Bill Kindel's Home Page

Welcome!  I have been an unabashed computer geek for many years, though itbecame quite a bit easier to say what I did for a living once personalcomputers became pervasive.  Having been what is now called an"Information Technology" professional for so long, I come completewith my share of war stories and urban legends.

My professional perspective has changed substantially over the years. After receiving the "Celestial 2x4 across the forehead" (to getmy attention), I began a lengthy journey of discernment and formation thatresulted in my ordination as an Episcopal priest.  More of that storyappears below.

Also, a new term crept into my vocabulary.  Just as software engineering andIT have evolved in recent decades, so have the realities of smaller churches,of which many are no longer able to afford full-time clergy.  The resultis that an increasing number of clergy, including myself, have become"bi-vocational," which is to say that before my retirement I split mytime between professional employment and serving a congregation.  I'mgrateful to have accumulated a wealth of technical experience that I couldoffer to both my employers and the churches I served.  Now that both myprofessional and vocational lives have been nudged into retirement, I serve asa supply priest/pastor as best I can.

My Profession:  Software Engineer

I was one of the pioneers(those with arrow scars in their butts) of software engineering.  Even inthe mid 1960s, my high school selected a few of us to learn programming onthe computers of the era.  I learned ALGOL at the University of Denver ontheir Burroughs B-5500, and "Intercom 500" (the machine language for theBendix G-15) using puched cards and punched tape, respectively.  As an MITundergrad, I took whatever computer courses I could (I was one year too earlyfor the Computer Science option in the EE department).  It was the Vietnamera, and I opted for Air Force ROTC and 4 years as an officer instead ofwaiting to be drafted (my low #57 in the first draft lottery would have assuredthat) for two years of elisted service.

After graduation from MITand commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant, the Air Force was kind enough (enlightenedself-interest, I'm sure) to allow me a year to obtain a Master's Degree atthe Ohio State University before assigning me as a Computer Systems ProgrammingOfficer (Systems) at HQ SAC, Offutt AFB, NE.  I was fighting the Cold War,keeping a very early online database alive to support the intelligence community. The war ended in 1973, and I was separated from active duty in 1974, returninghome to the family mattress manufacturing business in Denver, while alsoconsulting with the primary contractor for my former system in Omaha.  Thatevolved into a full-time job as a Systems Representative (et al) in the Denveroffice of Honeywell Information Systems, where I stayed until 1981.

In 1981, Honeywell gave me a promotion and relocated my family to greaterBoston.  I was the expert on both mainframe and minicomputer databases andonline transaction processing systems, which included a great deal of workin the depths of the operating systems of both series of computers.  By 1987,Honeywell was struggling (I'm sure it wasn'tmy fault, but who knows?)and I moved to Digital Equipment Corp to join their Secure Systems organizationin the development of a high-trust system to support mullti-level nationalsecurity needs.  From there, I went to the Open Software Foundation ResearchInsititue, where we developed a high-trust operating system kernel (MK++) for desktopand office systems.

I returned home to Colorado in 1997 and rebooted my life.  I had passed mypeak in software engineering, but I had the good fortune to work for severalcompanies that were developing/supporting interesting systems for their customers. In 2000, I received the afore-mentioned "Celestial 2x4 across the forehead,"which launched me into the ordination process, as described below.

Following a hiatus, during which I completed a Master of Divinitydegree and served as Priest-in-Charge of an Episcopal parish, I returned tofull-time software engineering in 2012 as a Software Consultant forSogeti USA. My engagement was with the Hewlett-Packard Workstation Global Business Unit inFort Collins, CO.  I had been withSogeti at HPprior to seminary, and it was very nice to re-establish my professional careerin that setting.  When that engagement ended, I had time to take stock.

As I reflect on the variety of positions I have heldover the years, I realize that the ones that were the most satisfying allowedme to combine interpersonal skills with technical challenges.  I hadaccumulated a great deal of technical expertise over time, starting with thebasic engineering discipline of learning how to learn.  At the same time,I enjoyed working with customers and other engineers to establish a vision ofhow things should be and to find creative solutions to the problemsraised.  After ordination, I applied those skills in service to churchesand outside ministries, who have many of the same challenges.

