The Circle of Life Trip

I’m fortunate in my assignment with the church that I get to do a wide variety of things. Most of them involve either being behind the wheel of a car or the keyboard of a computer. Over the past few weeks I have been a witness and an active participant in the life transitions of two congregations of church folks.

The Nampa, ID congregation voted a few months ago to turn over its building to the mission center for major repairs associated with mold cont

amination and then sell the building. To allow the people a chance to work through some of the grief issues associated with selling a building that has been a church home for generations, I volunteered to travel to Nampa and organize the repairs and work with a real estate agent to determine options.

For a week I worked in the building repeatedly vacuuming out water, trouble shooting water leaks, inventorying the building, and working with contractors to award a bid for the repairs. Buildings tell stories and church buildings tell stories about the people who have worshipped in them. It is our hope that the next owners will enable this building to keep telling stories. A popular theologian once said “We shape our buildings and then after we are done shaping them, they shape us.”

After spending a week in Nampa, I traveled to Pinedale, WY where we have two isolated church families. These two families are very skilled and gifted. It is exciting to hear about their community and try to figure out with the multitude of churches already in Pinedale just what the Community of Christ has to offer this relatively isolated mountain community.

Life and death. The vibrancy of new congregations often gives us a sense of happiness and success, while the death of congregations can often bring a sense of sadness and uncertainty about the future. I trust in a God whose purposes are bigger than my own and a future that is not yet written.

February Road Trip Part 6

Robin was a part of workshop/network gathering in Billings.  So I dropped her off there and picked up Dave Long.  Dave is a quality guy and the former Financial Officer for the Inland West Mission Center.  He and traveled five and a half hours northeast of Billings to a town called Culbertson, MT.  

Culbertson is the most isolated congregation we have and I wanted to make an effort to meet the folks there, even if I couldn't be with them on a Sunday.  Dave and I travelled up on Friday night and met with Scotty and La Vonne Scotson on Saturday morning.  Scotty and La Vonne are great people with a wealth of gifts and talents.  Their family runs three different furniture stores in thetowns of Culbertson, Sidney, and Williston.  In addition, Scotty also drives a charter bus.  

Scotty showed us the inside of the Culbertson church.  I didn't know this, but that is the church where Dave and his wife Sherry were married.  It is in great shape and has lots of character.  I plan to make it back to Culbertson some time in the not to distant future, I think I have some things to learn about tenacity from folks in isolated congregations.  

After visiting in Culbertson, Dave and met with a church member in Williston, ND.  We no longer have a church presence in Willistion, ND since the congregation closed a number of years ago.  We met with Art (the church member there) to perform some of the final duties associated with closing a congregation and to do our best to keep him connected to the body.  After our meeting Dave and I drove by the church in Williston.  We no longer own the building, but the old church name is still engraved in the front of it.  

February Road Trip Part 5.5

After leaving Great Falls, Robin and I traveled to Billings via the "high line" and then down through Judith Gap.  On the way it was unnecessarily cold and we were out of reach of most cell phone signals.  So we had do something novel.  We stopped and used a pay phone at a very interesting gas station/taxidermy/western wear store.  If you couldn't tell by my big parka it was REALLY COLD!!!!

February Road Trip Part 5

On my February road trip I was fortunate to be able to have Seventy Robin Linkhart travel with me through Montana.  I picked her up in Spokane, WA and then we traveled to the Whitehall, MT congregation for Pizza Church.  Pizza Church in Whitehall is always a good time and Robin and I stayed with Terry and Carol Ann Reiff.  

The next day Robin and I met with Judy Gardner, the pastor of

 the Helena, MT congregation, and spent some time exploring Helena.  We ended the day in Great Falls, MT with a fabulous meal at the home of Nathan and Karen Reiff.  Even though I still live in Independence, MO my membership is at the Great Falls congregation because I think it is important to financially support a congregation in the Inland West Mission Center and I want to support Nathan as pastor.  

February Road Trip Part 4

On Monday, February 23rd I traveled up to Colville, WA to investigate some property the church owns there.  We are interested in selling it and I had a list of things to accomplish for the investment company we have hired to maximize the property's value.  It was cold and snowy, but it was an interesting experience navigating a rural county courthouse looking for documentation.

When I got back to Spokane, John Van Der Walker and I met with the leadership team of Spokane Valley and we talked about Young Adult Ministry possibilities.    

February Road Trip Part 3

On Sunday February 22nd, I preached at the Lewis and Clark Congregation.  The folks at Lewis and Clark are great people and a lot of fun to share with.  A couple of months ago they had a streak of bad luck.  They had a water pipe break and fill their church building up with about 3 inches of steaming hot water.  Parts of the church are now gutted and awaiting repairs.  

When I was there we met at building on the campus of Lewis and Clark State College.  It was a little different environment, but I really enjoy visiting those folks and hope that I can be helpful to them.  After church I went out to lunch with several of the young adults to the Main Street Grill in Lewiston, ID.  Great place and great food.  

