Mountains Beyond Mountains - September 4, 2015

As I traveled from Evanston, north on the Scenic Byway that straddles the Wyoming/Utah/ Idaho borders and approaches Jackson and  the Grand Tetons, the scenery got more and more spectacular. What is to say, except that these are beautiful mountains, but not all beautiful in the same way? I am now in the little town of Thayne, where I met with the pastor of the Star Valley United Church (Lutheran and Presbyterian). Al Schoonover is a wonderfully experienced pastor, who after retirement from a very active ministry in large Lutheran churches, has become the part-time pastor of this small but vital church. Al is an interesting man, having played on the University of Wisconsin  football team in the nineteen-fifties.We noted that Wisconsin and Alabama open their seasons tomorrow night by playing each other for the first time ever. I was so impressed by Al's description of the vitality of this church that I have decided to stay here until Sunday morning, so that I can worship with them.

The football season begins, and, out of loyalty  to my Alabama family, I have always followed Alabama football - even as a child - as unlikely as that seems to those of you who know me. I really had no choice. As Al and I talked about this first meeting between Alabama and Wisconsin, I recall watching the Bear Bryant show on television every Monday (I think), where Bear would show a film of the previous game and comment on it. I recall on one occasion he mentioned that, as a member of the Southeastern conference, the University of Alabama was prohibited from playing any opponent which had black team-members. He said this sadly, because it prevented his playing some of the nation's premier teams. Well, that was a long time ago, but not that long. Bear lived to see that rule changed. Indeed, he  had a part in changing  it. And  while watching the display of traditional "beauties" in the cheering section these days shows that the the university still has a way to go, the team now depends on its black players.

This is just an aside - a meditation on change. Which is one  of the main things this church tour in Wyoming is all about.

For your enjoyment: a picture of the Bridger Mountains and the Star Valley United Church building.

Wasatch Mountains - September 3, 2015

Today, since I was at leisure with no appointments, after doing my laundry etc, I returned to yesterday's coffee shop, where I had a great lunch, The owner welcomed me back, recalling that I was there yesterday with the Presbyterian minister. At her suggestion, I took a rather long but extremely beautiful ride down a road labelled "Scenic Byway" leading out of Wyoming and into the Wasatch National Forest just across the border in Utah. Stunningly beautiful mountains - all different. I am not tired of seeing them. I returned to Evanston on a section of I-80 that should itself be labelled scenic. Gorgeous is what it was.

Here are a couple of pictures, very inadequate, but to give you a flavor. Tomorrow I head north, toward Wyoming's treasures - Jackson Hole, The Grand  Tetons, and Yellowstone - where things get more crowded and more expensive! The Presbyterian church at Thayne is my first stop.

More Evanston - September 2, 2015

This morning  I spoke with the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Evanston, over coffee in a delightful coffee cafe  - bookstore - antique shop on main street. Larry Turpin has been here only a year, having moved here from Chicago where he went to seminary and pastored churches for many  years. He is an experienced pastor who has come  to a very  different environment from Chicago. The congregation here is small, attendance ranging from  18 to 80. Larry has been very active in social justice causes in Chicago. It will be a challenge for him, I think, to bring that same perspective to his ministry here. As so many have told me, Wyomians do not like to  talk about conflict. They would rather ignore it. This may be true in most places,  but it is noticeably true here: it has been noted in all the conversations I have had so far. Larry also made another interesting observation:  he said that, in his experience, theology matters very little to a congregation, but worship style matters a lot. And a very important part of worship style is music. It's no wonder that the earliest Presbyterian controversies were over whether hymns should be sung, or just psalms, and then over whether or not instruments should be used in worship. I think everyone  is pretty much ok now with hymns and organs, but there is passionate division about guitars and praise songs. Part of the division is generational, but not all of it.

I spent part of the  afternoon in Kemmerer,Wyoming, which boasts the world's largest open-pit coal mine, I was told. They are worried that restrictions on carbon emissions will  hurt their economy. No fans  of  the President there  either. But its major attraction is the home of J. C. Penny, and the original "mother store". Really. J. C. Penny started his chain in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Two more interesting tidbits: His father was a Baptist minister. And his full name is James Cash Penney. Really.

Here are the picture; store and house 1902

Evanston and Mountain View - September 1, 2015

I am spending a couple of days in Evanston, a town of about 12,000 souls in the  extreme southwest corner of Wyoming. Tomorrow  I have an appointment with the Evanston pastor. 

A couple of interesting things happened today. As is my custom, I parked downtown (no parking meters in Wyoming, and always a parking place!) and just set out, walking the interesting-looking streets. Evanston is the county seat of Uinta county. Right, I did not know how to pronouce it either. So, rather than persisting in ignorance, when I passed the very impressive public library, I went in, found a lady sitting at the desk in the children's room, and asked her (knowing that she had faced dumber questions), how do I pronounce Uinta?. Like a good librarian, she smiled and told me: U-IN-ta - the name of an Indian tribe. Encouraged, I ventured another question: did she know where the local Presbyterian church was. She smiled and said, yes, indeed, she did, since she is an elder in  that church. What a good librarian! Remember, this was the only person I spoke to all morning. And she was a Presbyterian elder - people scarcer than hen's teeth in these parts. Doesn't that make you believe  in providence or predestination or something?

So then I went to the Uinta County museum, which is in the old Carnegie public library. (Picture attached.) 

In their small but interesting historical exhibits, I found two notable things. I will have to illustrate the signs with photos. Maybe you can read them if you enlarge them. Sorry. In an exhbit on the rise of motor vehicles, there was this sign about the first (known) trans-continental autmobile trip, in 1903. Read the sign - and  what do you discover. The mechanic on board was a Crocker, no doubt one of  my relatives. It's how I got my love of road trips - minus the mechanical ability.

