During this past week Kathy and I have traveled from our Diocese to California. We drove to Austin, Texas where Sunday a week ago at the 5:00 PM Service of the Holy Eucharist, I celebrated the Holy Communion and Baptized our granddaughter, seven month old Bella Isadora Duncan. What a joy that was and what fun it has been to have many of the family and long-time friends present, to witness to and participate in this Sacrament of God’s inclusive love for all people. The Rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church and the members of the congregation welcomed us all. We were invited, encouraged and embraced as visitors and guests in the household of faith. We will be back. Many of our guests decided to return and “try them out for a place to become members and become involved.” That is both a blessing and a gift of grace.
Early on Monday we drove 14 hours to Albuquerque and then on to Flagstaff to spend a few days with a priest friend and his wife. We have been friends for more than 42 years and it was an opportunity to see those ministries that they are involved, within the community. Prison and jail work, work with the homeless and training those who are unemployed, are just a few of the ministries they have seen that needed doing and to which they started and engaged others to catch the vision of what God had in mind for this place.
We also visited Meteor Crater, the site where a meteor struck the earth 50 thousand years ago and went on to see miles of desolation where lava and volcanic ash covered the ground. We both enjoyed seeing three deserted Anasazi (Sinagua) dwellings, which included Montezuma’s Castle and Well, Tuzigoot and Homolovi, all now in ruins. Our time spent at the Lowell Observatory on Mars Hill, the Indian Museum in Flagstaff, the Frank Lloyd Wright Chapel in Sedona, were special places in which we spent a number of hours. By the end of this part of our trip, we visited shops in the closed copper mining town of Jerome, and that Friday evening, the Art Festival on the streets of downtown Flagstaff. It kept us busy and interested and involved in the life and character of multi-cultural development in an area of our country that continues to grow, welcomes tourists and embraces diversity. I did learn a good deal from this time and being with these old friends and new friends.
On the morning of the 4th of July (my parents were married 67 years ago today) we drove to Anaheim and checked into the hotel about 4:00PM, after almost ten hours on the road. We were in the mountains, the hills, the plains, the desert and along the coastal shore. The temperatures ranged from 59 degrees when we began the drive, to a high of 109 degrees in Needles, California. We arrived in Anaheim to find a good deal of traffic and checked into the hotel and then moved into our room. We found time to scope out the area and set up the hospitality conference room for our deputation.
By 7:30PM, we went to the Hyatt Hotel for a dinner and program of the Daughters of the King (DOK) and enjoyed being with this group. It was a good meeting with many friends. There is a good deal of turmoil in the Order and this is difficult to experience for all those concerned. I hope this is resolved during the next three years, because the ministry of prayer and evangelism is too important to be sidetracked.
Today we began the day with a visit to the Crystal Cathedral, which is very beautiful. It always amazes me to see how Philip Johnson was able to put his ideas into practice. We had an early lunch in this part of the city and then spent the rest of the day organizing and preparing the hospitality room for guests. I went to a working dinner with Bishops Harris of Massachusetts and Klusmeyer of West Virginia, and enjoyed being with them for conversation about ministry and the General Convention.
During this time we have also been reading the materials about the various legislative matters and the bishops and deputies’ thoughts on these matters. Please remember to pray for the General Convention and those of us who are preparing to do the work God has called us to do. Your support and ministry are an important part of our work. Kathy and I are getting ready to attend several events this Monday evening and will spend time with Fr. Gerald Hyche, who was in our diocese and is now in the Diocese of Texas.
May God bless us all in the work we do and the ministry we share. The Journey continues!
Blessings and PAX, Bishop Duncan
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