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The last time I wrote it was the beginning of April and now we are looking straight at Holy Week. Where did the time go? Last week I was in Jackson Hole for a clergy and spouse retreat and it was a good time to reconnect with the preaching ministry of the priestly office. It was also a good time to relax and slow down which I did. I remember that I live in a world of unlimited possibilities and what the church will be celebrating in a week's time is a great example of what could happen in the world of unknowns! I also reminded myself about possibilities for the Episcopal Church, which is that the church does belong in the midst of many conversations that are taking place in our lives. God has a powerful and attractive voice and will lead us to new breakthroughs and new levels of understanding. Yes, I am gearing up for Holy Week. Before I get there however, perhaps revisiting what has happened is in order. I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Paul's (Dixon): The past couple of weeks I entered a different pattern. Two weeks ago the faithful group of St. Paul's met to continue to read the bible and I was not there. I was in Jackson Hole enjoying the retreat. The wonderful news I did receive was that Linda Fleming has been officially recognized as a Postulant which is an important step in the process toward holy orders. Yes folks it is official Linda Fleming has completed her paperwork and the clock now starts. This Sunday I preached and presided at St. Paul's. We marched around the parish hall because it was raining outside and concluded the service with the reading of the Passion. Linda and I co-read and it worked really well. After the service we all headed over to the Senior Center for lunch and then to the Savory Museum to listen to stories of people's lives. When I arrived another St. Paul parishioner was a bit nervous because she didn't know if anybody would come, the fears were unfounded the event well attended. I was deeply moved and touched by what I heard. It was impressive.
St. James (Encampment): Two weeks ago St. James had their quarterly meeting. There was a slight change in how this work was done because in the past quarterly meetings were not held. This group of people are getting more organized and prepared for the next level of performance as a community of faith. I see big things happening there. A personal goal was also met this week. I have been working with DiSCtm off and on since 2007 and received training how to become a facilitator of this material in January of 2011. Once of the insight modules is called Biblical Personal Profile System. The fine people of St. James agreed to participate in the training and so we met for a training on Saturday. Toward the end of our time together people were laughing and asking good questions and getting new insights for themselves and others. It was a successful training.
St Luke (Medicine Bow): I have been in conversation with Arlen about the bishop visit and other important event that took place in Medicine Bow. The powerful and moving news that I received was one of reconciliation between a mother and her son. Talk about an affirmation about the work that God has called us to do in the ministry or restoring what has been broken. All those miles of driving and time sitting in a car driving around is paid in full when I hear about these kinds of stories and events. The plans for the Bishop visit are set for this week.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): I met with the Ministry Support Team aka MST last week and we quickly reviewed all that is taking place in the five areas of ministry by using what I call the Ministry Circle. The Ministry Circles looks at five areas of a church's life – administration, formation, transformation, worship, and pastoral care. After the MST meeting I participated in the vestry meeting. The bulk of the work was a discussion about how St. Thomas understands the role and expectation of a priest and how that is different from a rector. It was a productive meeting. I believe St. Thomas is on the edge of a powerful breakthrough and because of that conversation I am in a better position to respond to questions about priest, rectors, and ministry developers. This conversation has powerful implications in my ministry. I am excited about the future.
What is coming up? Well we all know it is Holy Week which means the drama of Jesus' final week on earth will be played out in our liturgy. Monday I will be close to home and I will attempt to get some preliminary work done on sermons for the week. Tuesday I will be visiting with those who are attending the Gospel Study at St. Thomas at 9 am. Wednesday is the Bishop Visit at St. Luke's in Medicine Bow. Thursday I will be participating in an Agape Meal at St. Thomas that starts at 5:30 pm. Following the meal I will be preaching and presiding at the Maundy Thursday Service and the stripping of the altar. Friday I will be leading a Good Friday Service at St. Paul's in Dixon and we will also be doing Stations of Cross that day as well. Saturday I will be heading to St. Luke's in Medicine Bow for their Easter Vigil Service that starts at 4pm. On Sunday I will be heading to St. Paul's in Dixon for the Easter Sunday services. Just like that I have worked with four churches in Carbon County! By the way or BTW if you are looking for Jesus in the tomb he is not there, he is found among the living!
