Nome Church of the Nazarene celebrates 80th anniversary

By Ariana Crockett O’ Harra

“Trouble may drive you to prayer, but prayer will drive away trouble.” That’s what the Nugget printed on September 15, 1945 in the church listing the Nome Church of the Nazarene. Last weekend, the Nazarene church celebrated their 80th anniversary with a three-day schedule of events, from Sept. 12 through 14.
Keith and Bev Bateman, the co-pastors of the church, say that the Nazarene church has been on the same property at corner of Division Street and 3rd Avenue since the beginning, although the physical buildings have changed and been renovated.
“In August ‘44 the missionary pastor came, and he kind of staked the place out, and then they were in the process of purchasing the property and through the next eight to 10 years of his pastoring here, they were able to purchase additional property this way and then that way,” Keith said, gesturing towards Division Street and W 2nd Ave.
Keith Bateman says that the Nazarene church in Nome predates the Nazarene district of Alaska as a whole by several years. “Fairbanks and Nome and Anchorage first churches were organized before the district was,” he said.
While the beginnings of the Nazarene stretched back to at least August 1944, the church records their initial first gathering as Easter 1945, and they officially organized in November 1945.  Bateman said that “organized” in this sense means that the church was made official.
“Organized in the sense that this local church was officially made or declared a church family,” he said.
He says that because Nome is so remote, they view their church here as more of a “missional” experience. “One of our general superintendents said something to the effect that Nome is probably most likely, in every true sense of the word, a missionary endeavor,” he said.
The church is also known in town for hosting AA meetings, and for their hosting of the NEST, or Nome Emergency Shelter Team, where a warm place to sleep is provided to anyone in need. While the NEST is administered by the Nome Community Center, the church provides the space for the shelter itself. The pastor at the time, Jeran Marchbanks, was on the initial committee, and decided to put it to the congregation that they host the shelter,
“Our pastor said, let me talk to our congregation. And they said, ‘Okay, let’s try it,’” Bateman says.
The church kicked the celebration off with a spaghetti dinner on Friday night, followed by the singing of hymns and short speeches from the Batemans. About 20 people turned up, ranging from the elderly to a nearly newborn baby.
On Saturday, there was a presentation on the history of the church, followed by a quiz. Normally, they quiz the kids, but during the celebrations, they quizzed the adults.
“We have little boxes with four cards numbered, and so the kids would pull out the right number for the right answer,” says Bev. This time, they called up five adult volunteers to be quizzed.
Other activities over the weekend were planned picnic and potluck lunches, as well as featured speakers and talks on the history of the Nome Church of the Nazarene.
The Batemans say that they welcome anyone who wants to stop to general services or special events.
“Adult Bible study is at 9:45 on Sunday mornings, and the worship is at 11,” said Bev Bateman.
“Everybody’s welcome. My theme has been, everyone that has lived here in this community has had an impact on us, and they are all a part of our story,” said Keith Bateman.
Those interested in the full-length sermons and talks from last weekend’s celebration can find recordings on the Nome Church of the Nazarene Facebook page.