Saturday December 12, 2009

Hello and welcome to the December 12 edition of the eSpirit of Wyoming!

Merry Christmas!

The Diocese has moved in to the newly remodeled building! The Diocese Office on Durbin Street, Casper is finished (mostly). The big day started happening on December 7 and continued most of the week. A celebration last night (December 11) sealed the deal.

Thank you for your patience with the office staff last week. A series of delays with construction kept everyone on their toes, including no Internet access for the week (which meant no phones, since the phones use Internet). All week the phones forwarded directly to Jessica’s (office manager) mobile phone! The good news is the office is scheduled to get Internet on Monday (December 14) and phones, computers, servers, etc will all be set up and life should get back to normal. Please note that the mailing address and phone numbers will stay the same (123 S Durbin, Casper WY 82601 & 307.265.5200).

As always, a reminder that if you have articles you would like to share with the rest of the Diocese, please email them (and a picture if you have one) to info@wyomingdiocese.org. It doesn’t have to be earth-shattering news or events, but anything you would like to share.

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HERE'S THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE WYOMING BISHOP SEARCH:

One candidate -- The Very Rev. Robert “Bob” Neske, Dean at St. Mark’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral in Hastings, Nebraska -- has withdrawn his name from the list of nominees.

The remaining nominees offered by the Search Committee are:

- The Rev. Rebecca “Becky” Brown, Rector - St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Foxborough, MA / Diocese of Massachusetts
- The Very Rev. Canon F. Michael Perko, Ph.d., Dean – Diocesan School for Ministry; Regional Canon; Assisting Priest, Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, NM / Diocese of the Rio Grande,
- The Rev. Canon Dr. Clark Michael Sherman, Rector – St. James Church, Bozeman, MT; Regional Canon; University Chaplain / Diocese of Montana
- The Rev. John Sheridan Smylie, Rector – St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Casper, WY / Diocese of Wyoming

The slate is not complete, however, until the candidates nominated through the Petition Process have been added. The Petition Process is currently open until December 21. Canonically resident clergy and active laity have the opportunity to nominate additional candidates for Bishop by submitting signatures to the Oversight Committee for the Search, Transition and Election of the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming.

Go to www.WyomingBishopSearch.org to download the Petition form and specific instructions. All documentation must be received no later than December 21. Send any questions to www.WyomingBishopSearch@gmail.com

Search Committee chairwoman, Linda Anderson, provided an update to the joint meeting of the Diocesan Council, Foundation and Standing Committee yesterday in Casper. "While it may appear that the Search committee’s work is finished. The truth is that the process of the Search Committee for the 9th Bishop of the Diocese of Wyoming will continue until the election convention in March. We will continue to vet the candidates through a variety of methods and share that information with the Diocese. Any applicants that come through the petition process will go through the same vetting."

Once all of nominees are named, biographic and professional information (including the candidates' essay answers) will be posted to the Wyoming Bishop Search website.

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To celebrate the newly remodeled Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming office, the Foundation for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming hosted an Open House on Friday, December 11 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the 123 S Durbin, Casper location. The office building, purchased in 2007, was remodeled to conform with The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, and is one of the few buildings in Wyoming to be LEED-compliant. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED provides building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. For more information on LEED go to: www.usgbc.org/LEED

The open house showcased the environmentally-friendly redesign that includes energy efficient lighting, heating, and cooling, as well as use of open spaces and natural lighting. The building remodel includes worship and meeting space, in addition to the Diocese offices. John Masters, Esq., Executive Director for The Foundation for the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming commented, “This is not just an office building, but a comfortable space for work, worship and community gatherings”. Wyoming Episcopal Bishop, The Rt Rev Bruce Caldwell, led guests in a brief consecration of the Chapel and Diocesan Center. Over 50 guests attended the event.

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By The Rev Ann Fontaine. Email: annfontaine@me.com

Christmas can be a hard time for those who have recently suffered losses or death in their lives. When everyone is celebrating and merry - it is difficult to pretend to feel happy when one is missing loved ones, depressed or living in circumstances affected by abuse or addiction. Many churches offer liturgies to welcome those whose mood or life events don't fit the prevailing culture. Called Blue Christmas, Longest Night or Services of Solace, the liturgy has space for sadness with music, silence, prayers, lighting candles for concerns, and readings from scripture. Many churches in Wyoming are holding these services this year between now and Christmas. All Saints in Torrington is joining with other churches for an ecumenical service. St. Stephen's in Casper adds going out in the dark to bang pots and pans on the longest night of the Northern Hemisphere to drive away the dragons of darkness. They learned of this tradition from St. Matthew's in Fairbanks, Alaska. Christ Church, Cody; St. John's, Jackson is having a gathering for snacks and beverages before the service; the EfM online group based in Wyoming is having an online liturgy; and St. James, Riverton have all reported they will be reaching out to those who might find this a helpful service and a place to just feel whatever they are feeling.

Patterson Keller had this to add:
Having that event or considering it is a great idea and an important idea. We've been cultured into thinking that Christmas is only 'family' and 'merry.' As fine as those two things are, the miracle and rupture in time of the birth of the Son of God is the primary consideration--or I think it should be. To minister to the people who are experiencing tragedy, sickness, loneliness and death at this time is a great privilege. Advent is also a great time to be with those people and their pain and perhaps raise their expectations that something really spine tingling has happened and is about to happen again---as is written somewhere "what was, and is, and is to come."

More about Blue Christmas here: http://www.episcopalcafe.com/daily/church_year/blue_christmasreprise_1.php
 

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The Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs


Christmas message from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church, has presented the following Christmas message.

