| Volume 35, Number 4 |
Richardton, ND 58652
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October 2007
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| Fr. Thomas spent this past summer ministering in Yellowstone Park. Here is an excerpt from one of his letters to the community: |
Summer Ministry in Yellowstone
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Work at the park continues to go well and is rewarding. It has been eventful at Canyon, where I celebrate the first Mass at 4 p.m. on Saturday. It is the only location where Mass is outdoors. Two weeks ago it rained cats and dogs before Mass such that the area was flooded, so I scooped water with a log and then built a temporary “bridge” to the shelter. I thought I’d have to cancel Mass, but about 40 people showed up 5 minutes before Mass was scheduled to start. Last week at the same location a terrible windstorm came up, breaking trees all over so we moved under a roof. I was nearly hoarse from shouting, but at the preparation of the gifts, it calmed down and by communion the sun was shining and not a breeze. | |||
| This week nothing exciting happened, but there is a big fire going on. When I entered the park on Friday afternoon, I could see a huge plume of smoke billowing into the sky; it was quite a sight, looking like tremendous thunderheads. It was not that far from Sylvan Pass, just inside the park. By Saturday evening, it had spread from 25 acres to over 1,000 acres, thanks to strong winds through the night and day. The park was considering closing the pass and east entrance on Sunday, which would have been a huge inconvenience for me and adding an extra 150 miles to my trip home. Thankfully, I got through, but the fire is still raging; it was like driving through thick fog for quite a few miles. | ||||
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