Getting Closer to Jesus in Juneau

June 19-20

For all intents and purposes, Juneau is not much more than a tourist town that caters to the cruise ship industry ... and just to keep the politicians entertained, also serves as the capitol of Alaska.

 But if you peel back the layers, there are a few hidden treasures in town. One of them is Saint Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church – an historic landmark built by Tlingits in 1893, which Lora and I visited during a walking tour into town to stretch our legs. The Tlingits were introduced to religion by an Orthodox bishop when the Russians were still in control of Sitka, and Saint Nicholas is Alaska’s oldest continually operating church.

Inside we met a serene and soft-spoken monk from Eastern Pennsylvania who was working at the church for the summer, telling visitors about its history.

Designed under an octagonal dome, the interior is beautifully appointed, featuring 18^th-centry Russian religious relics and paintings. The elaborately detailed icons seem in stark contrast with the rough, harsh wilderness that must have surrounded this structure 120 years ago.

Next door to the church is a small gift shop were Lora and I met the shop tender, also named Laura, who passionately told us more about the history of Orthodox religion in Alaska. Today Tlingits continue to make up the majority of the Orthodox congregation, and they alternate services between English and Tlingit languages.

It was a rude awakening when we later walked back into town and peeked into a few souvenir shops before meeting Roland and Scott at Juneau’s most famous tourist watering hole ... the red Dog Saloon, a colorful bar fashioned more like a saloon from the Wild West.  

The next day, following lunch at a colorful local establishment called The Sandbar, we took Lora and Scott to the Juneau airport and sadly bid farewell. We had a lot of fun together and really hated to loose such wonderful crew members ... just after we had them trained ;-)