was able to get home earlier than expected.

St. James – Not much to report on this week; however I am planning meeting with the leadership for lunch this week to review grant writing process and to check in with the preparation for the bishop walkabout.

St. Luke – I spoke with Arlen earlier in the week about how we will coordinate the service on Sunday. He was really busy taking care of his daughter, planning a trip to see his Mom, and other various tasks of life. We reviewed what needed to be done on Sunday and it was decided that I would preach. On Sunday we hosted the service and then gathered for the annual meeting. We received news that the preschool is coming along quite well and a request for items for the school will be submitted shortly. The leadership agreed that once the school is set-up we should host a blessing. Delegates have been elected for both the election of the next bishop and for the annual convention in October. We also laid out our goals for the up-coming year which includes finding ways to connect to the surrounding communities of Hanna, Elk Mountain, and Rock River.

Ministry Developer: I worked on the first part of the week on a flyer for the Latino Ministry Workshop. Here is a selection from that flyer as a means to generate interest: “The Hispanic population is one of the fastest growing part of the demographics in the United States. As the Episcopal Church looks toward another exciting decade of sharing the Good News of Christ in Jesus, the Diocese of Wyoming is given an opportunity to host a workshop led by The Rev. Canon Anthony Guillen from our National Church Office. The workshop will be hosted on February 13, 2010 from 10am to 4pm (lunch will be included) @ the Diocesan Office in Casper. The day will be divided into an introductory course from 10am -12, and a more advanced course from 1-4pm. Please choose to come to just the morning session or to the full day. Sign up by calling: Ms. Katie Johnson 307.265.5200” We also had our weekly check in through WebEx in which we discussed a pastoral concern, the EDS on-line ethics course, the walkabout and annual meetings throughout the Diocese.

What is on deck for this week? On Monday I will start my day meeting with Karen to finalize the ordination service and take it to print. Then I will spend the remainder of the day in Little Snake River Valley for a “getting to know you better” meeting and the Winter Bible Café reflection on the Psalms. Tuesday I will meet with the Wyoming Wilderness Camp programming leadership to finalize the calendar, to discuss the fees, and begin developing the programming for the up-coming camp year. Wednesday will be a full day in which starts with the weekly check in with the Ministry Developers through WebEx. I will then wander over to Kraft Hall for a couple of hours. From there I will share a meal with the leadership of St. James (Encampment). That evening I will be on another WebEx meeting with the Regional Reps. Thursday will be most likely an administrative day to write sermons and send out notes from all my meetings. I am planning on taking Friday off from work and to play. Saturday will be a big day for St. Thomas, the Diocese, and for the church. Karen Buckingham will be welcomed into the priesthood and the service begins at 9am in Rawlins. Sunday I will be visiting in Region 5 as I will preside at St. David’s (Fort Bridger) @ 9am and then St. John’s (Green River) @ 11 am. Enjoy the week and see you around this wonderful place we call home – Carbon County.

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - Jan 17 2010

January 17, 2010

Hello folks of Carbon County and a big Wyoming hello for those who receive this weekly posting who live beyond this part of the world. It is a sad time for those who live in Haiti as the news of the on-going rescue efforts demonstrate the human spirit to have hope in the face of overwhelming odds, perhaps we can learn a lesson or two about our own ability to remain focused on moving forward in the midst of difficult times. The January blues (more like a let down from November and December activities) are moving behind us as the calling of God to the church unfolds before us. I hope this letter finds you well.

I have been thinking about the format of this letter and I may make a couple of adjustments. I will move from giving a day by day reporting and be more specific to what I have done with the various groups of people that I worked with during the week. The idea is that for those who would like to read what others are doing they are freed to do so, and for others who are more concerned about is happening to with their particular group the can find it quickly. Let see how this turns out.

St. Paul – Monday (Jan 11): I went a bi-monthly Winter Bible Café in which this faithful group meets to read the bible from cover to cover. They are working through the book of Psalms. It is really nice to hear different versions being read and shared. People are discovering their own personal preferences and noticing that there are differences between bibles. I think next time I will bring the Book of Common Prayer for comparison. Tuesday (Jan 12): I meet with Linda through WebEx and with the help of Karen from St. Thomas in Rawlins we were able to firm up a worship schedule for the next five months (not including any vacation time that may come up). Sunday (Jan 17): I was in Dixon for an evening service. It was a slightly smaller gathering due to people on vacation and the Denver Stock Show taking place over the weekend. I stayed a bit later after the service to plan out my week before heading home.

St. Thomas – Tuesday (Jan 12): Like I referred to about St. Paul church schedule with Karen is lined up through the Month of June. Karen was also interviewed by the local newspaper Rawlins Daily Times and you can read the article at this link -> http://www.rawlinstimes.com/articles/2010/01/14/news/doc4b4ea43810057017174590.txt
Wednesday (Jan 13): I was in Kraft Hall for office hours and worked on putting together the pieces of Karen’s ordination for Jan 30, 2010.

