The Presbyterians kept southeast Alaska where
they first began their work and added St. Lawrence Island and the
northern Arctic Coast.
Cooperation, rather than competition, was the
rule rather than the exception.
St. Lawrence Island Church
Obtained from Episcopalians in
1893
We remember that the Episcopalians built the
original church at Gambell on St. Lawrence Island in the early
1890s. When a missionary could not be found to serve the area, the
work was turned over to the Presbyterians.
Congregationalists and
Presbyterians:
Friction in Nome, 1901
There were a couple of rough moments at
Nome in 1901 when the Presbyterian S. Hall Young found himself in
competition with the Congregationalists but it took very little
time, and a epidemic, to convince both ministers that there was
plenty of work for both.
Presbyterians Experience
“Spiritual Loneliness” in 1916
In 1916, mention was made in the minutes
of the Yukon Presbytery that the missionaries were experiencing a
great deal of “spiritual loneliness.”
“There is no fellowship afforded where the work
is not tied in with other fields close enough for the kind of
fellowship which is had at business meetings,” the minutes said,
“Therefore, in the laying out of new territory to be manned either
by our own church or by another, regard to this condition should
be carefully considered. A closer federation with other
denominations is to be desired. We should take the lead and be the
first to submit to rearrangements of our fields if
necessary.”
And this is what we did -- sometimes by choice,
and sometimes out of necessity. Cooperative relationships took
several forms.
United Protestant Church
Organized in 1935
When the U.S. federal government decided
to colonize the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, for instance, they set
aside land for both a Roman Catholic Church and a “Protestant”
Church. Even in 1935, there were many more varieties of
“Protestantism” than one, but cooperation was mandated.
The Rev. Bert Bingle arrived in Palmer, Alaska,
on May 6, 1935, from Cordova. Bingle was a Presbyterian Sunday
school missionary -- but the church organized by December of that
year was officially called: The United Protestant Church at
Palmer. It was added to the rolls of Presbytery in 1937 but
retained its special interdenominational constitution until well
into the 1950s.
Grace Presbyterian Served
By Episcopalian by 1944
Grace Presbyterian Church at Nenana was
the site of the meeting of the "Farthest North Presbytery in the
World", February 18-20, 1925. The 1943-1944 Annual Report for
Grace Presbyterian, signed March 9, 1944, by Bert Bingle,
confirmed that only two communicants were now being served -- by
an Episcopal clergyman. Grace was no longer active by 1946. The
two members, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Jones, had left. The building was
used for community services for a while, but it was found to be
too difficult to heat. It was sold to Vance Hitt on June 7,
1947.
Cordova Presbyterian
Sold to Baptists in 1951
Back over in Cordova, the Presbyterian
Church began exploring a relationship with the American Baptist
Missionary Society, especially if the denomination would agree to
take over the hospital in that community. On December 20, 1949,
the Cordova Hospital Association at Cordova voted 21 to 1 to
accept the offer of the American Baptist Society to take over the
hospital. The Presbytery decided to turn over the church work in
that community to the Baptists, as well, and the church was sold
to the Northern Baptist Convention in 1951.
Swedish Coventers Trade
Yakutat for Wales in 1953
The Rev. Ralph P. Hanson of the Swedish
Evangelical Covenant Church wrote the Presbytery of Yukon in
August of 1953 to explore a trade of the Covenant church work at
Yakutat (Alaska Presbytery) for the Yukon Presbytery work at
Wales. The Church at Wales was transferred to the Mission Covenant
Church in October 1953.
Presbyterians Determine
Not to Seek Expansion in 1960
In 1960, Yukon Presbytery voted to
reaffirm its commitment to the Arctic coast, St. Lawrence Island,
the Fairbanks area, Railbelt, Alaska Highway, Matanuska Valley and
the greater Anchorage area, but stated for the record that it had
“no interest in other areas for the present”.
Tok-Northway Effort Given
To Episcopalians in 1964
Permission was requested in 1963 from the
Synod for Presbytery to begin talks with the Episcopal Diocese of
Alaska relative to coverage of the Tok/Northway part of the
Highway. The following National Missions Committee recommendation
was approved September 30, 1964:
... that Presbytery accept the agreement
with the Episcopal Church that the Presbyterian Church continue to
cover the Tok field until they can secure a pastor for the
Episcopal church at Tanacross (with the Episcopal Church
transferring to our account the amount of $600 to cover our
transportation expenses from the Delta Junction field) and that we
shall continue our negotiations for a new pastor at Tanacross to
cover the Tok field.”
Church of the Epiphany
Organizes in Valdez, 1968
The Alaska Council of Churches saw that
there was no mainline denominational presence in the community of
Valdez and began work organizing an ecumenical effort there --
resulting in the opening of the Church of the Epiphany on August
7, 1968. The Rev. Dale G. Sailes was pastor, but an
inter-denominational pulpit exchange was envisioned. The Rev. Dick
Madden of the United Protestant Church in Palmer represented the
Presbyterians.
At the height of its ecumenical involvement,
five different denominations were involved with the Church of the
Epiphany -- the Episcopalians, the Methodists, the Northern
Baptists, the Presbyterians, and the Christian Church. Today,
1998, it is solely a ministry of the Episcopalian Church.
