Faces
uring a recent preschool play day at Amazing Grace Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska, a 2-year- old fell on a safety pin, which pierced his knee. The
teacher immediately ran to Adam Barnhart, not because as a pastor he’s a spiritual leader but because he’s the one to go to when there’s an emergency. Barnhart is a certified wilderness emergency medical
By Jeff Favre
Wilderness pastor finds a calling to heal D
technician who has hiked miles to rescue people, provided medical assistance with an ambulance service, and is on call whenever state troopers need help. He is routinely in situations people might call scary, but he considers them part of his favorite hobby. “Every pastor needs an evocation,” he said. “You need
a hobby that fills you up, and this is my passion outside of family and work. It takes a lot of time, but it’s good time. I have to be deliberate with my time, so if I take a Saturday for training, I need to be with my family the next Saturday.” The Montana native spent his youth playing outside—
by which he means climbing mountains and hiking back- woods trails. When his three children got old enough to hike, the pas-
tor—who was called back to Montana after seminary—told his wife he wanted to get more basic first aid training. That led to taking a first responder course. The trainers of that class asked him to join as a teacher, so he took part in a one- month intensive program in Glacier National Park. “It’s normally a one-semester course that you do a cou-
ple of nights a week,” he said. “So we were working from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 at night. A lot of that time was in the classroom, but we also participated in different scenarios, including swift water training in rivers where we were wearing wet suits. I love that kind of stuff, and I’d do it again, but I think my wife would kill me.” About six months after being certified, Barnhart was
called to Amazing Grace. He got certified in Alaska, con- tinued his training, and became part of the volunteer
For Adam Barnhart, a perk of rescue work is his 7-year-old’s fascination with it—he even wanted to dress as a mountain rescuer for Halloween. “It’s really awesome to be your son’s hero,” the ELCA pastor said.
Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. When troopers aren’t able for technical or personnel reasons to track someone, the group is called. Barnhart has been on a couple of callouts, including one
during harsh conditions where he wound up being airlifted by helicopter. For Barnhart, his rescue work falls in line with his life as
a pastor. “It may sound corny but I think God has called me to heal,” he said. “I want to make this a better place for the next generation. I can do that with words and actions as a pastor, but I can also do it with words and actions as a back country EMT.”
Author bio: Favre is an assistant professor at Pierce College in Los Angeles and a freelance theater critic.
100 + birthdays
107: Ethel Satre, Trinity, Brainerd, Minn. 106: Percy Batey, Messiah, South Williamsport, Pa.; Claryce Finger, Good Shepherd, Peshtigo, Wis.; Harriet Kussman, Peace, Amherst, Wis.
103: Martha Bakken, Palisade, Garretson, S.D.; Nancy Flesner, Trinity, Golden, Ill.; Jeanette Stuempfle, Messiah, South Wil- liamsport, Pa. 102: Herbert Anderson, Nelsonville, Nelsonville, Wis.; Eppie Burton, St. Paul, Dixon, Ill. 101: Katherine Ander- son, Geneva, Geneva, Ill. 100: Verna Amey, St. James, Coo- persburg, Pa.; Viola Larson, Trinity, Milaca, Minn.; Julia Nordby, Trinity, Sparta, Wis.; Luella Olson, St. Matthew, Princeton, Ill.
Send stories Share your stories of ELCA Lutherans and your 100+ members in “Faces.” Send to
lutheran@thelutheran.org or “Faces,” The Lutheran, 8765 W. Hig gins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631.
July 2014 43
STEVE CARLSON
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