My Vocation:  Episcopal Priest

Prior to my retirement at age 72, I most recently served as the long-term Supply Priest, thenhalf-time Vicar ofSt. Elizabeth'sEpiscopal Church in Brighton, CO from September, 2014 through March,2019.  St. Elizabeth's is a small congregation, and I was blessed to servethem.  Before that engagement, I was a Priest Associate atTrinity Episcopal Churchin Greeley, Colorado.  My first actual cure was as the Priest-in-Charge ofthe Episcopal Parish Church of St. Charles the Martyr (small church, longname) in Fort Morgan, Colorado.  When my three year tenure at St. Charlescame to an end, I shifted to providing worship leadership and pastoral assistanceto meet the needs of the congregations around me in NE Colorado.

Once I had retired for real, I once again became available for pulpitsupply on Sundays to Episcopal and Lutheran churches in the Episcopal Dioceses ofColoradoandNebraska, and theRocky Mountain Synod (ELCA).  Beforeand during the pandemic, my last long-term relationship was with St. Hilda’sEpiscopal Church in Kimball, NE. Kimballis due north of my former home in Fort Morgan, CO, and I was the only availableEpiscopal priest for miles and miles. That ended in in 2021, after which I found my way home to TrinityEpiscopal Church in Greeley as a parishioner.

I am also the founding Secretary and a multi-term Director of St. Clare's Ministries, whichbegan life in the 1980s as a parish outreach ministry to the homeless andworking poor in central Denver.  When the sponsoring parish became"imperiled" (at risk of closure, due to its inability to supportitself), St. Clare's was spun off to ensure its survival.  I led theeffort to incorporate St. Clare's Ministries as a Diocesan Institution in2009.  More than ten years later, we continue to serve 45-200 hot mealsevery Tuesday evening (holidays included), along with providing clothing andtoiletries to meet basic needs.  Volunteers from as many as 15 differentcongregations take part each month, and they have proven to be the secret toour success as a ministry.  We established an optional Holy Communionservice several years ago, which has helped our guests to evolve from peoplelooking for a meal to a very open community of faith that cares for its own andinvites others to join them.  I led worship on the first Tuesday of eachmonth from 2008 (when I was still wet behind the ears) until it was suspended bythe pandemic. The feeding/clothing ministry has continuedunabated, though.

Formation for Priesthood

As I adapted professionally to the sea change inthe technical world, the turning of the millennium was also a good time toreflect upon the vocation that had long been nagging at me.  As a result,I entered the formal Discernment process in theEpiscopal Diocese of Colorado. Three years later, I was named a "Postulant for Holy Orders," bywhich I was approved to prepare for ordination as a priest in the EpiscopalChurch USA.

In 2007, I graduated from the EpiscopalTheological Seminary of the Southwest (ETSS) in Austin, Texas.  ETSS hassince rebranded itself as theSeminary of theSouthwest, (SSW). Formation as an Episcopalpriest includes the earning of a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, whichentails a three year course of study (including summers).  Returning toacademia after three decades was a bit daunting, but this leg of the journeyproved to be quite exciting.

Complementing my academic formation, I wasrequired to take a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE), which included300 hours of hospital chaplaincy plus 100 hours of supervision andinstruction.  My clinical work was done as a Chaplain Intern at theBoulder Community Hospital for ten weeks duringthe summer of 2006, between my "Middler" and "Senior" years ofseminary.

My seminary also required us to engage in culturalimmersion during the first two (Junior and Middler) years of the M.Div.program.  I spent two weeks in Santa Fe, NM and CiudadJuárez in January of my Junior year; the next year's Januaryimmersion took the form of relief work among victims of Hurricane Katrina onthe Mississippi Gulf Coast.  The scope of the disaster was so vast that Icreated aHurricane Katrina web page to bringtogether photos of the devastation and to describe our part in the response toit.

An important piece of my formation is gettingactual experience in a parish setting.  To that end, I was placed withSt. Mark's Episcopal Church inSan Marcos, thirty miles south of Austin.  As a "Middler," I wasexpected to spend five hours per week in this assignment (as if one could keepit to five); as a Senior, it was 10 hours/week.  My duties includedoccasional preaching, leading a Christian Formation class between the mainservices, planning & execution of the Great Vigil of Easter, and becomingfully integrated into the life of the parish.