February Road Trip Part 2

The next morning I left Grand Junction and headed to Boise, ID.  While on the way I made a detour to Salt Lake City, UT to visit one of my favorite stores IKEA.  I did some shopping, got my fix of Swedish meatballs, then I was good to go.  While I was shopping Jo Ann Fisher called me and told me that I was likely to run into some heavy snow in Southern Idaho, so I scurried out of IKEA  and hit the road.  Fortunately, I evaded the snow and made it to Boise just fine - I even made it up the hill and down the road to the Fisher's house without a hitch.  

I was able to spend about a day in Boise with Jo Ann catching up on some stuff.  Then the next day I met with Renee and David Fisher in New Plymouth on my way to Spokane, WA. Renee is a potter and David is a graphic artist.  They are good folks and it was really good to get to know them and to see the church in

New Plymouth.

February Road Trip Part 1

Part of my responsibility as a Financial Officer is to keep the financial records for the Mission Center which includes making the deposits.  Naturally, I planned to make the final deposit before I left on a two week road trip the day before departure.  However, I failed to take into account that the day before I left was also President's Day and the banks would be closed.  So in order to get things in the bank in a timely fashion I found a Bank of America in Hays, KS (middle of nowhere) and made the deposit while I was en route from Independence, MO to Grand Junction, CO.  

January

I've taken some grief from several folks for not keeping my blog up-to-date.  So I'm glad your reading and I'll do better.  During the month of January I spent most of the month in Seminary Classes at the Temple.  Seminary focus sessions are typically intense and this was no exception, but I do enjoy learning and the camaraderie that seminary brings.  This session I had my first independent study course (Mission and Evangelism with Mary Jacks Dynes) and I also took a fabulous Worship course with Jan Kraybill.  One more Seminary Focus session and I will be graduated!

Orem and Ogden, UT

During the second weekend in December I made my second trip to Utah.  I flew into Salt Lake City in the midst of what appeared to this flat lander to be a blizzard.  There was plenty of lake effect snow, but it didn't seem to slow things down much.  I arrived on Saturday and after I got my rental car I drove down to Orem (in the middle of the snow storm) to check out the church facility there.  As you can see it is quaintly unique, and even though I couldn't see it I hear it has an awesome view of the mountains and the valley.  

That evening I drove up to Ogden, which is just north of Salt Lake City.  I stayed with the Cadman family and it was good to get to know them.  I went to Graceland with their daughter, Paco, and it was good to see her again.  We are all like to travel and it was good to swap international travel stories.  Bob Cadman is also an avid bicyclist and we talk

ed quite a bit about bikes and biking.  The next morning I preached at Ogden and we had a wonderful Christmas meal afterwards.  The Ogden congregation has a lot of young families and it was good to share with them.  The church building itself is over 100 years old and is on its third location/foundation.  

Boise and Tulsa

With the holidays and end of year church business I seem to have fallen a little behind on my blog posting.  Back in November when I was staying with the Fishers I had the chance to preach at the Boise Congregation.  The Boise Community of Christ is made up of wonderful people, most of whom are fairly progressive in nature.  I was able to sit in on an adult Sunday School class taught by Tony Dennis (former superintendent in the Boise school district) and it was really well done.  I enjoyed speaking there and I hope the folks enjoyed hearing me.  We had a great meal afterwards and then I hopped on a plane and headed home.  It was a bit weird to make it back from Boise in less than two days! (normally I drive).

The week following my excursion to Idaho I spent a day in the town I grew up in - Tulsa, OK.  Oklahoma is now part of my assignment for Disciple's Generous Response and I made an initial visit to see how I could be helpful. 

 The city of Tulsa has changed a lot since I lived there as a kid and the

 Tulsa Central Congregation is experiencing new vitality through their youth outreach program.  I had lunch with Jack Ferenbacher, who is a Bishop and Financial Officer for the Oklahoma Mission Center.  Jack is a straight shooter and it is always good to hear his opinion.  In the evening I spent time with the Adult Class during the Wednesday evening activities.  I really enjoyed reconnecting with people who had been my mentors as I grew up and 

I am looking forward to giving back to people who have been impo

rtant in my life.   

The Fishers

On my trip to Boise I stayed with John and JoAnn Fisher.  The Fishers are warm and hospitable people that were a lot of fun to stay with.  John and JoAnn live about 30-45 min outside of Boise in heavily wooded mountains.  They moved to the residence where they currently live about 12 years ago.  When they moved out there their home didn't have running water or electricity.  John Fisher is a master of many things and he installed a well, installed a solar system for electricity, and remodeled their home from the inside out.  

When the Fishers have guests, they stay out in the "Bunk House" which is a cozy little cabin.  To keep guests safe (not that that is a problem) the Fisher's wolf hybrid (half wolf, half dog) named Jake sleeps on the front porch.  I had a whole lot of fun staying with them and I appreciate and value their friendship.

Baker City

On Saturday, November 15th, I travelled a couple of our Northwest of Boise to the town of Baker City, OR.  JoAnn Fisher had planned to make the trip with me, but unfortunately there was a death in the New Plymouth Congregation and she was asked to do the eulogy.  I heard she did a great job.  