Christmas message 2009

The mornings are dark, pitch black until after most of us have begun our days. The hints of dawn in the eastern sky, those streaks of rose and pink that promise more and brighter light, bring hope even in the dark mid-winter. Where do you look for that kind of hope borne on slim rays of light?

Jesus is already abroad, even in the darkness. The hungry one fed, the street people who have their feet cared for, the humble and honored guest at your dinner table – each one offers a glimpse of that dawn, if you look closely enough.

What we have waited long for, ages and eons for, has been born among us. He comes among us quietly, almost stealthily, in an obscure barn, long ago. This child holds all our hope for light. This tiny frame seems too frail to bear our yearning. Yet the nations come streaming to this light even before he is weaned. The divine has come to dwell in our midst, and God’s eternal promise of peace, restoration, and home is made flesh.

Where and how will you seek out this light of the world? In what other frail frames will light expunge darkness? The light grows with our own eager searching, light reaching out to light, divine reflection yearning for its source. May the light of Christ light your way in the darkness, may his light spread through nations besieged by war and hunger, may we continue to search out his light in the dark places of our own hearts.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church

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By The Rev Doug Wasinger. Email: doug@wyomingdiocese.org

Doug is out and about again this week. How is your Advent shaping up? Why not check in to see what is taking place throughout Region 4 at this blog site http://ministrydevelopmentregion4.blogspot.com

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From EFM News. Email: efmnews@sewanee.edu

Lilian Robinson "Flower" Ross passed away peacefully in Asheville, NC on November 30, 2009.Though she suffered the last few years of her life with serious health problems, she remained positive and grateful for the life that she had lived. She was 80 when she died. She leaves behind her loving husband, the Rev. Charles L. Winters, one brother, Murray Robinson, Bloomington, Indiana, four children from a previous marriage; Dr. Rusty Ross, Mobile, Alabama, Susan Shodroski, Frederick, Maryland, and Murray Ross and Frances Ross Nolan, Birmingham, Alabama. She also leaves behind two step-children, Tony Winters, New York, NY and Karen Vaught, Atlanta, Georgia, as well as 9 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Flower lived a remarkable life, having been born in Atlanta, Georgia at the beginning of the Great Depression, the oldest of three children. Flower’s given name was Lilian but she was nicknamed Flower, a reference to Lilly, her name. Her mother was Margaret Mitchell’s typist when she wrote Gone With The Wind. Flower attended Mary Washington College and received her Masters degree from Loyola University in New Orleans. Flower worked for the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama while her children were young and later worked for the School of Theology, The University of the South, where she married Charles Winters in 1980. Along with Charlie, she helped create and champion Education for Ministry, an educational program for lay-people in ministry, still widely used throughout the Episcopal Church. Over the years Flower traveled extensively in Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America while serving as a trainer of mentors for EfM groups all over the world.

Flower and Charlie joined the faculty of Seabury-Western Seminary in Evanston, Illinois where they both taught until their retirement in 1994. They moved to Asheville, North Carolina to be close to friends and immediately joined All Soul’s Cathedral. Flower remained active in lay ministry until her health prevented her from continuing. Flower and Charlie eventually moved to Deerfield Episcopal Retirement Community where she lived at the time of her death. Flower was an excellent ballroom dancer, an avid reader, a cat-lover, a lover of good food, a generous person, a thoughtful friend, a grateful servant, and a devoted spouse. Her presence will be missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her.

A Celebration of her life and a memorial service will be held at All Soul’s Cathedral, Asheville, North Carolina, at 2:00 PM on Saturday, December 12, 2009 with the service of Holy Communion, concluding with the Interment of Ashes in the church garden, followed by a reception in Zabriskie Hall at the Cathedral.

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Press Release by the Wyoming Association of Churches

PROMPT ACTION IS IMPERATIVE

An open letter to Senator Enzi, Senator Barrasso, and Representative Lummis--:

As the summit meeting on climate change in Copenhagen moves forward, let us understand clearly what we inhabitants of the Earth need to achieve, in order gradually to restore the integrity of the planet's atmosphere. The overall goal must be to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from its present level of 387 parts per million to a threshold level of 350 parts per million, and to reduce emissions within the next decade to a level that will accomplish this. That is the consensus of the scientific community. The need for prompt remedial action is so urgent, and the consequences of inaction are so dire, that the option of focusing upon short-term political gains is completely unacceptable.

The Wyoming Association of Churches strives to live in right relationship with all Creation, recognizing that the entire world is inter-connected and is a manifestation of God. We seek to integrate into our beliefs and practices the truth that God's Creation is to be respected, protected, and held in reverence in its own right, and the truth that human aspirations for peace and justice depend upon restoring the earth's ecological integrity. Feeling a responsibility to safeguard the planet for future generations, we view the need to take concrete actions designed to slow climate change and mitigate its impact as a moral imperative.

Appropriate new policies must be defined, adopted and implemented immediately. While there may be differences of opinion concerning what steps will be taken, doing nothing is out of the question. We must bring our species into a harmonious relationship with the rest of the planet - now.

John Peacock, Director of Ministry
on behalf of
The Wyoming Association of Churches

The Wyoming Association of Churches (formerly the Wyoming Church Coalition) was founded in 1976 by thirteen denominations that recognized a need to develop ecumenical community and promote a just society in Wyoming. We embrace the principle that, while doctrine, worship styles, and customs often separate us, the call to do God's work in the world brings us together

John Peacock
307/631-8914
mettenheim@msn.com

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