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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
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October 2005 |
Into the great wide open
Zionsville volunteers in mission embark on Alaskan church-building adventure
By Josh Green
ZIONSVILLE - Ah, Alaska. The word itself culls up images of doll sheep, polar bears, grazing moose, endless green mountain ranges and those shifting blue glaciers that, in house-size chunks, scoot off cliffs and plunge dramatically into Arctic swells.
Looking back, a group of Zionsville volunteers in mission might now have a different take on The Land of the Midnight Sun. Along with the dramatic nature sweeps and wildlife of Alaska, these 15 affiliates of the Zionsville United Methodist Church also might recall the screech of buzz-saws, the crack of hammer-swings and the ache of a workday lower back.
In mid-July, the 15-person missionary team embarked on a 5,000-mile trek toward The Last Frontier - a self-financed trip that would involve anything but rest and relaxation. The ZUMC team spent their vacation helping build the Girdwood Chapel in the mountain town of Girdwood, about 45 minutes outside Anchorage.
The rustic church - nestled among the Alyeska Mountains, a ski resort and the Turnagain Arm inlet - will replace the tiny United Methodist chapel that now serves the town of Girdwood, population 2,500. The church is estimated to be complete by Christmas 2006, and at least 20 mission teams from across the United States are slated to aide in its completion.
"I think, when you're in Alaska, it's just so exciting because man hasn't messed it up; you can tell that God's been in charge," said volunteer Betsy Doepken, evangelism coordinator of ZUMC. Her son, Jim, has been pastor the Girdwood Chapel since 2000 and has orchestrated the recent chapel construction.
"My husband (Mike) and I started talking and prayed that God would put the right people together for this mission. And, by golly, we had the most amazing group."
Steam started building for the Alaskan church-building mission two years ago, when Jim Doepken preached at the Zionsville church, and congregation members became interested in lending him a hand. Betsy Doepken then set up an Alaskan mission display and distributed brochures at Zionsville. A Zionsville UMC member who owns an apparel store donated Christmas sweaters for the church to sell and kicked off the initial fundraising.
Ever since, the Zionsville church has worked to help finance Girdwood Chapel's construction, and some team members have already planned a return visit next summer to assist again during Alaska's brief building season.
"You're brushing the snow off in May. June, July and August - those are usually you're only good months," said Doepken of the construction site, where women contributed equally with the men. "We had the most amazing women there: a human resources woman who was the most awesome carpenter; an attorney who really knew her way around power tools; and a teacher, there wasn't anything she couldn't do. Me, I went to be the cook."
Days on the site were very long - sundown at 1 a.m., back up at 4 a.m. To complicate matters, a gray, glacial silt covered the site and adhered quite annoyingly to work boots and blue jeans. Phil Manderson, a New Zealander, was hired to help orchestrate construction and delegate the team's talents where they were most needed.
Soon the Zionsville team, which was partially comprised of a few vital construction specialists, was laying block, framing walls, installing insulation, decking and floor joists, as well as hauling more than 70 loads of gravel for backfilling and building access roads.
"With all the hard work - and I mean exhausting labor - nobody ever complained. Unbelievable, the spirit of those people," said Betsy Doepken. "Everybody keeps checking the chapel's Web site to see the progression. There's some real ownership in that building now; I think a piece of everybody's hearts are in it.
Zionsville-Girdwood pipeline
Zionsville's Vicki Snider made the Girdwood experience a family affair. She was accompanied to Alaska by her husband, Steve, a contractor with the Snider Group Inc. and her daughter, Tina, who had recently returned from her home in central Asia, where she serves as an English teacher."
"(Tina) has traveled extensively, but it was her first time to Alaska," said Vicki Snider. "She said it was absolutely beautiful, just loved it."
Asked to describe Alaska to someone who's never been, Snider called up an interesting analogy. "The (Alaskan) scenery is beautiful; trying to describe it is like trying to describe the ocean to someone who's only seen a pond - everything's just so much bigger, so vast."
Snider said her initial plans were to work at the Girdwood site as a general go-for, while her husband lent his expertise to builders, but before long she found herself paired with Doepken as a cook. The Sniders had visited Alaska previously on a cruise and were equally enchanted this time around, said Snider, who were reunited with the 15 Zionsville volunteers on Sept. 8 at the church.
The volunteerism of families like the Sniders have humbled Pastor Jim Doepken as his chapel takes shape. Doepken said the chapel construction is primarily funded through pledge drives, congregational contributions (such as the ZUMC's) and a $300,000 loan from the United Methodist Development Fund.
Doepken said it was touching to see so many Indiana volunteers take weeks out of their life, on their own dimes, to help materialize his dream.
"In (Alaska), where church affiliation is the second lowest in the nation, it was a good example of Christian love and good old United Methodist connectionalism," wrote Doepken in an e-mail from Alaska. "We're in it together. We may live in a cold, snowy and distant place, but we're not alone. As I like to say, we're a small church, but we have a big God."
Back in Zionsville, Betsy Doepken said she's mighty proud of Jim, who is the only clergyman in Girdwood, where he lives with his wife, Julie, and their three children.
Jim Doepken was ordained in the North Indiana United Methodist Conference in 1993, a year before he graduated with a degree from Duke Divinity School. He served at Frankfort for three years and later followed his heart to Alaska.
"(Jim) first went up to Alaska as a volunteer during a summer vacation at Wabash College,'" recalled Betsy Doepken. "He came back and said, 'Mom, it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen.'"
Reprinted from The Daily Sun of Zionsville, Ind. Aug. 26, 2005 issue. Used with permission.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008