West River students who competed in the first-ever Bible Bee held Sept.12 in Pierre didn’t fare as well as they’d hoped in what proved to be an extremely challenging competition. The Bible Bee is designed to promote biblical literacy and spiritual growth in children and youth through scripture memorization, and the material was tough testing.

All three of the South Dakota qualifiers to the national competition in Washington D.C. on Nov. 4-6 live East River: Ricky Seaman, Miller, and Kari and Kayla Erickson, Fulton.

But West River competitors, especially the Burkhalter family from Prairie City, came close with numerous second and third place finishes.

In the 7-10 age category, Kailyn Groves of Faith took second and Hope Beckloff, Rapid City, and Daniel Burkhalter, Prairie City, shared third place finishes.  In the 11-14 age category, Valerie Burkhalter of Prairie City placed second. In the 15-18 age category, Nathan Burkhalter, (Daniel and Valerie’s brother) took third place.

They promise to be back next year, better and more Bible literate than ever! 

Below are photos taken at the Sept. 12 competiton.

The Burkhalter Family from Prairie City, including Nathan, Daniel and Valerie, competed at the inaugural Bible Bee in Pierre on Sept. 12.

Miracle Holder, of Spearfish, and Jeremy Betz, of Rapid City, competed in the 15-18 age category

Hope Beckloff of Rapid City took home 3rd place in the Mini Bible Bee.

Frank Chickering and Stan Holsclaw are churchmen and chowhounds at Whitewood Presbyterian Church's Pew Art event.

Fine art, sculpture, musical talent and other creative arts are the main draw to the Pew Art event at the Whitewood Presbyterian Church on Sept. 19, but I suspect the unusual church fundraiser, which turns church pews into an art gallery, is also a big hit because of the food. There was plenty of homemade food items, including Betty Hale’s heavenly breads, and the burgers and brats of concessionaires Frank Chickering and Stan Holsclaw, hence the name, Frank-n-Stan Concessions.

Jackie Griffin, a longtime Hill City resident whose later-in-life call to the ministry proves that you can, indeed, teach an old dog new tricks.  After graduating from a Lutheran seminary, Griffin spent 15 months in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she became fluent in Kiswahili, one of the national languages there. She also picked up a little French.

Griffin will speak about her missions work  with “The Human Person, the Heart of Peace” on Sunday, Sept. 13, at The Gathering Place in Hill City from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.. It’s fascinating stuff, and as if the photographs and information isn’t enough, she promises a little Congolese food and music, as well. 

Look for my  religion page column in the Sept. 12 edition of the Journal for more on Griffin’s work . Meanwhile, here are some photographs of her in the DRC.