This weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting three churches in the Mni Sose Mission Cluster. As the Cluster has been without a priest since the Rev. David Hussey's retirement, the Rev. Kim Fonder graciously agreed to arrange and coordinate the visit at the request of Canon Lauren, who began her vacation last Saturday afternoon.
Given that we had a Diocesan Council meeting on Saturday morning, the visitation officially started later that afternoon with a celebration of the Holy Eucharist at St. John the Baptist in Crow Creek. Although I had been to this church before, courtesy of Fr. David, this was the first time I had presided over a service here. This is one of the primary reasons that, in the new visitation cycle that begins January 1st, that all Missions with over five congregations will be receiving two visits a year so that I can see and be with more congregations in that Mission. It was a wonderful service followed by a great time of fellowship and hospitality. The sloppy Joe BBQ sandwiches were a particular hit with EVERYONE!
On Sunday morning, the first service was held at Christ Church, Fort Thompson. It was great to see some familiar faces as well as some new ones. The plan, from there, was to visit the Pow Wow that was happening within the Mission, but it turned out that they weren't going to start until later in the afternoon, when we were due at the next church. So Terry, Red, and Fr. Kim and I had "brunch" together before heading towards Messiah, Iron Nation.
Messiah is another church I have seen, but had yet to celebrate a Holy Eucharist service with a congregation. At this service, I had the pleasure of baptizing two small children which was absolutely beautiful. Another small child, who came and sat with her back towards us during communion, was given a blessing -- and then she turned, raised her arms towards me, and helped with the closing prayer and final blessing by assisting me in holding the crozier. A future bishop of South Dakota, to be sure!
My thanks to everyone who helped make this weekend possible. It was a true blessing to be with the good people of the Mni Sose Mission Cluster!
