Through its new roof Bowman Lutheran has invested in a future for enduring relationships, says Nygard
By BRYCE MARTIN
Pioneer Editor | [email protected]
Passersby likely have taken notice of the large-scale project to reconstruct Bowman Lutheran Church’s ailing roof. What started as a mere construction project, however, turned into a chance for the community to come together for a simple goal; its greater effects, as explained by Pastor Mark Nygard, being considerable for the heart and soul of the community. The Pioneer had a chance to chat with Nygard this week about the project and how it reflects a united spirit of the community.
Bowman County Pioneer: To begin, why was the roof needing to be redone?
Pastor Mark Nygard: The old roof was wooden shakes that were warped and being blown loose by the wind. We would regularly find shakes on the lawn, and it seemed only a question of time before we would find ourselves with leaks.
Pioneer: How did the construction affect church activities?
Nygard: Since it was done during the summertime, there was minimal disruption of the kind of education activities that we run in the winter. A very sympathetic roofing team was willing to stop work for funerals, weddings, and worship events. One hard rainstorm before the roof was quite finished left us with considerable water in the halls around the sanctuary and some dripping within the sanctuary itself. Blowers and dehumidifiers were necessary to dry the place out again, but beyond a couple of wrinkled hymnal pages and confirmation pictures there was little permanent damage.
Pioneer: What is the date of the roof’s completion?
Nygard: The project is technically not yet completed. The first and perhaps biggest part of the project involved the reshingling of the slanted parts of the roof, and that was completed around the beginning of August. The vertical parts joining roof to roof had previously been covered with shakes as if they were part of the roof itself, but now require a different surface than our new shingles to withstand the wind, yet blend in with the roof. The materials for these sections have been ordered but have not yet arrived, whence the white construction material still visible around the church roofs.
Pioneer: How were funds raised? Was it strictly through donations, fundraisers?
Nygard: Some funds had accumulated in a Building Fund over the years in preparation for just such a project—special gifts, bequests, memorials, etc. But well over half the project needed to be raised as new money in additional to regular Sunday morning offerings. The church council appointed a chairperson, David Helland, who invited other church members, Deb Patterson and Bob White, to join him as a sort of roofing subcommittee. They named the project, “Raising the Roof,” and divided a satellite picture of the roof into 614 squares to help the congregation visualize the size of the task and a contributor’s impact toward the goal. The committee envisioned every organization in the congregation arranging some sort of fund-raiser to ensure breadth of participation. For example five families hosted a Relaxing Evening Garden Tour with proceeds to go to the roof campaign. In fact, support by donors, large and small, came so quickly and spontaneously that further fundraising efforts proved unnecessary.
Pioneer: Your congregation seems to come together when things are needed to be done. Is this indicative of Bowman as a whole in your opinion?
Nygard: I would say that needs that are real and local command the finest efforts of our congregation. A disaster that leaves people we know disempowered, a danger to an institution like a beloved church that we want to pass on to our children, the possibility that early responders we actually know in our community may not have the equipment necessary—these are the kind of things that galvanize the generosity of our congregation and, I suspect, from my limited experience, our community.
At the same time, needs that are located farther from our area require more imagination and effort to be met by our people. A disaster in a distant part of the world, a basic change in the environment that we are not in control of, a refugee from a culture we do not know and speaking a language we do not understand—these challenges, just as critical, require much more energy for our people to invest in them.
Pioneer: What is it about Bowman’s people that you find most appealing?
Nygard: I love visiting with our people, one on one. I love my ministry at Southwest Healthcare where such visiting is so appreciated. I love it when I can stop by a parishioner’s home or farm and just share a cup of coffee. Unfortunately, the absence of an associate pastor just now considerably diminishes the amount of time I have available for these moments. I also love the land that we find ourselves in and enjoy so much hiking the pastures, breaks, and buttes of our geography. I think I share my love of this land with many in our community.
Pioneer: What is the future for Bowman Lutheran? Are there further projects in the works? Special programs for youth?
Nygard: Bowman Lutheran represents the vigorous Lutheran tradition of Gospel-bearing to this community. It has embedded in its constitution, the hearts of its people, and its relationship with the wider Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) a deep commitment to a message that finds exhilarating Good News in the work of Christ and a restless yearning to share that Good News with folks around us. With that sort of basic commitment it is hard not to foresee long-term engagement by the church.
On the other hand this is a corrosive time for the Church of Christ. A number of forces in our society, good and bad, have a tendency to diminish commitment to church life, including worship, service, contribution, and vision. Bowman Lutheran shares in the challenges and possibilities of this time, and attentiveness and alertness are required for us to fulfill our mission.
For over 20 years Bowman Lutheran has employed a staff person specially with youth ministry in mind. Sharon Holder has run a Kids’ Klub after school Wednesdays, mobilized youth and others to create and distribute hundreds of cookies at Christmas, led over hundreds of youth to synod and national youth assemblies in such places as Dickinson, Bismarck, and Minot, but also New Orleans, Detroit, and Houston. This ministry is a basic and unquestioned part of the congregations’ witness.
At the same time his congregation is two years into an effort to establish a clearer mission statement of what we would like to accomplish in the world.
We have made some first steps towards this, and we have accomplished some things and attempted some others, but we are still a ways from articulating very well what impact a congregation of our history and influence might challenge itself to make for good in the world.
An interesting project right now is an effort to make contact with some partner churches of the ELCA in Senegal and The Gambia, West Africa. On Oct. 27, four members of the parish, two from Bowman and two from Amidon will spend 11 days of travel and diplomacy with Lutherans in young churches in those countries. We hope that the effort will broaden our understanding of what the church is and where it ministers.
Pioneer: Anything you would like to add…
Nygard: What is it that is really important in life? Probably not medals, money, or moments of glory. Probably, rather, relationships with family, friends, and God. The church is a bunch of people who cultivate those relationships in a special and enduring way.
A good church roof makes for a secure and comfortable place for that to happen.
Through its new roof Bowman Lutheran has just invested in a future for such enduring relationships.
