Diane Dykman (left) and Lori LaDue wave to carloads of skiers and snowboarders, offering hot chocolate, a fist bump or blessing on behalf of Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Salt Lake City.


By Julie B. Sevig J


eff Beebe had an idea rumbling around in his head


for nearly two years. In December, the pastor and his congregation set that idea in motion. Eight folks from Our Saviour


Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City decided to bless skiers, snowboard- ers and, actually, the entire 2014-15 ski season. So if you happen to be ski- ing in Utah, your season has likely already been blessed. On the first Saturday in December, Our Saviour’s


Bless this skier


winter evangelists were met by carloads of people who were both surprised and grateful. As members handed hot chocolate through open car windows and offered a prayer or blessing to those who wanted one, they received words (and honks) of thanks. “We’ve been trying as a congregation to do more


things out in the community, beyond our church, to make our congregation known,” said Beebe, who credits a June 2013 article in Te Lutheran about bless- ing surfoards with planting the seed. “We don’t have oceans or surfoards, but we can bless snowboards and skiers,” Beebe figured, telling the evangelism team: “Let’s not talk about it, let’s set a date and try this.” Tey decided the base of Big Cottonwood


Canyon (entry point to a couple of ski areas) would be the right spot. Tere they parked their church van with the name and logo on it, made signs, and distributed cards on which they’d printed a blessing, the church name and service times. “And we went ahead and gave it a try,” Beebe said. Although they picked a day before ski buses started


cars. If the skiers and snowboarders stopped, members simply offered to bless their day and wished them a good season. Jenny Tempfer


brought along her two


children, 4 and 9, partly so they would experience evangelism different from the norm in this Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints country. “People were incred- ibly receptive,” she said. “What was most interesting was that the people who actually stopped were mostly kids in their


20s. When we handed one group hot chocolate and


wished them a great season, they said, ‘Well aren’t you actually going to bless us?’ ” Beebe said, “People got a positive impression of


church and God. Tey’d honk horns and wave at us. A cab driver stopped in the middle of the road so skiers from Mexico could be blessed.” A highlight for Beebe was a group of college guys


‘Whatever lives we touched, that’s what mattered.’


who looked like circus clowns as they tumbled out of their small car to meet the blessing crew. Tey were headed to ski in the back country and needed prayers as much as anyone that day. Tere is great potential for doing this again, Beebe said, possibly with other


congregations and in different locations. He encourages other congregations to let similar ideas germinate. “Tis is such a big part of our culture dur- ing the winter,” he said. “Whatever lives we touched, that’s what mattered. We just thought


operating, they still had a good crowd: employees, those who hitchhike up the mountain, and others driving to their ski and snowboard destinations. Te normally “reserved Lutherans” were pretty out-


going, said Beebe, whose crew included a woman who admitted this was way outside her comfort zone—but may have had the most fun of all. Two members stood alongside the road waving to


we’d offer this to people who might want hot cocoa and a little time. ... It wasn’t about numbers—it was about being out there. People talked to us. A Lutheran who hadn’t been to church in years said he even might try our church.” In mid-January,


that man hadn’t yet visited, but Beebe admitted he might still be skiing .... 


Author bio: Sevig is a section editor of The Lutheran.


March 2015 31


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