Local man delivers Washington National Cathedral sermon for Alaska State Day

A Wasilla man recently delivered a powerful sermon at Washington National Cathedral as part of Alaska State Day.

The Rev. David Blanchett was invited to give the sermon April 21. He said preaching in the nation's most recognized church was a huge honor.

"It was a lot bigger than I thought. It is a fantastic place, and I felt honored just to be asked to give a sermon there," Blanchett said.

Blanchett is the vice president of the Alaska Christian Conference, as well as the Alaska coordinator for the International Council of Community Churches.

The president of the Alaska Christian Conference, the Rev. Mark MacDonald, officiated the ceremony.

As part of his sermon, Blanchett told of an incident in Barrow a year ago, when an ice sheet "the size of Washington, D.C." broke off and began floating to sea, stranding nearly 25 seal hunters and trail cutters.

Helicopter teams were sent to rescue them. The people didn't even know they were in trouble until the helicopters arrived to rescue them and return them to safety.

"Sometimes people have to be told there is peril ahead," Blanchett told the congregation. "I saw an analogy of how the working of the church should be. We have to spread the news that there is hope."

Blanchett said writing the sermon turned out to be a challenge, because of time constraints.

"They needed a copy by the Tuesday before so they could post it on the Web page," Blanchett said with a chuckle. "That's a little faster than us preachers are used to. But I had time to make constructive changes before I had to deliver the sermon."

His entire "polished" sermon can be found at the Web page www.akcache.com/community/wnc-sermon.html, he said.

At Washington National Cathedral, one day a month is devoted to individual states as part of the church's outreach program. April 21 was designated Alaska State Day, and the day's activities reflected the diversity of Alaska.

U.S. Sen. Frank Murkowski and U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens both read scriptures as part of the activities. A large contingent of Alaskans showed up at Washington National Cathedral for Alaska State Day.

"If we had this many New Yorkers here, on a per capita basis, you wouldn't be able to get into the church," Stevens said.