Presbytery Explores Work
With Episcopalians at Healy,
1968
On June 12, 1968, Presbytery of Yukon voted to
request the National Missions Committee to investigate ecumenical
mission possibilities in Healy, in cooperation with the Episcopal
Church.
Presbytery Adopts
Non-Competition Policy, 1970
On March 13, 1970, Presbytery of Yukon
adopted the following policy: In areas where there is a church in
a non-competing situation, that church will be recognized by the
Presbytery as serving the Presbyterians in that community. And,
where there is a Presbyterian church in a non-competing situation,
that Presbyterian church be encouraged and permitted to represent
the other denominations upon approval by Presbytery on session
request.
Jewel Lake Parish Formed
With Methodists in 1971
In 1969, Presbytery of Yukon began
exploring an ecumenical mission in the location of the recently
dissolved Westminster Church. After three years, on May 16, 1971
the newly formed Jewel Lake Parish in Anchorage was chartered -- a
joint venture (union parish) between the United Methodist Church
and the United Presbyterian Church.
Alaska Christian Conference
Forms in 1972
The Alaska Christian Conference was organized
in January of 1972 to provide for fellowship and service projects
among a broad spectrum of churches in Alaska. Original member
churches included the American Baptist Church, Disciples of
Christ, the Episcopal Church, the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Fairbanks, the Lutheran Church of America, the United Methodist
Church, the United Presbyterian Church of the USA. The American
Lutheran Church joined a little later.
Alaska and Yukon Presbyteries
Consider Merger in 1973
A motion was defeated 15 to 18 at the
March 9, 1973 meeting of the Yukon Presbytery which would have
overtured the 185th General Assembly of the United Presbyterian
Church in the USA to unite the Alaska and Yukon presbyteries, with
boundaries for the new presbytery to correspond with those of the
State of Alaska.
Tri-Anchor Ecumenical
Parish Proposed in 1973
During this same period of time, the
Alaska Methodist Mission, The Presbytery of Alaska, the Presbytery
of Yukon were exploring the possibility of merging into one
Tri-Anchor Ecumenical Parish. The plan would have united the
United Methodist Church and the United Presbyterian Church in the
USA to form a single judicatory for Alaska. This judicatory would
have had full and normal relationships with the higher
judicatories of both denominations, and would honor previous
denominational commitments. Due to the complicated task
envisioned, no other denominations were to be invited to
participate until such time as the first merger was effected. This
merger did not come to pass, but it is significant that it was
even discussed.
Christian Conference Begins
Pipeline Ministry in 1974
By resolution passed May 20, 1974, the
Alaska Christian Conference determined to initiate a cooperative
ministry for men and women working on the construction of the
Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Gordon Corbett, associate synod executive
for the Yukon and Alaska presbyteries, served as chairperson of
the oversight committee. The Rev. Dr. (Major) Raymond A. Dexter of
the Salvation Army served as the coordinating chaplain for the
effort. Participating denominations included the Southern
Baptists, the American Lutherans, the United Methodists, the Roman
Catholics (Diocese of Fairbanks), the Episcopalians, the Salvation
Army and the Presbyterians. The ministry continued throughout the
entire three years of the construction project.
Church at Nome Formed
With Methodist Minister
1975
The Nome Presbyterian Church was
organized January 14, 1975 with the local Methodist minister, the
Rev. John J. Shaffer, called as pastor. Shaffer pastored both the
Methodist Church and the new Presbyterian Church.
New Hope Church Organizes
At North Pole in 1977
A new church development project at North Pole,
Alaska, resulted in a union church established with the United
Methodists, New Hope Church.
United Methodists Take Over
Willow Effort 1982
Two new United Methodist congregations were
organized at Willow and at Trapper Creek as part of the new Parks
Highway Parish made possible by the New Ministries Campaign in
1982. Although some members and pastors of the Tri-Anchor
Ecumenical Parish had met for worship with residents of Trapper
Creek, for many years there had been no United Methodist or other
mainline denominational presence along the 289 miles of the Parks
Highway, north of Wasilla to Fairbanks. The Methodists approached
the Presbytery in a letter dated June 7, 1982, requesting to
purchase the Willow chapel. After a period of negotiations, the
sale was consummated.
Presbyterians Reunite
With Other Presbyterians 1982
On September 10-11, 1982, the Rev. Thomas R.
Teply, Presbytery Commissioner to General Assembly, spoke on the
Plan for Reunion between the United Presbyterian Church of the
United States of America (northern branch) and the Presbyterian
Church of the United States (southern branch). He reviewed the
issue and spoke positively about the plan. The Yukon Presbytery
endorsed the plan.
Russian Far East Work
Begins in 1991
Some of the same denominations who worked
together in the late 1880s with Sheldon Jackson in Alaska, came
together again in the late 1990s to form a mission to take the
gospel even further west, across the date line. The Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America, the Synod of Alaska, and the Alaska
Missionary Conference of the United Methodist Church share a
mutual ministry with the indigenous Native American peoples of
Western Alaska (Yupik and Inupiaq). These groups determined in
1991 to share with the Presbytery of Yukon a mutual mission to the
Native peoples of the Russian Far East.
Presbyterians Support
On-Going Ecumenical Affiliations
In 1996, the Alaska Christian Conference
(ACC) developed a descriptive paper concerning its history. In
that year, its ecumenical membership included the following
Alaskan churches:
