An Easter People

We are an Easter People and I am thankful for the many ways God shows us the power of the Resurrection in our midst. God is at work in our lives, in the places we find death and decay in ourselves, to restore us. Grace abounds, and some of us experience this more as we fully engage the conversation with God.

The past couple months have given me a broader perspective about how this Resurrection story is playing out right here in Columbia Falls United Methodist Church, as we respond in love and faith with our siblings of the Blackfeet Nation.

The high plains of the Rocky Mountain Front are often the site of extreme weather conditions. As the winter of 2017-2018 blew into something extraordinary, the snow continued to fall, the blizzards closed roads, and many of the people of the Blackfeet Nation became cut off from food and supplies. When Pastor Calvin Hill of the Blackfeet United Methodist Parish in Browning called me for help, I in turn contacted the international United Methodist Committee on Relief. This brought immediate funds into play which started the relief effort in Browning and the Blackfeet Reservation.

The response to the call for help through our church became an effort that encompassed all of Northwest Montana. It became an example of how people come together to help others in their time of need. It became more than one church helping another church of the same denomination. It became an outpouring of love that grew into something bigger than any one individual, organization or church could have accomplished.

An incident command center was set up at the church in Columbia Falls, and a local, community effort began. As the boxes of food and supplies piled up awaiting transport to Browning, the supplies grew so large that they eventually expanded into the sanctuary. One church member was heard to comment, “This is what ‘church’ should look like!”

The response to the call for help was more than anyone could have anticipated. Volunteers staffed the command center. Food, supplies and monetary donations started pouring in from individuals, service organizations and other churches. More volunteers stepped up to drive the supplies to Browning. Others traveled across the mountains to assist the effort there, including cooking for volunteers, radio dispatching for the Blackfeet Tribe, cutting firewood and repacking supplies.

I’m so impressed with our communities and the generosity of people within and beyond Northwest Montana. I know we’ve processed over 85 volunteers in Columbia Falls alone. I hope that some day, we will be able to put our figures together to highlight our massive mass-care response. I’ve witnessed trailers and personal vehicles packed tight for the trip over Marias Pass in all kinds of weather. Many volunteers have made a second or third trip.

We have made a multitude of ecumenical partners from all theological perspectives, including interfaith friends, as well as secular partners. Some have deployed as United Methodist volunteers for a day or more, others have taken food and firewood to Browning, others are seeking ways to offer financial support for our efforts. Together, we can do more.

I am humbled by the outpouring of support. And, I am thankful for the United Methodist Connection and the United Methodist Committee on Relief. If I could share with the Council of Bishops, I would say, this is the way forward. There is room for hope, room for reconciliation in the way we encounter one another. My congregation has gone through many changes in the past year, and I’m delighted by those who have stepped up and given full-time hours to this work as volunteers — all while smiling. They do so with a belief that we can love one another. Bishop Karen’s preaching last summer is embodied in their steadfast acts of faith.

As we welcome newcomers and returners alike, I’m recognizing an energetic Holy Spirit at work in our lives. It’s catching on! Our theology of love is alive and well in Northwest Montana!

Thank you to all who had a part in making “church” into a caring community for the people of the Blackfeet Nation. May you be encouraged in the word of God, embraced by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and in the redeeming love of Christ this Eastertide.

Dawn Skerritt is pastor of the Columbia Falls United Methodist Church and the Yellowstone Annual Conference disaster response coordinator.