What A Friend We Have in Jesus - Our first Service at the Arctic Village Church

As we walked into church this morning the congregation was singing "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" in Gwich'in. I couldn't understand any of the words, but I knew the tune. It spoke to my heart to hear that familiar tune in their language. With many tongues, but one voice we worship the same God. They also sang "Just As I Am" in Gwich'in and "Amazing Grace" in English. The church here in Arctic Village is Episcopalian and the chapel where we meet is a cozy one room building with pews and an alter.

The Reverend Trimble Gilbert gave a sermon on the Gospel story of how the shepherd searched for the one lost sheep even though he had one hundred. Trimble told a story that his mother had told him from when the Gwich'in people were still nomadic. They would only stop in one place when they had a lot of food, then they would move on again. There was a time when the people were very hungry and food was hard to find and a baby crawled off in search of berries. The people looked for days and days; for two weeks and could not find the baby. The whole village was distraught and shared in mourning for their loss. As Arctic Village now shares in mourning the loss of one of their own who was electrocuted in a terrible accident working on the electric lines. The next month when the people traveled to a new place looking for food, the baby came crawling up, still following the berry bushes! It was a miracle that seemed impossible, but the baby was alive! The people then shared in rejoicing for the lost baby that was now found. Trimble stressed that in the village community we share in mourning and rejoicing, and it is always worth caring for the one who is lost, the one who needs our help, the one who is without. I have read the story of the lost sheep before and studied it, but never within the context of a native community that is so close-knit as this. It really gives the idea of community a whole new value. ~Gretchen