Faithful gather to work on community needs

A standing-room-only crowd gathered Tuesday for the second day of the 2007 Montana Faith Community Impact Summit at Flathead Valley Community College.

Organized by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the event brought together members of churches, nonprofit organizations and concerned citizens for Bible-backed brainstorming for solutions to pressing community needs.

Baucus opened the day sharing a prayer from his boyhood that he said he recites every day. He said that faith clearly drives everyone in attendance at the summit.

"Some of us wear it on our sleeve and some of us don't," he said.

He asked the audience to "find a remedy" rather than finding fault. Baucus added that nothing of consequence happens unless people work together.

The senator outlined summit rules including leaving politics at the door, putting all ideas on the table and thinking/dreaming big. Those guidelines grew from a similar event in Billings last year that Baucus said inspired the Kalispell gathering.

"The Billings Faith Summit was one of the most special things I've ever done - getting people to talk to each other," he said. "I decided to do it again."

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., spoke next at the morning plenary session. He said he regretted missing the summit last year.

At the time, he was deep in his campaign bid to unseat then-Sen. Conrad Burns.

"Believe me, I was doing plenty of praying," Tester said with a laugh.

He put in a plug for Baucus' children's health-care legislation that passed both houses of Congress but was recently vetoed by President Bush. Tester said work was in progress to override the veto.

"This fight isn't over yet," he said, earning loud applause.

Montana's newest senator echoed Baucus in urging people to work together. He said that, without action, faith by itself is dead.

"Those words are from the good book,'" he said. "We need to start mapping out a vision for positive change."

As he did last year, Baucus invited retired Rear Admiral Barry C. Black as the keynote speaker of the morning.

Black was elected as the 62nd chaplain of the U.S. Senate in 2003 after 27 years serving as a Navy chaplain.

"He's a real national leader," Baucus said.

The chaplain didn't disappoint, delivering a passionate address laced with humor, philosophy, fire and brimstone. He finished to a standing ovation and several rounds of applause.

An African-American raised in Baltimore, Black began by recalling his impression when he got off the plane last year for the Billings event.

"I thought, 'Dorothy, you're not in Kansas any more,'" he said with a laugh.

Kalispell's natural beauty also inspired his awe. Black said he hadn't seen such splendor outside of a Monet painting.

He drew laughter as he related his thought process on a hiking trip in Glacier National Park after he was given bear spray and warned about encounters.

"I didn't have to outrun the bear," he said. "I just had to outrun the slowest member of the group."

Black said he came to the Flathead to talk about keeping the American dream of people of all races and creeds living together in harmony. He spoke of the "splendid heterogeneity" of the U.S. Olympic teams.

"It's a dream that's like a flickering flame," Black said. "It must be guarded."

He said the dream of equality eventually transcended the country's founders who excluded women, slaves and American Indians from their concept.

Black described his own experience participating in sit-ins in Alabama during the civil rights movement. He recalled the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. imploring people to keep the dream alive by rising "from the dark and desolate valleys of segregation."

"And the people rallied," Black said.

He urged those in the Kalispell audience to keep God as the foundation of their lives and of their solutions to problems. Black said great nations such as Rome imploded from within rather than exploded from forces outside.

The chaplain said Rome fell from "moral dry rot," neglect of the family, high taxes for frivolous expenses, preoccupation with pleasure, a disproportionate amount of revenues spent on military and a decline in religion.

"The parallels are frightening," he said.

Black said sin was an equal opportunity destroyer. He called "sin in our midst" a greater threat than global terrorism.

He urged the audience to know the threats, cooperate with Divinity for solutions and trust God for security, saying security doesn't come from military power.

"The time has come when prayer warriors need to begin their intercession," he said.

Black recited a favorite prayer. He ended his keynote address with the stanza:

"Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wider seas,

Where storms will show your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.