While I was in Baker City I met with the Pastor Kathi and Financial Officer Theresa.  They gave me a our tour of the church and we had a nice lunch with good conversation about the congregation.  The Baker City Congregation is a small group with good hardworking people.  They are doing good things in there town that are inspiring and humbling.  I hope I can be apart of some of those good things in the future.  

Nampa

On Nov. 14th  JoAnn Fisher and I traveled to Nampa, ID (about 20 min East of Boise) and visited with the Connie and Justin Cartee (Pastor and Financial Officer).  We had a good meeting with them and it was particularly for me to put some names with faces and learn more about the congregation and their sense of mission.  Nampa is a small group of about 10 people and I'm looking forward to being able to share with them on a Sunday morning.

Olivia and Cookies

Last Saturday Andi and I took care of Olivia (our niece) for an afternoon.  Andi and I like to cook a lot so we thought it would be cool to make cookies with Olivia.  My Great Grandma Chatburn has an awesome sugar cookie recipe and my Mom found some cool Halloween cookie cutters at a kitchen store in Sandpoint, ID.  Olivia wasn't sure if she liked the dough at first, but after the first taste she was a life long convert.  

Even though Andi and I aren't game to have kids anytime soon, we have fun playing with Olivia. Fun times with the little tike. 

Field Leader's Meeting

Every year all of the staff for a given Apostolic field gets to get together for what we call a field meeting.  This year our meetings were held Oct 20-23 at the Whispering Pines campground near Prescott, AZ.  It is always good to visit with other folks who work for the church and share common experiences and lessons learned.  Since I am a relatively new financial officer it is helpful for me to be able to ask questions of others who have served in a similar role.  Having the meetings as Whispering Pines also afforded me the opportunity to get to spend time with Rob and Barb Mills who served in Korea as WorldService Corps volunteers when I was the Coordinator of the WorldService Corps.  They are good solid folks - they were great volunteers in the WSC and some of the best campground managers and cooks I have ever seen.  

The meetings were good and it was also helpful because the Inland West staff is spread out fairly well and this allowed us to spend some more time together.  Good times and good company.

Preach'n in Coeur d'Alene

On October 19th I preached at the Coeur d'Alene congregation.  They have just spent significant funds on upgrading their windows and siding.  The building looks nice and Andi and I always enjoy meeting new people.  Interestingly enough, some of the folks who go to the Couer d'Alene congregation also attended church with my family when I was a little kid in Broken Arrow, OK.  Since it was also Andi's birthday we opted out of the potluck dinner and I treated Andi to a nice birthday lunch in downtown Spokane.  

Andi in Idaho

For a rare treat Andi was able to come up and spend the weekend with me in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area.  It was great!  She did have some slight drama as she was leaving Independence when our ten month old chocolate lab decided to sneak out of the house and explore the neighborhood!  Not to worry, Andi and a neighbor rounded the dog up in time for her to catch her flight.  

Andi and I enjoyed exploring the Sandpoint area as well as Downtown Coeur d'Alene.  We had lunch on Saturday at the Hope Hotel in Hope, ID.  If you go past Hope then you are beyond Hope (buh dum ching). We stayed in a hotel close to the lake with

 a gorgeous view.   Since Andi is in medical school she doesn't get to travel with me much, so when she is able to it is special.  

Colville, WA

On October 16 I drove up to Colville, WA.  This picture probably just looks like a stand of pine trees, and it is.  But, sometimes stands of trees like this are how we fund the mission of the church.  This is a piece of property in Colville that we are look to sell and use the proceeds to help fund the mission center.  We have a company that we are working with to help us maximize the return on this piece of property and so far it has been an educational process.  Hopefully, within the next couple of months we will have figured out how to turn a stand of trees into cash.

Sagle and Bonner County

After leaving the Lewis and Clark area, I headed up to Sagle, ID to spend some time with Wayne Gunter.  Wayne is the pastor of the Sagle congregation and is wise soul with more knowledge than I will be able to obtain.  He is a librarian by passion and profession.  He took my by the library where he is the administrator in Sandpoint, ID as well as a smaller branch in Clark Fork, ID that is also in his jurisdiction.  Both libraries were well equipped both with resources and pleasant people, although I am kind of a nerd when it comes to libraries.  

Wayne also took me inside of the Sagle church, which also has a library.  Inside 

the Sagle church in the sanctuary are some peculiar looking pews that were made by the 

first missionaries out of shipping crates.  As Wayne and I were talking he asked me about my family heritage and told me that the first missionaries to Sagle were Chatburns and they had built those pews.  I do have a long heritage in the church and I knew that some Chatburns had settled in Idaho, but I had no idea that when I went into that church I would be greeted by the work of some of my ancestors.  

Back on the tour of Bonner County, Wayne gave me a first class tour of the sights and beautiful landscape.  While we were at the library in Clark Fork he told me that Viggo Morrison from the Lord of the Ring's movies has a home there - we looked for him, but no luck.  I finished out the day with a dinner at Pat and Candy Moon's home with some other church folks and then headed back to Spokane.