St. Mark's was a wonderful placement.  Theparish was then in transition from "Pastoral sized" (where the Rectoris essentially the head of an extended family) to "Program sized" (wherethe Rector provides general oversight, but most authority is distributed amonglay leaders).  St. Mark's has since built and occupied a new campuswest of San Marcos.   This was an exceptional time in the life of theparish, especially in terms of the lessons I was able to take with me as Ientered ordained ministry.  The St. Mark's family is also a wonderfullywelcoming group, which provided a delightful diversity of opinions andbackgrounds to challenge any assumptions that I had made.

Once I returned home to Colorado, I joined the Office of theBishop as the Coördinator of the 120^th Diocesan Convention inOctober, 2007.  This assignment was primarily project management (drawingupon my engineering background), with a dash of ecclesiastical politics and agenerous dose of networking.  I was blessed to be surrounded byexceptional people, so things fell into place quite nicely and the Conventionwent very well.  I was also made Secretary of Convention in the process;that office has responsibilities that continue through the year.  Once I hadbecome a known entity, my job description became heavy on "other duties asassigned" in the Office of the Bishop, even as I begin to servecongregations within the diocese as a supply priest.

During the six months separating my ordinations as a Transitional Deacon and asa Priest, I affiliated with two Denver parishes.  I grew up at theChurch of the Ascension, and thatparish "adopted" me as a Priest Associate; I presided at my firstHoly Eucharist there on the day after my ordination as a priest.  I alsobecame a regular part of the St. Clare's Kitchen ministry at the Parish of St.Peter & St. Mary, which I described earlier.  These two affiliationswere nicely complementary and have been a gift to me.  My St. Clare'saffiliation has continued as it evolved to become a separately incorporatedDiocesan Institution (St. Clare's Ministries), of which I became the Secretaryand have served multiple terms on the Board of Directors.

I served as Priest-in-Charge of the Parish Church of St. Charles the Martyr inFort Morgan, CO for almost three years, starting in April, 2008.  It wasmuch like an extended engagement, though it did not conclude in a"marriage."  Having discerned that my calling at that time was to be as a"bi-vocational" priest, I re-entered the technical professionalranks, allowing me to serve small congregations that were unable to hirefull-time clergy.

I served St. Elizabeth's in Brighton for 4½ years as long-term Supply and halftime Vicar.  As I faced mandatory retirement in February, 2020, I took short-termassignments to meet the needs of the congregations around me.

Home & Family

When I returned to my native Colorado in 1997 after a sixteen yearsojourn in eastern Massachusetts, I first concentrated on "rebooting"my life. The change of venue allowed me to reconnect with long-time friends andfamily and to find peace and refreshment as I gaze upon and explore the RockyMountains.

Recent years have contained an abundance of "interesting times" (in the sense of the Chinese curse), but anotherold saying is that "anything that doesn't kill you makes youstronger."  If that's the case, I suppose I’ve gotten stronger overtime.

I also made a turn for the better in the healtharena.  As an overweight middle-aged male with an infamous snoringproblem, it came as no surprise to me when I was diagnosed withObstructive Sleep Apnea .  For me,the treatment that works is aConstantPositive Air Pressure (CPAP) machine to keep my airway open at night,even when I travel .  Follow thelinks for more information.

Along the way, I madea new life with the former Cynthia Obermeyer, who I had met on aCursilloweekend (she was a Candidate; I was on the team) in 2006.  Cynthia had acombinationof intelligence, spirituality, love, and passion for ministry that stolemy heart.  We were married on January 2, 2010 (a palindrome:  01022010) inDenver and we lived (commutes and all) in Fort Morgan, halfway to Nebraskafrom Denver along I-76. We were at our best in service, ranging from St.Clare's Ministries, Denver to St. Elizabeth's, Brighton.

Alas, Cynthia passed away on May 10, 2019. We had a wonderful celebration of her life at St. Martin-in-the-FieldsEpiscopal Church, Aurora, from which I had taken her in 2010 and to which I returnedher.  Her family and I had a second celebration at her parents' church inNokesville, VA a few weeks later.  She is interred under All Souls' Walkat St. John's Cathedral, Denver, not far from my parents.

Outside Interests

As they say, "all work and no play ...".
It should comeas no surprise that I'mstilla computer geek, but that's not all.

  E-mail:          Kindel@Alum.MIT.edu
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