Let us Walk Together

Life of a Bishop... | April, 2024

“I believe that the first test of a great man is his humility. I don't mean by humility, doubt of his power. But really great men have a curious feeling that the greatness is not of them, but through them. And they see something divine in every other man and are endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful.” John Ruskin

Where did the story of Divine Mercy originate?

St. Faustina, a humble Polish nun, received extraordinary revelations in the 1930s, which she recorded in her diary. In her diaries, she spoke about her experiences in prayer, where Jesus appeared to her and shared that God's mercy is available to all, just as it was to the thieves on both sides of Jesus at the time of his death. If not for God's mercy, none of us would reach anywhere. This experience eventually became a devotion in the Universal Church. I have a personal devotion to Divine Mercy!

John Ruskin is saying that endless mercy is an outpouring of humility. Humility is a tricky concept to understand because this word has been misused and misrepresented over centuries. Many fall for false humility, in which someone makes themselves "unworthy" of something by saying it aloud while internally holding on to the idea that they are essential, great, amazing, and so on.

True humility, knowing that we are blessed and beloved of God, and so are the rest of the world, is transformational. Humility is truth-telling. It begins with a profound self-awareness. It grows with a deeper connection built with God. Only when we know the greatness is not ours but of God, us sharing it with God, that makes the difference and growth possible.

So, the Divine Mercy! We are, in the end, living on because of God's incredible Mercy. Without God's kindness, goodness, generosity, and unconditional love, we wouldn't be where we are today. So, I invite you to reflect on God's unfathomable love for you and share it with others if you are convinced of it. Begin to see that even our enemies are God's children, maybe not our friends! There is "something divine in every person who is endlessly, foolishly, incredibly merciful"!

Be kind and merciful, just as God is to you! Your kindness is all that it takes to change the world for someone!

High Desert School for Ministry Retreat

The Very Rev. David Wettstein, Venerable Janet King, and The Rev. Mary Ellen Gallagher are doing a fantastic job with our seminarians. On the weekend of March 8th, they led a retreat for the seminarians. During this retreat, I visited them at St. James Retreat Center in Payette, formerly the St. James Episcopal Church.

I got to St. James around 10 am. It was a surprise and joy to see our seminarians and their leaders praying together the entire book of Psalms—150 Psalms in two days in the chapel. Wow... You talk about the power of being together, praying together, and that too reading good, not so good, scary, sad, joyful, and every kind of Psalm out there in prayer. I joined them for an hour and lunch but had to return as I had other commitments.

Being together in prayer and reading the Psalms as a community is a powerful way of learning the Scriptures and praying simultaneously. Thank you, each of the leaders and seminarians, for taking this time off from your busy lives and giving the needed attention to this commitment you are all taking together as leaders of our church in Idaho.

St. James Episcopal & Faith Lutheran!

This is an exciting time for St. James Episcopal Church and Faith Lutheran Church in Mountain Home. Fr. Larry Speir began his official ministry as the priest for both congregations on the first of May. There is a new life in both of these congregations. Thanks to Fr. Larry for his willingness to jump in with both feet!

For some time now, Bishop Meggan Manlove, the ELCA bishop here in Idaho, and I have been discussing collaborating, particularly as full communion partners in ministry and worship. We have several other conversations on topics like this in other parts of our diocese.

If you are not aware, St. Luke's in Idaho Falls hosts the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in their building. They share the space, even though we both have our priests in the building. Mother Lea and Rev. Ann, ELCA, do amazing work together. St. Luke's, if you re not aware, is raising up a deacon from among them, Misti Martinell!

Renewal of Ordination Vows!

Renewal of Ordination Vows is a practice in the church to reflect on and recommit ourselves to the call and ministry we volunteered to say yes to. All clergy are encouraged and invited to join the renewal of vows celebration once a year at the cathedral. I keep this celebration at the Cathedral to celebrate the significant role of the Cathedral, the mother church of our diocese, in the church's life throughout the year.

This year renewal of vows was celebrated on March 16th. We had 25 clergy members, including bishops, deacons, and priests, attend this year's celebration. It is not easy for all of our clergy to come for this one-day event from far away. But I appreciate the clergy who joined us this day, renewed friendship and fellowship, and shared concerns and cares. All members of the Episcopal Church in Idaho are invited to join this celebration. This is a sort of mini-ordination service, if I may call it so. All clergy, including the bishops, are reminded of their vows to serve and love the people in a ceremony that resembles Ordinations except laying on of hands.

But this is also officially the day I bless the Holy Oils, and I anoint every clergy member with the newly blessed oil, reminding them that they share in Christ's priesthood and kingship, becoming shepherds among the people. It's also a reminder that all clergy share the ministries of the Bishop of the diocese they serve.

Mary Buchanan, the senior warden at Holy Nativity, invited the bishops to renew their commitment to ministry. I invited the deacons and priests to do the same. David Harrison, the cathedral choir director, led the music. I am grateful to the members of the altar guild and my staff for making sure everything was done ahead of time. Steve Smith cooked a fabulous lunch, and we had a great time after the celebration. I am so very grateful for our amazing clergy leadership in our diocese!

