Sheridan and the Medicine Wheel - September 20,2015

The journey yesterday from Powell to Sheridan took me over the Big Horn Mountains - a route that offered spectacular vistas as well as the opportunity to stop and visit Medicine Wheel. Medicine Wheel is a site sacred to many native American tribes. Its specialness is preserved by the fact that motorists must leave the scenic  route (14A) and travel 1 and  1/2 miles on a one lane  gravel road to a parking area, and then they must walk another 1 and 1/2 miles to the site. The path rises to the top of an almost 10,000 foot mountain. (The highest peak on the  Big Horn Mountains is 13,800 feet.) The  Medicine Wheel  is an ancient rock circle with 28 rock-lines radiating from a central cairn. Its origins and purposes are unclear. What is known is that it stands on a trail used by many native Americans to cross the Big Horn Mountains, and that it continues to be a place of inspiration. It was worth the walk, although I confess that the round trip walk, up and down the trail, was not just a walk in the park.

Sheridan, a city of over 17,000 people, is a very substantial town. My worship experience this morning at First  Presbyterian Church was exceptionally welcoming and delightful. It was very encouraging to see a church with lots of children who were beginning a new year in Sunday School. The pastor, Doug Melius, made a point of  welcoming me, and he asked me to lead the hour-long Bible study following worship and coffee hour (up to good Presbyterian standards). A group of about 14 people read and talked with me and each other about the last two chapters of II Timothy. Those chapters contain some  interesting and provocative verses that go to the  heart of current Prebyeterian controversies. Have a look. The discussion was thoughtful, sincere, and considerate.

One gentleman at coffee hour - who was very cordial - told me that Sheridan county is the most conservative county in Wyoming. I do not know what data support this claim. I can only say that I felt very much at home in the worship service here.  This might be affected  by the fact that I already knew Jesse Melius, the pastor's son, who was a youth advisory delegate at last year's PCUSA General Assembly, where I was a commissioner. My assigned committee-seat was adjacent to his, so we spent many hours together. It is exceptionally nice to see him again.