Travels in the wild, wild west

I've been traveling a lot this month - more than I prefer, really, but the trips have gone well so far. I participated in a Residency in Ministry retreat for probationary clergy that was informative, restful, and fun as I connected with others going through "the process" toward ordination.

I drove to Kemmerer, Green River, and Rock Springs, Wyoming, to talk about GraceWorks Community, the volunteer program I run. In addition to spending time with some wonderful people, I got to see the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area south of Rock Springs/Green River (into Utah), including some young bighorn sheep butting heads! (I'll try to get a picture up next week.)

I led the winter retreat for GraceWorks at Templed Hills Camp near Woodland Park, Colorado, and felt like we did pretty well at re-connecting, re-newing, and re-framing how things are going - as well as getting some good feedback from the volunteers on how to improve the program.

And on Wednesday I leave for an 8-day trip to Montana, where I'll be talking about GraceWorks with young people in colleges and with folks of all ages in churches in Missoula, Helena, Bozeman, and Billings.

I can't really remember what my apartment looks like (which is maybe just as well, since I don't have time to clean it either), but other than that, life in the west is pretty darn good.