April has arrived and so did the snow! What fun. One person noted as she headed out the door, “It looks like Christmas Eve.” Kellie was sharing with me last week that on the world wide scene, Easter is bigger than Christmas. Well, we are three weeks away from the grand event. It appeared to me to be a slower week. I think that has more to do with travel. I did all my traveling in the first part of the week and stayed closer to Rawlins from Wednesday forward. I am starting to really appreciate the VTC and I hope that will be a well used tool in the coming months and years. I am still quite aware that we are an incarnational people which means sharing the same air is important and I don't think technology will ever replace the face to face interaction. Talking about interaction lets move on to the events of past week. I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Paul's (Dixon): Last week I attended the bi-monthly Spring Bible Cafe. They are working through Jeremiah and it is dark. It also turns out that the assigned daily readings also come from Jeremiah. The insight that I gained last Monday was that God did not ask for much, but what was asked was important – worship and obedience. Simple concept hard to apply. Much like this quote - “If things were simple, word would have gotten around.” - Jacques Derrida. Yesterday I arrived at St. Paul's for church service. A parishioner noted, “If I can make it to school to read to kids, I can make it to church.” I am happy to hear about that simple logic. Following the service we had a brief vestry meeting to look over the financial and plan some more congregational development work. St. Paul's agreed to participate in a DiSCtm Biblical profile workshop this June. That now makes three out of four congregations that I work with who have made the commitment to this training with DiSCtm. Simple and powerful.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): It was quiet in the office at Kraft Hall last week. I provided my dates for the coming week (this week) and made and received a couple of phone calls. Last Saturday I met with the preaching group and Bob and I talked about what is taking place around St. Thomas and possible ways of “changing up” the preaching both in content and presentation. It was a productive meeting. Yesterday I preached and presided at the first part of the service and the Rev. Karen Buckingham (the locally call priest of St Thomas) celebrated the Eucharist. I believe this is an effective image of shared ministry and it was nice to participate in this sharing of the work of the Lord with others.
St. Luke (Medicine Bow): I received a call from Arlen as they finalize plans for the Bishop visit that is coming up in about two weeks. It was agreed upon that starting at 9am may be a bit early and so they will need to make some slight adjustments. I also heard about a pastoral concern and that person is in my prayers. I am also in the process of calling other people to see if they want to participate in the DiSCtm training that is schedule for this June.
St. James (Encampment): Not much to report this week. I am sure the work on building the parish hall continues to unfold. Given that spring has not made up it mind if it is going to stick around I am sure has a slight impact on start dates. Nevertheless, here is a group that does not get to easily alarmed and I am sure everything is progressing quite nicely in that part of the state.
Ministry Development: I met with three other people last Wednesday to continue the work on visioning the communications throughout the Diocese of Wyoming looking at five to ten years out. I was quite impressed with the use of the VTC and how effective it was to met with two people in Casper, one person in Jackson Hole, and one person in Rawlins almost effortlessly. I can see more meetings like this taking place in the future. This way of gathering is easy on the travel of vehicles, time, and effort and I like it. Again simple.
What is coming up? Tuesday I meet with the Gospel Study group of St. Thomas at 9am. Following that meeting the Rev. Karen Buckingham invited me to sit in on a conversation with a person who is inquiring about the Episcopal Church. Wednesday is an administrative day, however I will not be in Kraft Hall this week. Thursday I head to Casper for a DiSCtm training and a WebEx meeting with the regional reps and ministry developers at 5:30 pm. Friday I will be on a DiSCtm and Discipleship coaching call at 12:30 pm for an hour. Saturday St. Thomas Worship Breakfast takes place at 8:30 am at McDonalds. Sunday I will be preaching and presiding at St. James in Encampment and from there I will head to Jackson Hole for the clergy retreat that will conclude on Tuesday at noon. Have a great week that is simple and transformative.
Does it seem that the month of March stretches on and on? Where February was quick this month seems to go on forever. Well this is the last Monday of this month and now it seems that everything is happening quickly. As the fine folks of St Luke pointed out their Bishop Visit in about two week away. Now that came up quickly. As I put together my pictures for this posting I realized there was a theme. Everybody was smiling. That sure seems counter to the idea of Lent, but this year I think it is appropriate. There is much to be grateful about. I hope this letter finds you well.
St. Luke's (Medicine Bow): Last Thursday I drove through town and picked up Lillian and together we headed to Laramie to meet with Alren's preaching discernment group at St. Matthews. Arlen has put together a fine group who asked good questions about the process and expectations. Two churches will be working together in this effort. St. Matthews will be working on Arlen's theological development and St. Luke's will be working on presentation and content of the sermons. Together, along with the prompting of God's calling, we will discover the abundance of God's love among us. Yesterday the dedicated members of St. Luke's gathered after the service to (a) plan the Bishop Visit in April and (b) to plan a DiSC(r) training using the Biblical Profile System. There was some discussion about replacing a furnace for next year. There was honest sharing and I am looking forward to seeing what God does with our prayers and dreams.
