Dear Bob,
Nathanael Berends August 12th, 2008
Alaska So Far:
+These Jobs Are Everywhere
It came as a relief to me when, on my second day in Alaska, at my orientation seminar the presenter acknowledged that nobody comes up to Alaska for the job. There are a thousand different reasons why folks head toward America’s last frontier, but these reasons have little to do with a 40hr/week work contract. There is no job up here that is without its counterpart in the lower 48. With this reality, I began to understand that there is something very special that draws people to this place.
In the “outside”—an Alaskan term for the rest of the United States—there are hotels everywhere. There are restaurants and retail operations throughout the nation at which we could have just as easily applied for employment. There are scores of National Parks, too—most of them closer to folks’ homes than Denali.
Nevertheless, we have chosen Alaska. And it wasn’t because of the Job.
Mount McKinley Glacier Landing
+Why People End Up In Alaska
Since the footings of our nation were laid, people’s pursuit of discovery has always led westward. It seems, then, only logical to regard Alaska as a culminating point in that journey.
In my first weeks, I noticed that the introduction processes around here have an extra feature. In addition to typical elements of introduction found most anywhere, a common question around these parts is “Why Alaska?” After pondering silently to myself as to why people’s responses seemed so similar, I began to more fully understand why. A co-worker suggested that the only people who end up in Alaska are those who are running from something, or running to something. What this is, of course, is simply two ways of referring to the same fundamental act.
People end up in Alaska because they have tried life—in any number of ways—and been left wanting. People end up in Alaska because they are searching for more.
Sugarloaf Mountain
+Where Faith Meets Culture
I entered this summer with some degree of reticence with regard to what I expected to be a thriving bar scene. I arrived to just such a scene, and nearly immediately discovered the bar to be a place of meeting—a place of community.
I have a shirt (which I pilfered from the Office of Admission) that boldly proclaims Seattle Pacific University as a place where Faith Meets Culture. I wear this shirt less and less these days.
In Alaska, I have confirmed a long-held suspicion that a college campus is not the intersection of faith and culture in nearly the same and significant way that a tavern is. It is with a pint of Porter that one may begin an honest inquiry into the reality of both Faith and Culture. This is not something that happens in a classroom of like-minded undergraduates.
To talk of abstinence from the realities of society—of cigarettes and ales—is to say nothing of any intersection of belief and reality. To talk of how, as Christians, we are to behave responsibly within this reality is to begin talking about how Seattle Pacific University might hope to actually engage a culture to change a world.
Where, then do we find the point at which Faith Meets Culture? Somewhere between two pints and a dartboard it seems. There are probably other places, too.
Walking Along a Ridgeline
+Community of One?
Nevertheless, it has been a challenge to live as a person “set apart.” My nearest ministry team member lives 3 miles away. Our third team member lives 53 miles away. And while I have made very significant and meaningful connections with Christian co-workers, this summer has provided an extraordinary lesson in the reality that Christian life is hard without the support of Christian community. Christian life is prone to failure without the support of Christian community. I am certain that my empirical side will not soon forget this summer.
Alpenglow