pat loughery

Part of the learning model in the Doctor of Ministry program at Bakke Graduate University has us writing daily journals for each in-class day. These journals describe what we saw, how we interpreted it and what we’ll do with it.

SATURDAY 6/7

Today was our trip to Acme, WA to Ray and Corean Bakke’s home. I drove my wife’s SUV so that we could take as many people as possible. We filled seven of the eight seats.

This was my second trip to their home, which they’ve named Bakken. When we arrived, we explored the house – my favorite part of the home is Ray’s library, which is large, well lit, well organized, and full of treasures. In Ray’s office is a painting by Corean that depicts Ray’s image of heaven – standing on a ladder in a library with books as far as the eye can see. I’m looking forward to sharing Ray’s heaven.

We had a tasty lunch together and then went out to tour the Mission Trail, which winds its way through Bakken’s 11 acres. The trail begins with a tree that represents the Trinity, the source of mission. The tree has one root, but three trunks. The trail continues with markers for each century in history, and each marker identifies a historical figure who advanced mission in their own context. Some are well known, others I’ve only heard of in my previous trip to Bakken.

Rather than summarizing each of the twenty historical figures here in this page, I would rather speak about some of the things that the trail impressed upon me.

First, there is a great sense of a theology of place – that the natural land has meaning; that trees and waterfalls and hillsides can speak the truth of God in ways that connect with our intellect. It takes observation, reflection and creativity to find these patterns, but this is a talent for Ray. This theology of place is very similar to what we heard from Ray when he spoke to us from the Columbia Tower in downtown Seattle, but in a very different natural setting.

What strikes me about the historical figures that Ray uses isn’t the famous ones, the ones we all know (Mary, Benedict, Patrick, Mother Teresa), but rather the opposite. I sense the flow of God’s mission through the past 2000 years, and across continents. There are no high points, no shining lights that overwhelm the others – even though Ray has a grotto named after the people behind the Reformation at the highest elevation of his trail, certainly meaning just how that sounds. But the sense I get isn’t of one high point, but of a continuous stream of God’s messengers proclaiming his message across the contents and across time.

After the trail ends, we are treated to a piano recital by Corean in their great room. I made sure to sit close to her so that I could take photos, and I’m happy with how they turned out. She plays pieces with a variety of origins: Norwegian, American blues, Cuban and Russian.

Ray and Corean host a monthly vespers service at their home, and I would love to visit to worship with them in this setting to see how the place comes alive in this environment.

As it was last time, visiting Bakken and being welcomed so graciously was a true blessing, and I felt welcomed into not only Ray and Corean’s home, but more so into their lives.