St. James – Wednesday (Jan 13): I had a productive breakfast with Vonnie (I hope I spelled her name right) in which we discussed some concerns that she had about what has been taking place for the past couple of months. Nothing to be alarmed about, but nevertheless it is helpful in keeping the lines of communication open and flowing. Sunday (Jan 17): I presided at St. James in Encampment and it was funny as Fred ran about before the service with a measuring tape taking measurements of the building. After the service we all gathered at the Johnson’s house for the annual meeting. St. James has decided to move forward in building a parish/meeting hall that will be attached to the church. In this addition will be a small kitchen, a bathroom, and a space for groups to meet. The addition will also include handicap accessibility for people to enter the church. That is exciting stuff. St. James also decided to send Wyoming Wilderness Camp scholarship money for 2010.

St. Luke – The only thing I can report this week is that the Rounds are visiting with family and friends for the week. I have heard reports that they are moving forward with their Mustard Seed Project and it as been mentioned that the pre-school will be opening soon. That is great news!

Evangelism – Wed (Jan 13) I met with the evangelism team through a WebEx meeting in which we continue to practice using the reflection questions and are beginning to look at hospitality. We also received an up-date on where and how many Evangelism Workshops that Kathy and Roy have hosted. Kathy and Roy are available if your congregation is interested in having this workshop in your congregation. Please contact me for more details.

Ministry Developers and on-line Ethics course – Thursday through Saturday (Jan 14-16) I was in Casper for a Ministry Developer Face to Face Meeting and the Ethics on-line face to face meeting. During my time with the Ministry Developers we share what is taking place in both our professional and personal lives. Andy also shared the newest developments in how the Diocese is becoming more connected through the use of technology and he encouraged all of us to start blogging. Margaret’s blog can be found at this site -> http://margaretinwyoming.blogspot.com
We are also putting together a Latino Workshop that will be hosted at the Diocesan Office Feb 12, 2010 @ 10am to 4pm. More information about that will come out later. The Ethics on-line course is launched and we are now in week 1.

Ok what is on deck for the week? Well I did not put in this post were the events of Monday (Jan 18) in which I will let everybody know what happened. Today I am working through my “to do” list. Wednesday I will be in a WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers starting @ 8am, office hours at Kraft Hall from 10am to 12pm, and a Region 4 Apostolic Team meeting through WebEx @ 5:30pm. Thursday is a catch up day. Friday I will be in Laramie to work on my personal project. Sunday I will be in Medicine Bow @ St. Luke’s for a service that starts at 10:30 am.

Let me know about this format. I not sure I want to stick with this because is lacks a narrative flow and therefore it becomes longer. We will see. 

Letters to the Churches of Carbon County - Jan 11 2010

January 11, 2010

Ok folks this is going to be a busy week. I have three days to write a sermon, attend a couple of important meetings, and then I am off to Casper for three days (Thursday through Saturday) before returning to Carbon County to preside at two services on Sunday. Ok it looks like 2010 is going to be a “crazy and wild” year! (Think Steve Martin, hint, hint). The quick glimpse around the County looks like this; Ray Grieb has moved to Wheatland and so Jess Smith and I are making adjustments on service schedules to make sure everybody gets covered; St. Luke had a report on the progress on the pre-school (report from Ida’s FB status); St. Thomas is working on making preparations for Karen’s ordination; St. Paul is reentering their flow from the Christmas break; and I was able to catch up (briefly) with the leadership of St. James in Encampment this past Sunday. I hope this letter finds you well.

Last Monday I spent an hour with the Gospel Study group of St. Thomas. They meet weekly and I drop in on the week that I am to preach in Rawlins. It is a good time to listen and discern what is happening at St. Thomas and through out time together I get inspired. One of my personal goals for this year is to deepen my preaching. I also assisted Karen in putting together an invitation that she will be mailing out in the days to come to various churches and people throughout the Diocese for her ordination.

Tuesday I met with Andy and Pat in the afternoon to prepare for a web/phone meeting with the Wyoming Wilderness Camp leadership that night. Andy taught Pat how to up-date the WWC on-line calendar and I got to learn a bit more on how to use WebEx. That evening the leadership group for WWC (Wyoming Wilderness Camp) got together on-line reviewed dates for camps and decided to go with “I Will With God’s Help” as the theme for this year’s camp. Good stuff.

On Wednesday I was on the weekly web/phone meeting with the Ministry Developers in which we finalized our agenda for the up-coming face to face meeting in Casper; reviewed the on-line Ethics course and general check in. That afternoon I was on another web/phone meeting to set a date and set a general out-line for a Latino Workshop that will be hosted in Wyoming on Feb 13, 2010. More details will be coming out in the days to come.

