White River United Methodist Church served as the base of support for those fighting the Power Dam Road fire in South Dakota. (photo courtesy of White River UMC Facebook page.)

The town of Okaton, eleven miles west of Murdo, South Dakota, and several ranches in the area were evacuated last Thursday as the Power Dam Road Fire began to threaten the region. As fire crews from around the area responded, United Methodists in the nearby communities stepped up to offer support and rally others to action.

The base of support operations started at a local hotel, but they soon realized it wasn’t big enough. Members of White River United Methodist Church quickly offered the church as larger location.

Pastor Cheryl Nymann, who serves White River along with the United Methodist Churches in Murdo and Draper, was encouraged by the congregation’s response.

“I live in Murdo, and as soon as I heard about the fire, I went down to [White River], and [the members of the church] were already making sandwiches and going out to the ranchers,” described Pastor Cheryl.  

“We have a couple of widows out there, so they went and sat with them because they were nervous. People just really stepped up and stepped in and did such a wonderful job about caring not only for the congregation members but for the community.”

For Pastor Cheryl, it was a powerful witness of their faith in action and the commitment to be the hands and feet of Jesus for their community and surrounding area in this time of need.

“It was a God thing,” she described. “It all came from their hearts and was a beautiful thing to see unfold.”

As one church member, Skye Tucker, described in a Facebook post, the “White River United Methodist Church filled with helpers, God working through each person offering food, water, Gatorade, and a place of rest for the exhausted firefighters.”

Abundance Parish churches in Gregory and Burke loaded the Burke fire truck with supplies for White River.(Photo courtesy of Rev. Thanael Certa-Werner)

But White River UMC wouldn’t have to stand alone. Southwest district superintendent Dan Bader reached out to Pastor Cheryl to see how their United Methodist siblings could support the folks from White River UMC.

“That’s another one of those beautiful stories because I was so involved in helping make the sandwiches, and I looked at my cell phone, and there was a text message from Dan,” described Pastor Cheryl. “He heard about the fire and offered to contact other UMCs in the area for extra supplies and support.”

“That was immense for me because that was his testimony to me that, yes, indeed, he cares for his clergy in the area.”  

Bader put out the call, and the United Methodist connection sprang into action.

“The Pierre First United Methodist Church brought two huge loads of Gatorade, sandwich meat, bread, snacks, Ziploc bags, and fruit,” described Pastor Cheryl. “Then the Abundance Parish of Gregory and Burke brought loads of the same, along with cheese, peanut butter, and jelly for sandwiches.”

“We were so low on our supplies that we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, are we going to run out?’ and I’m just saying, ‘No. God’s at work here. He’ll provide what we need.’ And Bam! They were there!” said Pastor Cheryl.  

Pastor Kathy Chesney, who serves the United Parish of Philip, as well as the Lutheran Church in Kadoka and the Presbyterian Church in Interior, was one of the United Methodists who received the call from DS Bader.

“I was meeting with [our women’s group] when Dan called, so I called the grocery store and said, ‘How much Gatorade do you have?’” said Pastor Kathy.

The women’s group covered the costs and another couple donated $100 for apples and oranges. Pastor Kathy loaded the back of her pickup with two layers of Gatorade and all the apples and oranges the store had and delivered it to Murdo.

Firefighters battle the flames that consumed almost 20,000 acres of land in west central South Dakota.(Photo courtesy of Kathy Chesney)

She also rallied the ecumenical spirit of the region.

“I called my Kadoka church and said, ‘You’re going to be Methodist for today’ and asked them to go to the store and get all the bananas, apples, and Gatorade they had and take it to Murdo UMC,” continued Pastor Kathy.

Pastor Kathy, who also works as an EMT, knows how helpful these simple items can be for firefighters and responders.

“Apples, oranges, and bananas are things they can grab and go in a truck, and they’re getting the vitamins and electrolytes they need because this is hot, hard work,” explained Kathy.

She also knows the power of seeing the church BE the church in times like these.

“You know, the response from Methodist and other area churches was just ‘What do you need? What can we do? Where can we help?’” described Pastor Kathy. “It has been the overwhelming.”

According to keloland.com, the fire had burned between 15,000 and 20,000 acres as of Monday morning and, while mostly contained, continues to burn.

The heroic efforts of so many made a huge difference. According to Chesney, as of Monday, there were no significant injuries, and all living structures, major barns, outbuildings, and homes had been saved. But there has still been a devasting impact.

“Miles and miles of fence, electric poles, stockyards, and winter pastures have been lost, as well as breeding cows that have been stressed and may lose their calves,” explained Pastor Kathy. “It costs roughly $10,000 a mile to replace fence anymore with the cost of materials.”

Pastor Kathy, who served for many years as the Dakotas Conference disaster response coordinator, understands the long-term effects of something like this and the need to continue caring for those impacted after the initial impact is assessed. Putting out a call for fencing crews to volunteer their time or for donations of hay are just a few examples of how people can respond.

“There are still things we can do to be the hands and feet of Christ,” urged Pastor Kathy.

Pastor Cheryl was also mindful of the toll this can take on the volunteer fire departments from these small communities.

“These are small communities, and they don’t have that kind of a budget,” said Pastor Cheryl. “It’s wearing on their equipment, but that doesn’t matter to them. They don’t worry about that—they jump in and help.”

Members of the White River UMC congregation make sandwiches for firefighters and responders. (Photo courtesy of White River UMC Facebook page.)

The White River UMC Facebook page expressed appreciation and recognized the many people who contributed to this effort. “In times like these, God’s presence is unmistakable in the hands and hearts of those who answer the call to serve.”

“The Community of White River is so blessed having so many bring in food and drinks for the firefighters today. The community - even the youth - also came in to help make sandwiches and deliver food. I love how much caring and support there is in this small community. Thank you to everyone who has been such a blessing in their helpful and caring ways.”

As she began this new week, Pastor Cheryl had a chance to breathe and reflect on how thankful she was for how God had shown up in so many ways—big and small—throughout the past several days.

“The power of prayer and the power of small communities - there is nothing better,” exclaimed Pastor Cheryl. “It is just a blessing to be a part of such a small but mighty community and a larger and mightier church community!!”

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