“Just as each body part has a distinct function, every believer has a specific role.” ~ Romans 12:4-5
Nestled along the cold, steel-blue edge of Prince William
Sound, Whittier, Alaska, looks like the kind of place you might miss if you
blinked. An hour south of Anchorage, it serves as a gateway to glaciers,
fjords, and breaching whales. But the spectacular setting has its peculiarities
and lives by rules all its own.
There is only one way
in or out: a single-lane tunnel bored through solid rock, opening in
alternating directions every half hour. When it closes at night (10 p.m. in
summer, 5 p.m. in winter), Whittier is tucked in, sealed off from the world. No
exceptions.
The complex offers a convenient and secure
place for people to live and access essential services under one roof. In
addition to apartments, there’s a school, post office, medical clinic, café,
grocery store, church, and municipal offices.
Rush hour isn’t measured by traffic lights,
but by how long you wait for an elevator.
Begich is actually
three connected towers, separated by narrow gaps, allowing them to sway during
fierce winds or earthquakes. Bears sometimes wander into the maze of tunnels
below. Yet the residents stay.
Even when snow
piles nine feet high and wind chills plunge toward forty below, Mayor Daniels
walks to work in sandals and a short-sleeved shirt. His apartment, decorated in
cheerful Hawaiian style, overlooks the bay and the Chugach Mountains. “We keep
binoculars by the window,” he says, smiling. “You can watch the whales breach.”
Locals like Traci
wouldn’t trade this place for anything. “God’s little acre,” she calls it. “We
live really close together, but we’re warm with one another. We look out for
each other. I’ve learned they need me… and I need them.”
Whether sharing
coffee downstairs or gathering for community meetings, the “Whittiots,” as they
call themselves, have learned something essential: life works better together.
Scripture echoes that truth. We need each
other! Just as a body depends on many parts working in harmony, the church is
formed by believers united in Christ. It’s within community that our gifts are
nurtured, our faith is renewed, and Christ’s love is reflected to the world.
God forms His church not from isolated parts,
but from hearts united in Him. He never intended for us to walk alone. Alone,
we weaken. Together, we thrive.
We become what none of us could be apart –
many members, one body, sustained by grace and guided by Christ. It’s within
community that our gifts find purpose, our faith deepens, and Christ’s love
becomes visible - one life, one role, one body at a time.
