rssReflections on a Sunday at Palin’s Church
Monday, September 08, 2008 at 9:42 am
- 12 Comments
WASILLA, Alaska — In my quest to understand Gov. Sarah Palin, I attended services at her church, the Wasilla Bible Church, Sunday morning. I ended up being shooed out of the parking lot — but I’ll get to that in a minute.
It felt a bit like a high-school gym or auditorium, with wood floors and an unfinished ceiling. The church was founded in the 1970s, though this building was completed in 2006.
A nine-member acoustic band opened the service with 30 minutes of Christian-themed songs — think loving God, forgiveness, humility, etc. It was a sea of about 500 folding chairs — all filled. Lights were dimmed so that the lyrics of the songs were easy to follow along with on the two large projector screens suspended from the ceiling on either side of the stage. The room’s focal point was a large, back-lit wooden cross.
When the music ended, Pastor Larry Kroon, a middle-aged, bearded man, greeted new-comers and, to my surprise, “the press.” A greeter at the front door had actually already given me a “welcome” goody bag — complete with a religious-themed CD and a green water bottle with the church’s “core commitments” listed on the side.
Kroon then said members of the press shouldn’t speak with anyone attending the service, or take photos. At this point, because I’m about an ounce better than paparazzi, I started to think about what the entrance looked like and where I’d most effectively snag people slyly. Kroon added he would not speak to the press on Sunday — so I signed up to speak with him Monday.
“Please don’t use this as a fishing pond for interviews,” Kroon said. Meanwhile, in my head, I was figuring that there’s a side exit people might use that would serve my purposes.
On the plus side, Kroon did go on to say that the press is a “gift from God.” He brought up Alexis de Tocqueville’s trip through the United States in the early 19th century and how the Frenchman identified two great American virtues– a free press and a free pulpit. Kroon was playing well with those of us in the back row, scribbling notes. I actually only saw TV camera crews on my way into the parking lot; I didn’t see any other reporters at the service.
Kroon, who kept the congregation engaged for the full 30 minutes he spoke, then touched on the positive experiences he had with the national media last week. The New York Times, Kroon said, sent a religion expert, who understood churches like theirs. Another reporter, from World Magazine, recognized authors in Kroon’s library.
Hearing this made me shift in my seat. TWI did not select me for this reporting trip because of my deep understanding of Christianity in America. In fact, it didn’t come up. The relevant factors were that I used to cover Alaska politics and still follow what’s going on up here. Unfortunately, 13 years of Catholic school and CCD didn’t seem like they’d win me any points here.
Kroon also noted that he was not the person to consult on policy — foreign, domestic or local. Church members would have to make those decisions for themselves. His job is to guide them in finding the “wonder, glory and mystery of Jesus” in scripture.
The Bible study portion of the morning, the central element of the service, focused on the first chapter in the Acts of the Apostles, which tells the story of Jesus meeting with his apostles to prove that he is alive. Jesus calls on his followers to be his witness and share his message with the “outermost points of the world,” as Kroon explained. Kroon stressed the importance of this message. One of the Wasilla Bible Church’s core beliefs is ministering to non-believers.
In conversation with some church-goers after the service, I was asked, earnestly, if I’m a believer myself. When I explained my Catholic background I received supportive nods. (So supportive that one woman gave me the email and phone number of her son, who lives in Washington.)
I spoke with two different couples — two lawyers and two entrepreneurs — about the role of the church in their own lives. They all agreed it’s a real community here. When I asked for their names, though, they hesitated — saying their pastor had suggested they not speak with reporters. When I tried to get them to reconsider by bringing up the de Tocqueville individualism message, they laughed.
Unfortunately, just as one church member was writing down directions to a beautiful area just north of Wasilla that she thought I ought to visit, a member of the church approached and said I was not allowed to interview anyone “on the premises.” My small group scattered in response.
At least I still have the number of the Alaskan ex-pat in DC.
12 Comments
Comment posted September 8, 2008 @ 9:02 am
Why would the GOP Party and Senator McCain nominiate someone for Vice President who once belonged or had affiliations with a group who wants to secede from the United States and whose motto is put Alaskan First! The Alaskan Independence Party (AIP)! And what does that tell you about the Republican Party that Sarah Palin, a heartbeat away from the Presidency believes in her heart, Put Alaska First?
Sarah Palin who could possibly be our next Vice Presient and/or President has a long time affiliation with the AIP , group which wants to separate from the United States, whose motto is Alaska First—Alaska Always.” Sarah Palin’s husband also has a long-time mebership with this group, the Alaskan Independence Party. Officially, the AIP is a political party which advocates, in part, becoming a separate nation or commonwealth state… The party has appeared on the ballot in Alaska in all state elections since 1970. At other times, party members have also proposed that the state explore the possibility of joining Canada.
Here is a Link to Sarah Palin addressing the Alaska Independence Party in 2007 wherein she tells them “Your party plays an important role in our state’s politics … keep up the good work, and God bless you.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvPNXYrIyI
From Blogspot: http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/
“Governor Palin’s connections with the AIP are also furthered by her connection to Wally Hickel, a former Alaskan governor. Hickel was elected on the AIP ticket. He served as the co-chairman of Governor Palin’s campaign in 2006 Here is a quote from an interview Hickel did with the Alaska Dispatch:
When Palin was running for governor in 2006, Hickel appeared in advertisements supporting her and the Alaska pipeline.
“I made her governor,” Hickel told me. “
That is an important and telling admission that Hickel, a long-time AIP member believes that he made Sarah Palin governor! He wa also co-chairman of her campaign for Governor. These things deserve observation and thought into the true character of Sarah Palin!