This elation was counterbalanced by another exhibit, on a famous early murder in town.. Read the sign and you will see that the accused but acquitted murderer was also one of my relatives. Had to be.

I asked to check the telephone directory on my way out. There are no Crockers in Evanston now.


And, most astounding, in an exhibit on the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental  highway, completed in 1913, there was an old map, compiled later, of all the early national highways. Look closely at this picture, and you will see the map of Alabama, featuring my hometown of Thomaston, a village of at present 400 people. However did it get on the map?

This afternoon I visited  a small church in Mountain View, a town of 1900 people, 35 miles away, ninety percent of whom are Mormon. A simple well-kept facility, but not enough money to pay a pastor. All older. The younger people have been drawn to a non-denominational "Gateway Community Church.". So, in the absence of a Presbyterian pastor, the Assembly of God pastor comes over  every Sunday to lead their worship. Now, that's ecumenicism.

Evanston - August 31, 2015

I drove today from Rawlins to Evanston - about a three hour drive. The speed limit on  almost all sections of I-80 is 75 miles per hour; on some sections  it is 80 miles per hour, so one zips along. Evanston is in  the extreme southwest corner of Wyoming. The first 50 miles of the drive from Rawlins were, I will admit, barren. Flat prairie, with no visible cattle or anything else. Just thousands of trucks on the highway. I didn't mind using the time to listen to my CD lectures on Mindfulness (truly). But after 50 miles, the landscape became very interesting again, with enormous sand butes and red rock hills. I learned later that this is called the red desert of Wyoming. Now I am really in the rockies, although not the dramatic part. Directly north of me, about 100 miles, are the Grand Tetons and  Yellowstone, which I will soon be visiting. But for now, I am on the Mormon trail, headed through the south pass of the  rockies, downward into Utah. The Mormons are very good about preserving their recent history, and the saga of their handcart pilgrimage from Missouri to Utah in 1845-48 is amazing. That was only the first wave. Others followed, until the intercontinental railroad was completed in 1868.

The western part of Wyoming is heavily Mormon, by some measures. However, my experience indicates that the cowboy thirst for alcohol has not yet been assuaged. Bar and grills constitute the available fare is most of these small towns. Since Mormons do not drink alcohol, I wonder where these establishments get so many customers.  The Presbyterians are certainly too few to support them. And the amount I've spent on alcohol on this trip so far is, zero. The bartenders are kindly enough to provide me a big glass of water. In that respect, I am more Mormon than Presbyterian.

No great picture today, But, so as not to disappoint, here's the motel I left behind in Rawlins.

Perigee - August 30, 2015

The highlight of my day was waking up this morning at 6 AM, opening my motel curtains, and beholding an absolutely stunning moon, hanging above the  Econolodge sign outside my window. I cannot describe it, except to say it was exceptionally large and clear, shining extra-brightly in a dark azure sky. I took this picture, which in no way captures the  beauty. It does capture the Econolodge and the  rock cliff behind and  above it. I hope you saw it for yourself.

Later, I went to worship at the Rawlins Cooperative Parish, which is a joint effort of the Presbyterian Church in town and the United Methodist Church - each of which owns a nice building with a dwindling congregation. It makes a lot of sense for them to join in an exploratory way. They each have their own building and worship, but, out of necessity, they are adapting. The sermon today was ably given by a Presbyterian elder while the pastor, a United Methodist, is away.  She will return tomorrow, and I hope to have time with her then.

I went to lunch with the elder and his family, where we talked about  the challenges of joining together and the perils of staying separate. The old theological differences between Methodists and Presbyterians about whether grace is irresistible or not don't matter a whit to these folks.  What matters is: what is going to become  of the building and slightly different worship tradition I love? It was good to talk with them, not just about the churches, but about Wyoming in general. Over and over again I hear from very kind people: this is a very conservative state. And, they say, many people just can't live in Wyoming, because the life here is too hard for them. "An acquired taste" one person told me. But once you have acquired it, you really love it. Why is it so difficult? Because of  the barren soil (until the minerals and petroleum were discovered), the difficult climate, and the isolation. What is there to so love about it? As one person explained: "high altitudes and low multitudes." I am beginning to understand.

Travelling- August 29, 2015

I'm sort of tired today, after driving a lot. The ride from Laramie to Saratoga, across the  Snowy Ridge Road through the Medicine Bow National Forest was spectacular. Here are a couple of pictures:

Medicine Bow peak


And, because I cannot resist it, I will add my photo of  the

picture in the bathroom of my motel in Laramie:

I visited two churches today - one  in the  lovely town of Saratoga (population 1600), the other in the less lovely but equally interesting town of Encampment (population 420).  As I am now discovering is characteristic of many Wyoming small towns, only the main street is paved. Both are small churches, trying to hold  their own, They are the main churches in their towns. They say they simply do not talk about the PCUSA's controversial issues. They focus on their community ministries, and, although both congregations are conservative in theology, they feel a deep loyalty to the PCUSA. They are the kind of conservatives who say "my church right or wrong."

I am now in Rawlins, a rough town of 9,500 people on Interstate 80, very near Sinclair, where a very large (Sinclair) petroleum refining operation is located. There are many trucks on I-80, and many motels in Rawlins. All the motels in town can stay full of oil, gas, and railroad workers. I'm lucky to have found a room in a motel that has, sadly, no distinctive bathroom art at all.
More about all that tomorrow. Enjoy the pictures!