St James (Encampment): I have been in conversation about the building of a parish hall. They want to respond to an e-mail that was sent to them from the UTO. During the pondering of the e-mail that there may be a time line issue that needed to be worked out. I am really impressed with the attitude of integrity. I am confident that God will honor the intention of the spirit of honestly and openness that this faithful group of people bring to this effort. I also have been working with Vonnie to make plans for the Bishop Visit in May and this event will be shared with St. Barnabas in Saratoga. It looks like that is coming together nicely and once again another opportunity for different Episcopal Churches in the Diocese of Wyoming are working together for the grace of God.
St Thomas (Rawlins): I met with the Gospel Group last Tuesday and I didn't envy the preach last week the reading was full of threads and ideas for preaching. I shared with Arlen (who preached at St Luke's) that it was almost too much to cover and one had to pick to one idea and allow the grace knowing that there will be more preaching events in the future. I didn't make it to Rhythms of Grace, but I did receive a picture and it looked like the kids were having a great time. Last night I did make it to the Square Dancing event at the Jeffery Center and members of the Methodist Church were counted among the crowd. It was fun watching people dance. The caller was good and in some ways when we listen to God as the caller we all can dance and beautiful dance. When I got home the middle child took some paper, cut it up in the shape of people, taped them together, and showed Kellie and I what she did at the Jeffery Center. Yup, it was people square dancing. Nice image.
St. Paul (Dixon): This was my off week and I did not travel to the Valley. Linda wrote a sermon this week and I read it. I was impressed with the theme of invitation and sharing what it means to being an Episcopalian. We are often a bashful bunch when it comes to sharing our faith with others, well simply because we (as a church) are people who prefer to have our actions do our talking. Yet, talking also requires listening. Linda has gently pulled out the power of sharing and the importance of sharing the Good News of Christ with others. It is not about recruiting, but caring for one another.
What is coming up? Today (Monday) is a WebEx meeting with the Ministry Developers at 8 am. Then I head to Baggs to meet with the Spring Bible Cafe group at 2 pm. Tuesday I will be meeting with the Gospel Group of St. Thomas at Kraft Hall starting at 9 am. Wednesday is office hours at Kraft Hall from 10 am to 12 pm. That afternoon I will be meeting with the Communications Visioning Group via the VTC at 3 pm. Thursday is sermon writing day. Saturday I meet with the preaching ministry group of St. Thomas at 10 am. Sunday I will be preaching and presiding at two churches starting at St. Thomas (Rawlins) at 9:30 am and St. Paul's (Dixon) at 3pm. There will be a Ministry Support Team meeting following the service at St. Paul's. Keep on smiling!
St. Paul's (Dixon): I started this month thinking I will only be preaching and presiding once this month and it turned out I had a free Sunday (yesterday) to catch up. St. Paul's has been faithful in hosting their Ministry Support Team meetings on the first of the month and yesterday we concluded our service and had a wonderful lunch at the Senior Center. St. Paul's is also scheduling a family fun night this Saturday at the Community Center in Baggs. Food, fellowship and Fun will be all offered starting at 5:30 pm. Last Saturday the Little Snake River Valley said good-bye to Peter “Lee” Jon as he passed away on June 9 2011 in his home. The service was held at the high school due to the large turn out of people. St. Paul members were up for the task and it was a holy service. They have scheduled a Biblical DiSC Training for the end of July.
St. James (Encampment): I am sure everybody at St. James has fully recovered from the Bishop Visit in May. St. James is also working on building new parish hall that will include restrooms and handicap accessibility for the church. The Rev. Jess Smith and I traded Sunday's for the month of June and so I will be with them next week. I am looking forward to catching up with everybody in Encampment.
St. Thomas (Rawlins): We have established a comfortable rhythm of working together. I have met with the vestry this month and up-dated them on various different activities. St. Thomas is working on building a “lift” and handicap bathroom for the church. The foundation has been laid and now it will be focusing on “punching a hole in the wall” and framing out the remainder of the addition. I have also met with a couple of members of the church as we write a Ministry Role Description for a priest at St. Thomas. It is my hope that this work be completed in time to share with the congregation in July.
St. Luke (Medicine Bow): I have received reports that St. Luke is doing well. One of the main members of the congregation had a pacemaker battery replaced and she is feeling like she is back in her game. Arlen is working on his preaching license and is signed up for DiSC and Discipleship this fall to work on his preaching presentation and content. I continue to work with him and his discernment group in Laramie.
