Summary of D.O. Smart's visit, July 9th, 2006
On July 9th, Fr. D.O. Smart and his wife Anne visited Butte, Montana while they were vacationing in Big Sky. D.O. and Anne were taking time to visit Anne's family in Montana. They had offered to come and visit us here in Butte and we gladly accepted the offer since most of us had joined the Anglican Communion Network last April, but had not yet been able to meet with anyone connected with the A.C.N.
At 2:30 over 100 of us gathered at the Costin's ranch to celebrate Eucharist and find out what was going on in the greater Anglican Communion. We met in the Costin's large barn in warm, but not unpleasant weather. Most of us brought our camping chairs from home or blankets to sit on hay bales. The children all sat in the back on top of stacks of hay - enjoying church from an entirely different perspective. Fr. Smart presided and spoke on the importance of the Great Commission. We had praise music, including a solo by Rachael Costin during communion.
D.O. then gave a brief overview of the events leading up to Convention 2003 and of last June's Convention in Columbus Ohio. He briefly discussed the election of the new presiding bishop and the passage of the bill which addressed the Windsor Report. His reflections were similar to the information pusted on this site.
He also gave suggestions on how to begin a mission church since most of the people who came to this function already had decided to begin a new Anglican mission church here in Butte. After the meeting, we had dinner and talked about everything that had happened. For many of us, it was a time to chat with good friends, catch up on each other's lives and just enjoy great fellowship.
It was a great start for what we hope to be a new beginning.