Casting Lots at the Cathedral

Whew! It’s the end of our first day on this trail ride across Wyoming and, boy, our dogies are tired.

We began our journey at St. Mark’s-Cheyenne and were greeted by 65+ folks who were eager to meet the nominees and pose some  meaty questions.  The event was co-hosted by St. Mark’s and St. Christopher’s  with St. M's providing the venue and St. C's making the sack lunches.  In her welcome, St. Christopher’s Rector Robin Chance joked that her parish’s newly-collapsed roof would be on the bishop-elect’s first order of business.

The nominees rotated through six rooms of inquiring minds and there were no softballs lobbed about.  It was quickly apparent in both Cheyenne and Laramie that folks had been thoughtful and deliberative in the crafting of their questions, giving the nominees the opportunity to share some their deepest thinking, personal histories and favorite anecdotes with an occasional joke thrown in.

Some of the issues on people’s minds today…

• The sharp decline in national church membership coupled with aging parish populations and the need to engage youth in our church lives
• The state of the Anglican Communion
• The future of lesbian, gay and transgender members of our churches and each nominee’s view of same-gender blessings
• Shared ministry in general, shared ministry in rector-led congregations and vocational deacons
• The nominees’ own relationship with God, their self-care habits and their call to be Bishop of Wyoming

It would be politically and spiritually treacherous to even attempt to pick-and-choose comments from each of the nominees to post here. That’s why it’s so critical Episcopalians come see and hear for themselves what the bishop candidates have to say — each is an articulate, interesting and compelling individual. They each have distinctive styles and perspectives.  (And, that’s just the nominees! The spouses too are engaging conversationalists and are far more than mere ambassadors for their mates.)

At several stops along the Walkabout we’re videotaping the nominees in order to post online some of their unedited dialogue with the diocese.  While a 10-minute video on YouTube is a poor substitute for a live appearance, those who simply cannot get to the Walkabout in their area can at least get a sense of the nominees’ views concerning the key issues of our church — locally, nationally and globally.

Before we hit the hay for the night, we like to share a few more of the day’s highlights.  The stop at Cathedral Home was meaningful and touching for the entire group. This priceless and essential treatment facility cares for up to 82 youth with troubled lives, helping them build hope, skills and vision for a future far different than may have been destined for them without intervention.  The youth were warm and eager to meet, greet and share.  Each member of the tour signed a confidentiality agreement to protect these youths’ privacy so photos of the visit clearly will not be posted here.  However, we can share with you, Buddy, the home’s official greeter.  This bright and personable border collie followed the tour and regaled everyone with his “look at me, pay attention to me” antics.  The only place Buddy was not permitted was the barista students’ coffee bar where nominees were treated to lattes and chai tea.

 At the home, our guide (director Robin Haas) also introduced some members of her dedicated staff.  Two of the younger employees, Bri and Cooper, are pictured here.

The Very Rev. Marilyn Engstrom, dean of St. Matthew’s Cathedral, served as enthusiastic host  of the Laramie visit. At the dinner gathering, she shared with the assembled crowd of 80 or so the fact that the nominees’  visit coincided with the Feast Day of the Cathedral’s patron saint, Matthias, who she reminded us with a gospel reading, was selected as the 12th Apostle (to replace Judas) by the casting of lots.   Marilyn, in her own inimitable way, then pulled out straws and dice and suggested that  the selection of Wyoming’s next bishop could be settled then and there. 

Since there were no takers of Marilyn’s biblically-based suggestion, we’ll reload the bus at O-dark-thirty in the morning and make our way to Rawlins, Dixon and eventually Evanston.

The final person we’ll introduce you to tonight is quite possibly the most important member of this tour:  Michael the marvelous bus driver.  If it weren’t for him, we might not be coming to a town near you any time soon!  (As our journey continues, we’ll be introducing you to more members of our support and logistics crew and, if our arm-twisting is successful, there might be a blog entry or two from them as well.

If you are a Twittering kind of person, I am dropping a few tweets along the way during the day. You can follow me at PamelaGRW or simply check out #wyodio to get a round-up of Walkabout tweets. (If you don’t have a clue as to what this all means yet are feeling a little technologically adventurous, head on over to www.twitter.com and  sign on for the ride.)

Okay folks, we are done for the night,.

Happy Trails to You — until we meet again. (In the meantime, keep sending your prayers our way for smooth highways and clear skies.)

God bless!