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RENDEZVOUS

Generational and relational--it's the Dearborn

by Betty Murphy, the Dearborn, and Debbie Higgins, Simms

When you're out for a Sun­day afternoon drive and cut across Wolf Creek Road, around the hills between Lincoln and Simms, you'll find a weathered piece of Montana history: Dearborn Memorial Chapel. If you stick around, you can wor­ship with area ranch­ers who measure their time by generations. The faithful five or six families are "loving, godly, mature, and giving," says Debbie Higgins, wife of the pastor Rod Higgins. "They are mature Christians who give to support several missionaries, and they are very evangelistic-and that's what makes it so busy in the summer."

This small church has a long and interesting history. According to Mabel Reinig Murphy, "Church services were sometimes held in

the schoolhouse in the South Fork and Middle Fork area when a mis­sionary or minister came out from Helena or Great Falls. There was a Sunday School at the Middle Fork schoolhouse during the early 1900s, and many came from several miles away. It took a bit of doing [as these were] the horse and buggy days."

"Sunday school and church services were later held in the South Fork School," superintended by Walter Estill. Later Mrs. Art Murphy and Mrs. Adolph Burggraff took respon­sibility. Rev. Clingman of the Amer­ican Sunday School Union "helped organize summer Bible schools." "The South Fork and Middle Fork areas often talked about a com­munity church, and about 1914 they decided on a site north of the road from the Dearborn Cemetery. They took up donations and bought lumber that they stacked on the place. But good plans don't always work out; the first World War broke out, and enthusiasm for the project cooled, and the church never mate­rialized. "

"It was a tragic happening that made the little log chapel we now have a reality," continues Mrs. Murphy. "January 19, 1956, Mrs. Mary Burggraff and Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Burggraff were killed in an automobile accident near Salt Lake. They were loved and respected by all the community, and as a me­morial, the Burggraff family and community built the little log cha­pel with its big window facing the cemetery and mountains." It was dedicated in October of 1963.

Ministers who have served at this chapel are Joe Loos, Tom Lane from Simms, Ed Ferguson from Au­gusta, Frank Jackson from Lincoln and later Greenough, Steve Fawcett from Lincoln, and Dave Knight from Augusta. Staff from nearby Montana Wilderness School of the Bible also provided pulpit supply. Rod Higgins has served for the past two years, sharing his time with his pastorate in Simms. He preaches in Simms on Sunday mornings and in the Dearborn on Sunday evenings-7 p.m. in the summer, and 4 p.m. in the winter to accommodate shorter daylight hours and rough road conditions.

Vacation Bible School has been a strong and sturdy tradition since 1975 when Betty Mur­phy started the group with her own children. Those first kids and others are now coming back to help-and they're bringing their own children.

One young boy who was saved in VBS grew up to become a police­man and now teaches in this annual outreach.

Betty Murphy is very particular about the material they offer. "We use old-fashioned material; it's more rich in the gospel teaching."

Travel time for kids (and adults!) scattered over 20 to 30 miles of mountains necessitate a different approach to VBS. The program is from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. all week. Twenty kids came this summer and loved every bit of it!

Debbie Higgins, the Simms pastor's wife, notes that the congregation is not confined by their geography; their interests encompass the world. "They support several missionaries, and one family sold eggs to send a boy to camp."