Bishop's Laity Gathering

Several of us attended the two day Bishop's Laity Gathering event here in Sioux Falls. For those of you who did not attend, please consider this wonderful opportunity for learning, sharing, socializing and inspirational God given messages. The second gathering is scheduled for Feb. 27-28, 2009 in Fargo. The third gathering will be in the Black Hills in 2010.

Ray Buckley is a most amazing speaker whose spiritual journey is one filled with pain, hurt, disappointment, trauma, but is also filled with relationships that are deep, spiritual, fulfilling and inspiring.


Quoting from the Mondays at Dakotas article, "Buckley is of Lakota/Tlingit/Scots decent and calls upon his heritage to share the Creator's love and compassion toward all creation. Our keynote speaker was born on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and has spent most of his life in Estes Park, Colorado.As the Director of the Native People's Communication Office for the United Methodist Church, Buckley worked to coordinate communication for leadership of the Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Tongan, and related indigenous people within the UMC.Buckley is well known as a storyteller and will bring those talents to us in worship and small group sessions. His stories, poetry and art have appeared in numerous journals and periodicals. He is the author and illustrator of five books, God's Love Is Like....(1998), The Give-Away: A Christmas Story in the Native American Tradition (1999), The Wing (2002), The Christmas Moccasins (2003), and Dancing with Words, an advanced Lay Speaker Course.Buckley is currently serving as Director of Connectional Ministries and Native Discipleship for the Alaskan Missionary Conference and living in Palmer, Alaska."