Leap of faith

Religious booths on rise at state fair

August 29, 2006

By JOEL DAVIDSON/Frontiersman

PALMER - How does a chance to win a free Jeep at the Alaska State Fair tie into to eternal salvation?

You'd have to ask Rev. John Wilson, pastor of Farm Loop Christian Center in Palmer.

This year, Wilson's church is staffing its first fair booth, where along with providing a clean dry place for parents to change baby diapers, they also offer a free drawing for a new Jeep.

The deal is, people must first answer a couple questions regarding their eternal destiny, before getting a shot at the Jeep, Wilson explained.

&#8220I may even ask you,” he half-jokingly told a reporter. &#8220I'm a pastor, that's what I do.”

People give all kinds of answers, but only one is right, Wilson said.

&#8220If they answer according to what we believe, which is through Jesus Christ, then hallelujah,” he said Saturday. &#8220If not, then we try to get an opportunity to share with them.”

Fair-time religion

on the rise

Wilson's isn't the only group offering spiritual advice at this year's state fair.

&#8220It seems to be a growing trend,” said Pamella Meekin, vendor and exhibits manager for the fair. &#8220We have quite a few churches - more this year than in the past.”

According to Meekin, more than a dozen religious booths are represented at the 2006 fair.

Tucked between vendors hocking everything from alpaca wool hats and funnel cakes, to body jewelry and giant smoked turkey legs, the religious groups aim to share religious faith with all who will

listen.

A few yards from the Jeep drawing, Elder Ryan Nokes stood at the entrance to another first-time booth, one representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Wearing signature Mormon missionary attire - black slacks, white shirt and necktie - the young man waited patiently Saturday for curious fairgoers to stop by.

A sign hanging on the Mormon booth advertised free advice for how to research family histories. Once people stepped inside, they also had the chance to pick up free pamphlets and books about the church's faith as well.

A flying-saucer toy from a nearby booth flew overhead as Nokes explained his mission at the fair.

&#8220We are missionaries here, representing the church,” he said. &#8220If people have questions, we talk to them.”

Religious booths nothing new at fair

A little farther down the fairway, past Carhartt vendors and a milkshake stand, the Bahai faith booth sat in its customary locale. Established at the state fair in 1986, it is one of the longest standing religious booths.

Unaloto Aho quietly manned the booth with his daughter.

Bahai faith teaches not to proselytize unless people ask, he said. Once people inquire, however, he eagerly attempts to plant spiritual seeds.

&#8220Hopefully, down the line, people will remember these things and begin an independent search for the truth,” Aho explained.

Beyond the street-performing jugglers and the fresh vegetable stand, spiritual seekers also meander into Monk's Rock, a booth with a large Orthodox Christian cross.

Inside, two women listened to sacred choral music, sold religious icons and fielded questions about their faith.

A group of monks from Kodiak Island founded the booth eight years ago. Each evening a priest visits the booth to hold a vespers prayer service.

&#8220It's a place to come and take a deep breath for a couple seconds and step back,” said booth worker Christine Rogers.

The spiritual and religious angles of many booths mirror the eclectic varieties found in their secular counterparts. Fairgoers can spin a &#8220Bible Wheel,” answer Old Testament and New Testament trivia, sign up for vacation Bible school, or celebrate Catholic mass at Slippery Gulch on Saturday nights.

Faith and fairs are nothing new for the elderly evangelist Bud Snow. He is a man whose spiritual zeal is not diminished by age.

Bud said he travels across the country with his wife, Jean, preaching the &#8220Gospel of Jesus Christ.” After Alaska, they're headed to fairs in Georgia and then Indiana.

On Saturday, Bud stood outside his booth and quietly asked passersby if they wanted to hear &#8220the greatest story ever told.”

The fair is as good a place as any to spread the faith, Bud explained.

&#8220Any place you go, you're supposed to present the Gospel,” he added. &#8220If you're not telling the world about Jesus, you're

slipping.”

Christian music draws crowds

In addition to the growing ranks of religious booths, Christian music has also expanded in recent years, said Dean Phipps, the fair's marketing director.

Seven or eight years ago, the fair started bringing up Christian groups, he said. It coincided with the growing popularity of contemporary Christian rock bands.

Phipps said the fair saw 6,000 to 7,000 people attend a single performance by Christian musician Carman.

&#8220That's probably the most we've had for that kind of concert,” he said.

The large turnouts led fair officials to book regular Christian concerts each year. Tonight, Christian pop-rock band Jars of Clay is set to play.

&#8220We try to have something for everybody,” Phipps added. &#8220The Christian concerts have become popular enough to include with other choices.”

Rev. Wilson said the religious presence at the fair reminds him of the way Jesus might have done things 2,000 years ago.

&#8220He didn't sit in the temple waiting for people to come to him,” he said. &#8220Jesus went out to them. And as long as we are not screaming and yelling, our philosophy is to go where the people are.”

Contact Joel Davidson at

352-2266 or joel.davidson@ frontiersman.com.