Daily Kos’s muckrakers
“Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she and her husband were once member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United State. And while McCain’s motto — is “Country First,” the AIP’s motto is the exact opposite—“Alaska First—Alaska Always.”
McCain Camp likes to dispute the fact that Sarah Palin and her husband were/are members of this Separative Group. However, Lynette Clark, the chairman of the AIP, told ABC News on Monday that Palin and her husband Todd were members in 1994, even attending the 1994 statewide convention in Wasilla. Clark was AIP secretary at the time.
Earlier this year, Palin sent a video message to the AIP for its annual convention, where AIP vice chair George Clark told the small crowd that Palin “was an AIP member before she got the job as a mayor of a small town –- that was a non-partisan job. But you get along to go along -– she eventually joined the Republican Party, where she had all kinds of problems with their ethics, and well, I won’t go into that. She also had about an 80 percent approval rating, and is pretty well sympathetic to her former membership.”
Sept. 1, 2008, Blog: Political Punch/TrackBack URL for this entry:
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Comment posted September 8, 2008 @ 11:07 am
There are many credible reports of Sarah Palin's church's fervent belief in a pending Rapture as told in the New Testament book of Revelation. *Since many evangelicals actually want to see Armageddon in their lifetimes, this could have nightmarish implications for U.S. foreign policy if she were ever to become President.* This story must not be ignored. It needs to be headline news.
Comment posted September 8, 2008 @ 12:28 pm
Nice try.
Had their Best Sunday Dress-face on, eh?
Love to see what they had to say about Christian Dominionism and the separation of Church and State.
Thank you for the effort
Comment posted September 8, 2008 @ 2:09 pm
George Bush holds the same beliefs about the Rapture as this church, as do many Fundamentalist church members; however, many of these members do not believe in bringing it about through their efforts politically. They are taught that their citizenship is in heaven and they are to live out their lives as an example,trying to be like Christ in their treatment of the government as an entity and the people your neighbors. I know many of these people and they are appalled at the radical , non biblical views espoused by Bush, Palin etc. These people are like Paul who was persecuting the Christians as a Jew, which is why he was struck down by God and virtually blinded. True believers that believe the bible is the actual word of God believe that their only purpose is to present unbelievers with the bible's plan of salvation ONLY and to show others by their deeds, words and daily lives that they are like others except for the intervention of the “blood of Christ” and trying to live with the Mind of Christ. They would do nothing politically to try to bring the Rapture closer other than this, as they know that is not their purpose to bring in the Rapture, as they do not have the perfect mind of Christ. They look forward to the Rapture while at the same time want to have as much time as possible to bring as many people to salvation as possible. They do not believe in speaking in tongues, dominion theology, all of the wild stuff you see in the on-line videos of these churches. If you study the New Testament, there are all kinds of passages that talk about the false practices of these churches. There is only one church and it is made up of believers from every denomination that count on the “blood of Christ to cover their sins” and one way you can discern false prophets is clearly described in the New Testament.
I spent 20 years in a church like this and studied everything about it. I still ended up rejecting it all as it falls short of what is humanly possible. I believe Jesus existed but think he was deeply misunderstood because others could not get past their previous beliefs so mixed their prior beliefs into what he said and then added a whole lot of rules, ceremonies etc to make it look good. That does not mean organized churches are bad, only people can be bad, and if you watch what a person does and says every day anyone can identify them, they are just “bad apples” and a reasonable society will reject their actions outright. Joining and belonging to a group doesn't make you right it just means you believe in a similar way OR you want others to perceive you in that way. Sometimes decency and right is on top and sometimes, subterfuge and deceit is on top.
This country was not founded on religion but on freedom from religion by “reasonable men and women” who came together to form a more perfect union (of ideas) for people who wished to be able to pursue their own individual beliefs. Unfortunately, when the deceitful and nefarious people get too much of the upper hand it becomes harder to get stability and reasonableness back and you end up with psychoses like Stalinism, Leninism, Hitlerism and right now Republicanism.
This reasonableness is what Barack Obama is appealing to in people's mind and hearts and that is why he is appealing to so many people. So now it is up to the American people to choose what they want, more Bushism or more of what the people that came here fought so hard to achieve in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, which with following McCain/Palin will only erode that Independence for every individual in a terrible way.
Comment posted September 8, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
I love that, this country was not founded on Religion but a Freedom from Religion. Amen! Kay Buchanan said on CNN or one of them about Palin, “She is one of us”. So is it us vs. we again. Exclusion vs. inclusion? Barack stated so poignantly in 2004 that we are not red states or blue states but the United States. We have to keep sounding that message, may be it will hit home.
Comment posted September 8, 2008 @ 11:18 pm
Sarah's affiliation with AIP
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/palin-…
Comment posted September 9, 2008 @ 12:49 am
Having attended Wasilla Bible Church a few times I will tell you that the service you attended was normal. Larry Kroon is a normal person, if you met him in Walmart…(do DC reporters ever go to Walmart?), you would think he was just buying his ammo for his moose hunt like anyone else.
Actually his church is a very reasonable church where people study the bible, don't speak in tongues, but like to tell others about Jesus.
Comment posted September 9, 2008 @ 4:18 am
Sarah's affiliation with AIP
http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/palin-…
Comment posted September 9, 2008 @ 5:49 am
Having attended Wasilla Bible Church a few times I will tell you that the service you attended was normal. Larry Kroon is a normal person, if you met him in Walmart…(do DC reporters ever go to Walmart?), you would think he was just buying his ammo for his moose hunt like anyone else.
Actually his church is a very reasonable church where people study the bible, don't speak in tongues, but like to tell others about Jesus.
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