The Busy Season

For most pastors, the summer is the slow time. Clergy groups don't meet. Staff take long vacations. Worship relaxes a bit. But up here in the mountains, everything is in reverse. Summer is the busy time up here and can be a lot of fun.


Last week we had our Outback Express Vacation Bible School, with 13 kids. We had a great time and the kids all learned a lot about Australia and about Jesus, though not necessarily in that order. They had hikes, a cookout, lots of crafts and Bible stories. Peter was the focus of the week and as a pastor, I can't think of a better person to learn about Jesus through than Peter. He was impulsive, made a lot of mistakes, never thought things through and mostly just made a nuisance of himself as a disciple. A lot like my relationship with God.


We also had our annual Memorial Service for those people who died during the past year. This past year, we celebrated the lives of many long-time residents and "people of influence" up in these here parts. It was a beautiful day, filled with music and remembrance.

Coming up, we have "Christmas in August", a legendary event in Yellowstone National Park. It was started (according to one version of the story) by some Christian Ministry in the National Parks participants who were trapped here in August during a snowstorm. We have a Christmas service in the morning and a dinner in the afternoon. It is quite the event, but as a pastor, few things are more strange than trying to preach the Christmas story in the middle of summer. As a theologian and student of the Bible, however, it is probably the most likely time of Jesus' birth - the middle of the summer.

Summer moves fast up here. Weddings, renewal of vows, baptisms and special services are all packed into about 4 months. Then, in the space of a couple weeks, all the people who spend their summers here go home for the winter. In those couple of weeks, the church goes from worshiping almost 100 or more on any given Sunday morning to as few as 10. There are a few weeks of adjustment, and then everything normalizes to a small, intimate and devoted Sunday group that live here year-round.


My wife, Kate, and daughter, Rhiannon, have been traveling for 3 weeks and have not been around. A fast summer without my family around is a bitter-sweet experience. The other day, I was walking the dogs on Lulu Pass. The flowers are all in bloom up there and it is a riot of yellow, purple, red and green. I think they may all be gone by the time my family returns on Friday and that is a little sad. But the dogs love it and so do I. I am trying to take some pictures to remember it by.


Peace to all!
Pastor Seth