This is the first rain we've seen in weeks.  We have been incredibly lucky with the weather.  The desert needs it, however, so we don't mind.

The service today at Christ Church, Episcopal, in Cody, WY, was great; they used the propers and Great Thanksgiving for Children's Sabbath.  The children did everything but the gospel (read by a retired Bishop), the sermon (given by said Bishop), and the celebrating.   Lots of kids in this parish.

We were invited to join at a luncheon being given by the J2A middle school class.  We accepted, gratefully, and gave our donation and chose a number that gave us a spot at a table.  It was a strange set-up:  the tables in the middle of the room were decorated with tablecloths and candles; our table and the rest of those around the room were not.

The children read the Mark version of feeding the 5,000, prayed, and then the meal was served.  ?? !!  The center table got lovely salads, fresh rolls, steak, baked potatoes, and the rest of us got.....CREAM OF WHEAT!!  It took a second for all of this to hit us.  Everyone was good-natured about it.

Interestingly, the CHILDREN at the center tables, the lucky ones, shared their food with their friends at the other tables.  The adults DID NOT.  The middle schoolers came out, then and asked about how we all felt about this.  The conversation was good, although by now the little kids at the outlying tables were making a lot of noise about their Cream of Wheat, so it was hard sometimes to hear.

I told Mary, the Rector, that that was a heck of a way to treat out-of-town guests!  She laughed (she was at our table, as was the Bishop), and said it was the luck of the draw.

BTW, the proceeds will go to an orphanage in Sierra Leone that the church helps to sponsor.

The Episcopal Church is alive and well in Wyoming, thanks be to God!

 PS:  we came home and I made sandwiches for a REAL lunch!