Thursday I wrote my sermon and caught with the Ministry Support Team at St. Thomas. The MST discussed Karen’s ordination and scheduled a time for the local paper to come and interview Karen. The group also made plans for Wade in the Water study for the season of Lent. Following that meeting I headed out and the vestry met.

Saturday I was at the monthly Worship Breakfast at St. Thomas in which they discussed ways to improve the flow of the service, and brought up the idea of having a public speaking session scheduled in the coming months.

Sunday I was at St. Thomas for the service. My girls are becoming more comfortable with serving with me around the Table and there were a couple of children in attendance during the service. There was a house blessing that afternoon in which Burke Epp had his newly built home blessed and open to people to take a tour. Burke had designed this house and it clearly has his touch. Nicely done.

What is on deck for this week? Tuesday I will attempt to write my sermon and be present to be a resource person for Karen’s interview with the local newspaper. I will also be on a WebEx meeting with Linda Fleming to discuss service schedules for the coming months. Wednesday I will be meeting with a friend from Encampment for breakfast and then off to Kraft Hall for office hours. That evening I will be on a WebEx meeting with the Evangelism Team of the Diocese. Then I will be out of town for the next thee days for a Ministry Developer face to face meeting from Thursday to Friday. On Saturday there is a face to face meeting with the Ethics on-line group. Whew; like I said “wild and crazy!” (Again think about the comedian Steve Martin the wild and crazy guy from the 80’s).

Weekly Letter to the Churches of Carbon County and Beyond - Jan 4 2010

January 4, 2010

I was asked a question during the service at St. Paul’s in Dixon about how to refer to this year calendar date. Is it twenty ten or two thousand and ten? I really don’t know. Twenty ten sounds contemporary but two thousand and ten sounds traditional (i.e. we said two thousand and nine last year). Well in both cases what we have is a beginning of a new decade. That is hard to imagine. We (the Diocese) opens this year with a large change on the horizon and will have a better picture of what will happen by the end of the first three months with the election of the next Bishop of Wyoming. What a way to start the decade.

Also it seems that this Christmas and New Year holiday was shorten. I was talking to my brother, who is a teacher, about this while I was in Colorado Springs. We concluded that the reason the Christmas break was short was because Christmas was later in the week and so most of us kept to our usual activities before taking a break for the holidays. So with that in mind (the quick break) let’s move on to the business of the Church and Ministry Development in Region 4.

My vacation plans got “flipped” as I was planning on going to Wheatland first and then to Colorado Springs. However, due to weather concerns I remained in Rawlins for an extra two days and started my vacation in Colorado Springs and then went to Wheatland. I wonder if that is what to expect in 2010? Well more to the point, I arrived in Dixon to preside at St. Paul’s for their Christmas Eve services and the church was full. I believe there was close to fifty people in attendance. We quickly asked a younger and eager child to light the candles and assist in handing out the individual candles for the singing of Silent Night. It was nice to see the church in the warm glow of candle light during the song. Later that evening I was presiding in Rawlins at St. Thomas and again there was a large crowd with familiar faces and families and sticking to the tradition of singing Silent Night to candle light the members of St. Thomas sang the well known Christmas song.

The following week was pretty quiet as I received reports that people are getting ready for the annual meetings that take place during this time of year. I enjoyed some time with family as drove throughout the state dropping and picking up kids. So there is not much to report on that front. However, due to the slowdown in activity I was able to think more intentionally about my goals for 2010. There are so many different choices to make when it comes to continued professional development! I am not completely sure what I will be doing for the coming year; however I will be attending a workshop in February around stewardship and worked on wrapping up the details to attend that event. I am sure the upcoming year will provide opportunities of discernment and discovery.

Yesterday (Sunday) I drove to St. Paul’s in Dixon and enjoyed the drive. The weather was nice, the roads were dry, and the views were wonderful. I arrived to find the sidewalk and the entrance to the church covered with snow. As I “plowed” through the snow I watched members of St. Paul work through the snow and noted that the possibility of people slipping and falling was real. So, I spent the first ½ hour shoveling snow off the sidewalk back into the street to clear the path. There was a gentleman from across the street that saw my efforts and came over with his snow blower and assisted me in my effort. Task accomplished and we gather to worship in a timely fashion.

The coming week looks like this: Monday I will be attending a Gospel Study at St. Thomas and working through a “large” to do list. Tuesday I have planned to wrap up my activities from Monday, to make a couple of phone calls to check in throughout the region and that evening host a web/phone meeting with those who are involved in the Wyoming Wilderness Camp. Wednesday is the typical full day with a web/phone meeting starting at 8am and office hours at Kraft Hall from 10am to 12pm. Thursday I will be working on administrative items and perhaps be writing a sermon and that evening attending a Ministry Support Team at St. Thomas. Saturday I will be attending a worship breakfast at St. Thomas. Sunday I will be presiding at St. Thomas and the service starts at 9:30am. Enjoy welcoming in the New Year!