Church in the lap of the Bear

 The church I attended on June 30, 2007, was a little out of the ordinary for me.  I dressed for comfort - no jacket, tie, or high polished shoes.  I wore comfortable shoes and a hat, because I knew the walk - two miles or so to church - would be hot.  The arrangement of congregants looked pretty much the same - a few young children, not many teenagers, some young adults, quite a few older adults, both men and women.  Unusually, there were probably more men than women in church that day.
 
We didn't have a building.  We gathered under a tent in the "lap of the Bear", but we had prayers, we had music spoken and played.  We had stories that showed the history of the religion.  We had sermons - many sermons.  As a Lutheran, I was ready for more music and prayer and less talk, but it was a good sermon.  The pastors were speaking from the heart.
 
This church is located at the base of Bear Butte, near Sturgis, SD, on land owned by the Rosebud tribe.  Christians had been asked to stand in solidarity with people asking that their sacred land - their church - not be encroached upon by the business of bar life during the Sturgis Biker festival.  I'm not sure how many white Christians we had there, but they came to church from as near as Sturgis and as far away as Missouri.
 
 We talked about spirituality and its importance in our lives.  We talked about needing a moral compass.  We talked about what is happening in a world that is getting so far away from its traditions and beliefs, that allows the ethics of business to replace the morality of humanity.  We talked about how families were split apart by language, by Christian teachings improperly applied, by stereotypes.  It seemed like an important conversation to have in Church.
 
The media tends to focus on those aspects of the news that highlights conflict and confrontation.  I hope that we are able to keep in mind what this protest at Bear Butte is all about.  It's about Church.
 
Gary Nesdahl
 
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