A few weeks ago, Susan and I took the first steps in our
summer’s journey to North Dakota. We flew to Denver and then headed up the
mountains that stood just to the West, to YMCA of the Rockies in Estes Park,
CO. I arrived two days early, on Wednesday, to participate in the Advanced
Leadership Development Program (ALDP), which is a new addition to the ACMNP
program. I was one of twelve seminarians selected to go through additional
training in leadership, pastoral care, and preaching. In return, I will lead
our team in the park and be responsible for ensuring that things are done.
It was not all classroom work, though; we also had the
opportunity to explore the campus of the camp and even to take a little hike.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the weather was incredible – the skies were sunny
and the air was warm. From our perspective atop Bible Point, we could see for
miles all around, and we were greeted on every side by snow covered mountain
peaks that soared to over 10,000 feet. As beautiful and impressive as our
Appalachians are, the Rockies were far more imposing.
By Friday, when Susan and the rest of the nearly 300
participants arrived, the skies had turned gray, the wind began to blow, and
snow had begun to drift slowly down. Nevertheless, ACMNP Training Conference
went on as scheduled, for Colorado is far more prepared for snow than North
Carolina. That evening, we worshipped in the same way that we will lead worship
this summer, and we began to learn about how ACMNP’s ministry is needed
in our country’s national parks.
Susan and I knew that seasonal national park employees would
be an eclectic group of people, but we had no idea the levels of hurt and pain
that pervaded the dormitories and bunkhouses. Many are young people who feel
that they are welcome nowhere else in the world – college students whose
parents either cannot or will not have them home for the summer,
twenty-somethings who took the only job they could find, and people who simply
have no place else to go. As a result, alcohol and drug use have the potential
to run rampant as these hurting people chase after anything they can to ease
the pain.
Our jobs, then, are to build relationships with these people
and to be witnesses to the ways that our faith has enabled us to come through
the hurt and pain that we have experienced. Our goal is not a “turn or burn”
evangelism; rather, it is to love them as Christ loves them, to listen to their
stories, to share in laughter and in tears, to be a friend. Although we both
came away with the realization that ministry to employees will be our main
focus, we will also lead two worship services each Sunday – one in the
Cottonwood Campground inside the park, and a second in the town of Medora.
The ACMNP Training Conference also allowed us the chance to
meet the other members of the Theodore Roosevelt team. We will be doing
ministry alongside three other people – Kileab & Amanda Ammons and Cade
Blush, who are all students at John Brown University in Arkansas. We had the
chance to plan a quick worship service, and despite the fact that our team is
comprised of two liturgical Baptists, two nondenominational Christians, and one
Eastern Orthodox believer, we were able to work together to lead a unified and
meaningful service. One of our biggest anxieties about the summer had been put
to rest.
Our time in Estes Park, however, was not all work and no
play. On Saturday afternoon, with a foot of snow on the ground and more still
falling from the skies, we hopped aboard a bus that would take us high into
Rocky Mountain National Park. As we passed 8,000 feet of elevation, and then
9,000, the snow outside of the windows grew deeper and the road surface was at
least partially covered. Finally, we reached the end of the road, an overlook
at nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, the spectacular views
were veiled by the clouds. However, for a brief moment, the sun poked through
and we were able to glance on the snow-covered valley below. It was stunning.
Even though it snowed more than we’d seen in several years,
which should not be understood as a good thing, our time in Colorado was a
success. We greatly appreciated the singular focus of ACMNP; they have not
waded into the divisive controversies that are tearing the church apart.
Instead, they have set their eyes on the Apostles’ Creed and they keep their
eyes on it as a way to unify the different faith traditions of those that are
going out to the parks this summer. We hope that you will keep us, our team,
and all of ACMNP in your prayers this week and this whole summer.
Grace & Peace,
Susan & Lane
