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| Dillingham Trinity Lutheran Church |
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This is a photo of Dillingham Trinity Lutheran Church, but this was not my first view or impression of the place. My first view was darker, but better. Let me explain.
I came to Dillingham at the request of the pastor and congregation, to assist them in mission planning and future visioning. I was excited - I had heard good things about this 27-year-old congregation on the edge of Bristol Bay, but I had visited neither congregation nor the town.
I arrived on a Saturday night, well past sunset, but just in time for the Dillingham Arts Council's semi-annual coffee house. This event is hosted in the church building, just one of the ways the congregation supports community events.
Because of my flight time, I walked in just after the event had begun. It was pitch dark; the ticket-taker used a flashlight to take our admission fee. It was packed. People were crammed around little tables with red-and-white-checkered table cloths. Many stood along all sides of the room. There were at least 100 people. A table full of goodies was in back, with an unmanned cash box that said, "for the high school band." A man up front crooned with his guitar while the audience was transfixed. As we moved through the evening with the energetic help of the young, long-haired MC, I noticed the audience as much as the performers. I realized that every person in that room knew everyone up on the stage and were there to support, encourage and cheer. They paid complete attention to every poet, musician and horn-player. People hooted before the acts began, then clapped and yelled enthusiastically after every one, no matter if the performer was excellent or a beginner. It was small town at its best. And the church was a huge part of it - creating a space for authentic community, exploration of life's big questions and a place to feel at home.
Well, even though this was great fun, I had work to do, and that did happen on Sunday morning. I enjoyed worshiping with the people of Dillingham Trinity and Pastor Luisa, who is retired. I enjoyed the playful spirit of folks at worship and after. (Did you know that bubbles blown in very cold temperatures get heavy and just sit there - and some freeze?)
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| Pastor Luisa and me |
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| A playful time after worship |
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| Bristol Bay |
After worship, we shared a delicious lunch, consisting of traditional potluck fare, with an emphasis on salmon dishes (it's local, after all). When the meal had ended, the annual meeting began, and I led the congregation through some missional reflection time on their future. There were great ideas shared and positive energy as they consider where God is calling the congregation. After the meeting, my host, Marilyn, drove me around to see Dillingham's sites, including the drive to Lake Aleknagik and great views of Bristol Bay, which is Alaska's "salmon basket."
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| A mural in Dillingham |
As I sat on the plane heading back to Anchorage Sunday night, I thought again about the dark church building that hosted the coffee house and the sunny, light church building that held worship the next day. Some who were there at night probably would never come during the day. But it was the same place, providing many of the same needs for community, hospitality, meaning and expression. I thought about how it all belongs to God, and how God is using it all for God's purpose - to ends which we cannot yet imagine, nor see.
