I must confess being one of those strange people who actually enjoy church meetings, but even the normal priests who make up my deanery were pleased with the camaraderie and mutual teaching sessions that made our recent gathering more a retreat than a “business” meeting.

The five-hour trip over the Continental Divide to our host parish of St. Andrew in Delta, and the invitation of our new dean, Fr. Anthony Karbo, to carpool with him, facilitated an informal atmosphere of fraternal fellowship.  What might otherwise have been a burdensome trip became more a pilgrimage.

Absent any self-promotion, we freely compared notes on recent sermon topics, catechetical curricula and even our views on health care reform.  We were able to get advice from one another on pastoral situations whose complexity put them beyond anything seminary could have prepared us for.  It’s good not to feel like the first priest to confront a novel situation.

Before we knew it, St. Andrew’s dimly lit interior welcomed us for Vespers.  After a generous repast provided by Fr. Daniel Jones and his flock, we began our formal agenda, crafted by Fr. Anthony to maximize interaction and getting to know each other better.

Still the “new guy” after five years in Pueblo, Fr. Barnabas Powell shared the tale of his conversion to Orthodoxy from heathenism, a quest that led him through a number of Christian bodies during junior high and high school as he searched for the original, New Testament Church.

This preceded a “retreat” by Fr. Daniel Jones on “The Priest as Evangelist and Pastor,” which largely concerned navigating various issues of parish life:  What is a proper response when someone takes issue with a teaching, administrative decision, or judgment call we make?  How should a pastor handle confrontation?  Drawing from the writings of Blessed Justin Popovic and Father John Krestiankin, Father Daniel suggested that the best course is one of humility.

Just as you cannot fight fire with fire, neither are anger, self-justification and authoritarian pronouncements useful responses.  To resonate humility, not only in the words we speak but in how we speak them, is the proper course both biblically and practically.

How to reconcile humility and conviction is a struggle we’ll continue working through.  Father Daniel’s address also produced a discussion of the risks involved in priests engaging their families for support, moral or otherwise, in conflicts.

Closing out the evening was Fr. Lawrence Gaudreau of Calhan, who reflected on the Nativity. Christmas as an Orthodox priest can be lonely, especially if parishioners are tempted away from services.  Growing up a pious Roman Catholic, he recalled how great a deal Christmas was vis a vis Easter, with church at the center of every activity.

Father Lawrence asked rhetorically how we as priests can motivate our people to keep the Twelve Great Feasts with the sense of joy and dedication of earlier generations of Orthodox.  Is it worthwhile to point out to our people when attendance at Feast Day services is not what it should be, or does that only contribute to an atmosphere of negativity?  Unfortunately, we were unable to solve all of challenges of contemporary Orthodox life, including this one.

The following morning was our host parish’s altar feast, and we concelebrated the foundation of our priestly brotherhood, the Divine Liturgy.  After the essential coffee and donuts, along with a review of potential locations for a new mission and other “business” items, Fr. John Armstrong of Littleton led a luncheon reflection on parish administration.   Father John’s themes ranged from not allowing ourselves to become malfunctioning reactionaries to common issues of parish life, to the necessity of good financial record keeping.

A particularly salient point concerned the spiritual dangers of email.  Why is it that we feel empowered to be ruder and more abrupt through email than we ever would in person, over the phone or even in writing?  There is an air of disconnection to email that lends itself to alter egos.

With the sun past its winter zenith and a long drive ahead, we began our return trip.  Our company will regroup after Theophany, when we ascend Monarch Pass each year to ask God’s blessing on the snow pack of the Continental Divide.

The first time I ever heard of the Rocky Mountain Deanery, it was from a photo of this event in The Orthodox Vision.  I’m truly excited to be in that picture today, and we hope to add another priest to our brotherhood as soon as God permits.

Priest Barnabas Powell