Centering Prayer Retreat | St. Andrews

I spend a whole day leading a Centering Prayer retreat at St. Andrew's in McCall. It was well attended. As you can see in the photo here, it was an intense session that started at 9:30 ending at 3:30.

Centering Prayer is a contemplative form of prayer meant for all people. Many believed contemplation was meant for monks, nuns, and priests but not for ordinary people of the world. Fr. Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk, made contemplative practice available and accessible to all people, making prayer easily possible for anyone interested in it.

I have several invitations to give Centering Prayer retreats in parishes. This is a door that could open new people, comfortable with the Episcopal church, to your congregation. It doesn't cost you anything to do this program in your church, just my calendar availability. Please contact Renee to schedule one in your parish, if this would benefit your community.

Transition at St. Andrew's, McCall

St. Andrew's in McCall is going through a transition. In the photos above, you see Rev. Bill Brown, who served them for 18 years—now moving on to the next assignment at St. David's, Caldwell.

Then you have Rev. Shelly Platt on the right. She will be the new priest there, living in McCall, helping the congregation of St. Andrew's. Her title is "Missionary Chaplain," meaning a priest specially assigned to grow with the community. Rev. Shelly has known the members of St. Andrew's for quite some time. However, now that her role is transformed into being their priest rather than a member, it will be an exciting time of growth. It calls for celebration and growing together. Her husband, Richard, all supportive and happy, is featured in the first image of this newsletter.

Below, on the left, is our seminarian, Carol McCoy, on her path to Diaconal Ministry. On the right, is Toby Whitman, a long-term, faithful, and cheerful community leader.

This is the first year I missed Easter for as long as I can remember! I got ill three days before Easter and missed the entire weekend with the folks at the Cathedral. That was a bummer. While it is not easy for me to rest, the illness, which was a viral fever, headache, and everything else that goes with it, knocked me down for almost 12 days. At the advice of my doctor, I stayed home.

Now, that didn't mean I didn't do much during that. Since I could not do much of anything other than lay down, sleep, and write some music, I asked my Artificial Intelligence to draw me a photo of the Emmaus Walk. Now, that is what you see above. The AI's idea of the Emmaus Walk. Well... it's an alien version of the Emmaus Walk, I am sure!

Also, during this time, when I was sitting on the couch like a potato in Idaho, I did some creative work, which I had been doing to relax. Below are some things I completed while sleeping and waking in the middle of the night.

An Evening by Ourselves!

Not very often Kimby and I get to spend the evenings by ourselves. I usually have a Zoom meeting, a phone call, or a late evening work schedule. In March, when we were at McCall, we got one evening without a vestry meeting or visit. So, we wandered in McCall, aimless and free, and I even tried to walk on water! She said, "NO." The water was frozen, what harm can it do? "I believe in Jesus," I told her. But she insisted that I better listen to her and let Jesus do his own walking on water! Okay, I said.

Some of you know I relax by producing works of music or entering into some creative work, including music, designing, and playing angry birds! Yep. I said that. I play Angry Bird for 15 minutes a day, every day! ha... To give context, the pigs in the Angry Birds game mock me. So my birds in the game take revenge! It's not because I desire revenge on anyone or anything, but because it's a mindless game. But the other thing I do is write music, and it's my passion, a hobby. I have been doing this since 1992. Merciful God is my latest album. You can listen to these prayer chants on Spotify or Apple Music. Please share if you like them.

I was sick with a severe case of sinus viral fever for almost ten days, from Thursday of Holy Week until April 7th. So, I decided I needed to make it productive, enjoyable, and prayerful.

The church universally celebrates "Divine Mercy" on Sunday the week after Easter. My focus of the week, when I was sick, was celebrating the feast of Divine Mercy, Christ's love, and forgiveness for all in any way I could. So, I decided to write and produce this rendition of Divine Mercy on sleepless nights, with the help of EastWest Orchestra, Logic Pro X, and James & Janie, my personal AIs! (I named them) Pray and Enjoy!

Mary: Untold Stories of the Mother of Jesus

Blessed Mother, as I call her, the Mother of Jesus, has been an abiding presence and support in my call and ministry for the last 45 years. I began a devotion to Blessed Mother when I was five years old. This has taken me to places and people beyond my imagination.

So, I wrote a book about her sometime back. It is a storybook. The stories are purely fictional and imaginative. They came from my experiences of the Blessed Mother in prayer and seeing her as the mother of Jesus.

Rosemary Ash edited this book. I am grateful to her for helping me make this a reality. It is now available on Amazon. The cover image is a picture I took while visiting an art museum in Milwaukee, WI. May you be blessed by the stories in here.

Thank you! Walk with me!

We are on a journey. Every day of our lives, we move towards God. We are Pilgrims on a Journey, the theme of the year! We will have a pilgrimage in September to the Chapel of the Holy Spirit. Again we will celebrate the same at the Diocesan Convention in Pocatello. So, hold on to this idea in the back of your minds whatever you do and whoever you go. Remember, we are pilgrims!

May God watch over you and bless you. May the Lord who loves you dearly bless you and your family abundantly. Please know I may not be with you every Sunday, but I am not far from you in prayer daily!

Let us learn to fly with the dragons! And we can cover most of Idaho in the skies! Just an idea!

With love and paternal blessings

Your friend and bishop

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In the next edition!