Rocky Boy’s Reservation

After a somewhat lengthy “uphill and downhill” drive through the hinterlands east of the Village of Box Elder, Montana, Karen and I, along with John and Ellen Finfrock, arrived at the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church (OSLC) complex https://oslcrb.org/ on the Rocky Boy’s Reservation on Tuesday, August 14. The complex consists of several buildings: a small chapel, an office building, a parsonage, four cabins, and a community center known as the Roundhouse.

Pastor Amy Walls greeted us at the office door with a warm, welcoming smile and invited us inside. She introduced us to her mother, who was visiting, and then shared her background and the journey that led her to Rocky Boy.

Pastor Amy volunteered that she was 50 years old (though she appeared much younger). She and her husband, Mike—an Indigenous man employed as a handyman on the church campus—have two daughters, ages 10 and 12.

Amy lost her previous job, as a legal secretary, during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, she felt a call to ministry and pursued divinity and theological training at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) in Berkeley, California. Upon graduation, she specifically requested a pastoral call in a rural community(ies). That request gained her “notice” in the Bishop’s office, where they asked if she would be interested in an indigenous ministry. She admitted that the question brought her to tears, as she had never even dreamed of such a call. The opportunity at Rocky Boy was a perfect fit and she accepted that call about a year ago. (The reservation had been without a pastor for over two years during the pandemic.)

Pastor Amy offered an insightful perspective on the OSLC congregation. While there are approximately 600 Indigenous “members,” worship service attendance rarely exceeds a dozen. Her church council is composed of four deeply committed Indigenous women.
When I asked about the church’s budget and financial reports, she smiled and explained that budgeting is virtually impossible due to the unpredictability of offerings, though a collection is taken at each worship service.

Her compensation is jointly supported by the Montana Synod and the church wide ELCA. With a note of relief, she described a serendipitous windfall: A generous bequest of $100,000 from a wealthy individual, reportedly from Pennsylvania. This gift has become OSLC’s “rainy day fund” and permitted Amy to restore the church’s extremely expensive insurance, which had been abruptly cancelled.

During our tour of the campus, we saw the parsonage, which has suffered from years of neglect and weather damage and is slated for demolition. We also viewed four small cottages that, with proper rehabilitation, could serve as lodging for retreats. The charming chapel—small enough to fit entirely within Trinity’s sanctuary—was well maintained. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter the Roundhouse, as a funeral service was underway.

The chapel, with seating of about a dozen pews, is in good condition overall. However, the roof will require repair or replacement to preserve the building’s integrity, and the log foundation has begun to deteriorate.

Beyond the day-to-day ministries of food, clothing, lodging, and general support for quality of life, Pastor Amy has several additional initiatives underway:
1. Our Saviors conducts a program entitled MCCLR to teach the Cree language to local adult students to preserve it from extinction.
2. Another ministry involves preparing and delivering food bags to Indigenous families in need.
3. “Friday Night Live” is designed to foster fellowship and community among Indigenous youth. Two groups meet each week; “A Place for Belonging,” which is essentially a meeting of the grief-stricken. Also the group, “Crafting in Community,” meets to work on beadwork, crocheting, and other such projects, while snacking and conversing.
4. Our Saviors operates a thrift store, from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays where anyone can acquire clothing.
5. Finally, although not a ministry in the traditional sense, Pastor Amy and her council are working to establish goals and fundraising strategies.

We bid Pastor Amy farewell and asked if she would be willing to provide us with a list of OSLC’s needs and priorities. (Her e-mail of priorities is included with this report.)

In my opinion, our “Rocky Boy experience” was deeply worthwhile. It opened our eyes to the pressing needs of this unique group of our fellow human beings. We left Rocky Boy convinced of Pastor Amy’s sincerity and passion, the genuine need within the community, and the possibility that Trinity could play a meaningful role in supporting the evolution of the Rocky Boy congregation.

Respectfully submitted,
Rob Urish
Sept. 2025

Hi Rob, I’m so sorry I let this email slip my mind over the weekend! But here I am, with a recap of our wonderful visit! It was so nice to meet you all, and discuss this wonderful place… As you can tell, I’m pretty passionate about my love for this place. And since I inundated you with information, as we agreed, here is a recap:

There are always many projects going on here at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church (OSLC). Some take higher priority than others, as you witnessed.

Chapel: This is at the top of the list. Built in 1920, the roof needs to be redone using a tin roof to withstand time and weather. In addition, about 6 logs disintegrated over the past winter. I am currently talking with potential builders to take on the project as a whole, but if that is not possible, we will look at each as individual jobs and get individual bids.

Parsonage: My family and I (as well as future pastors) need a home. Living in the administrative building is fine, we are safe, warm, and relatively comfortable. Living in a public space, however, is taxing on our emotional and mental health. Every day (mon-fri) the Cree language program participants show up at 8:00 am and are here until 4:30 pm. The church council and I will meet with the Bishop this Sunday to decide on whether to go the stick-built route or modular home option. The current parsonage will be demolished and we will look at preparing the property for whichever home we move forward with.

Food Ministry: Every month we distribute between 40 and 80 food bags to members of the community. This comes at a high cost. I have recently applied for a $10,000 grant to help with these efforts. We receive $500 in produce from a local diabetes prevention program, but the church budget supports approximately $1000 a month for this ministry.

Roundhouse: The roundhouse is used more often than any building when it comes to community events and gatherings. It requires upkeep and maintenance and we are facing the need for new chairs and tables. This is not a dire need at this time, but it will be if we don’t address it sooner rather than later.

As far as I can remember, those were the highlights. I can always go into other projects and ministries, but I feel this covers the most high priority.

I hope you had a wonderful trip and enjoyed some Canadian snacks!!

Shalom,
Pr. Amy
Reverend Amy M. Walls
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Rocky Boy’s Reservation, Montana
499 Mission Taylor Rd.
Box Elder, MT 59521
406-395-4307
pastoramywalls@gmail.com