WYOMING/NORTHEAST COLORADO DISTRICT NEWS

NORTHEAST COLORADO SUB-DISTRICT CONFERENCE
SATURDAY, APRIL 1 - 9:00 a.m.
YUMA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Please call the Yuma Church to make a reservation for lunch
970-848-2224

WYOMING SUB-DISTRICT CONFERENCE
SATURDAY, MARCH 18 - 1:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 18 - 9:00 a.m.: Creating Sacred Trust Ethics Training
WHEATLAND UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, WHEATLAND, WYOMING
Please call the Wheatland Church to make a reservation for lunch
307-322-3899

A MISSION STATEMENT:
WORKING WITH GOD AT THE CENTER OF MY LIFE

Knowing that I cannot work without God at the center of my life, I will serve the spirit of God as District Superintendent of the Wyoming/Northeast Colorado District of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church compassionately encouraging and supporting all clergy and lay leadership for the purpose of developing healthy United Methodist congregations, missions, and ministries. Serving the great shepherd, Jesus Christ, I hold myself accountable to do what the Christ calls us to do individually and in a variety of communities. Through prayer, meditation, using a spiritual director, and going on intentional retreats I grow spiritually as I continue this work to the best of my faith, gifts, graces, and fruits. God bless this ministry.

– Chuck Cooper

Recently my Spiritual Director, Rev. John Blinn, suggested I write a mission statement for my new position as District Superintendent. I am sharing this statement with you and will in some other settings for the purpose of opening a dialogue with concerning how I see myself carrying out this mission as I do my work. Please, read it over, think it over, so that we can have an open dialogue about it.

Further, I suggest you think about writing a mission statement for your ministry. Remember! Writing a mission statement is only the first step in the process of living by a mission statement. After we have opened this dialogue about what our mission statements mean to us and to each other we must be sure that we keep that mission statement in mind as we go about our work. Keep track of situations, times, and projects where you find yourself carrying out the mission.

I firmly believe that when we try to do our work without a clear mission we tend to lose focus on what is really important in our ministry. The lesser things take control of our lives and we soon find that we are not living up to our highest ideals. Our work is more exciting when we feel that we can point to a mission centered ministry.

Actually, this is true of congregations as well. A congregation that feels it is meeting its missional guidelines is a much healthier church than one who only focuses on survival. It is easy for a congregation to become a religious club and forget how to be a church.

What is your mission in ministry? Let’s talk about it!

A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT (FIRST CASPER NEWS)

The greatest honor of all...

One of the greatest American preachers in the 19th century was the Episcopal minister of Trinity Church in Boston. His talent was so appreciated that he was chosen to be a bishop.

When the honor was bestowed upon him, he received many letters of congratulations all of which he appreciated. One letter, however, he cherished the most. It read, “Dear Dr. Brooks: I am a tailor in a little shop near your church. Whenever I have the opportunity I always go to hear you preach. Each time I hear you preach I seem to forget all about you, for you make me think of God.”

The heartfelt letter caused the brilliant pastor to respond, “I would rather carry the memory of that tribute to Kingdom Come than all the bags of gold you drag through the streets of the city.”

The article in Grace Notes asks, “What are we doing to help others think of God?” Good question!

Taken from the United Methodist Messenger - Newcastle, Wyoming

“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy to have such things about us.” – Irish Murdock

Irish Murdock is right isn’t she? The beautiful blooms of summer are enough to make us mad with joy. Maybe we’re just mad, fed up with the spring storms and unseasonably cold weather in early summer. And I suspect now that the dog days of summer have arrived, we will soon be tired of the incessant heat. In the midst of our madness, we could be missing the beauty and joy God has given us. When was the last time we let the flowers blooming or their fragrance, arrest our attention? When was the last time we paid any attention at all to the grandeur of God’s creation? When was the last time we were “mad with joy?” It has been too long, I suspect.

I sadly fear that we take too much for granted. We long for summer, but when it arrives we are so harried that we often miss its beauty. We become so task oriented that we fail to be arrested by creation’s song. Our pace is so frenzied that even when our tasks take us outside, we miss the opportunity to become “mad with joy.”

It’s high time to become so consumed with creation’s song that life’s cares are blocked out for a moment. It’s time to gaze upon the beauty of the flower, to court its petals, and to be swept into nature’s wonder. Now is the time to dance for the joy of the majesty of God’s creation and to remember that God is not far off, but at this very moment, in our midst. Now is the time to play in the dirt or frolic in the park. Now is the time to revel in the evidence of God’s handiwork all around us. Now is the time to become “mad with joy.” If we take the time, I know that the burdens of life will become lighter and our perspective will become clearer. This assurance of God’s love and purposeful planning will rejuvenate us and we too can become “mad with joy.”

— Rev. Leslie Barnett

A congregation that’s not involved in mission misses out on some of the greatest experiences of being the church!

FOUR MORE YEARS – WELCOME BACK BISHOP BROWN!