(bright music) - [Announcer] This is a production of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.

(bright music) (upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to South Dakota Focus.

I'm Jackie Hendry.

A recent poll finds half of South Dakotans say, religion is very important in their lives.

But what does that mean in practice?

As we'll see tonight, it means transforming an organization to serve a community's youth.

It means forming friendships that transcend traditions.

It means learning the meaning of mercy, and it means standing together in defiance of hate.

We'll see those stories and more tonight, but first SDPB is politics and public policy reporter Lee Strubinger is joining us from Pierre for an update as we move ever closer to the 2022 state legislative session.

Lee, thank you for joining us today.

- Good to be here Jackie.

- So Lee, I'd like to start with an early proposed bill from Governor Kristi Noem.

The press release from her office says, it will help bring prayers back into schools.

What can you tell us about this early proposal?

- Yeah, it's a fairly short proposal and it basically just says that every school district in the state has to provide at least up to a minute of a moment of silence.

And it's essentially designed to give students a bit of reflection before they start each school day.

- Interesting.

Is that a kind of an element that you have seen over the last couple of years up here in the state house?

Or does this seem relatively new?

- It seems relatively new.

The governor has spent considerable or has at least at several events since last legislative session say that she wants to bring prayer back into school.

And so I think this is part of what she's doing to sort of maybe protect that and gives students a chance to have that moment of reflection or prayer or meditation, all of which are kind of listed in the bill.

To give them that moment to do that before school.

And I do wanna read one section of the bill, it's like right towards the end that basically says, "Nothing in this act shall be construed to permit schools to conduct the moment of silence as a religious exercise."

So it will give students the chance to do that prayer before school starts but it's not meant to, I guess encourage or force it upon anyone.

- Interesting.

And of course, Lee you're in the state capitol building now on assignment.

You are a political reporter on the ground during the state legislative session.

From your experience over the past few years and as you've absorbed the governor's budget address, what do you anticipate will be some of the hard hitting issues in the 2022 session?

- Well, I think I've heard it said over and over, especially the last few years as revenues have been a little bit higher than they were maybe a few years before that.

But every session where there is money to spend, those are always generally sessions that are a little bit more complicated than sessions when they have no money to spend because everybody or every department or every corner of the state has things that might need addressed.

And so the legislature is gonna come in and basically debate a lot of the governor's proposals that she mentioned during her budget address.

A lot of those proposals she spent, a lot of the year working on and crafting.

And so the state legislature.

She's just one person and the legislature is 105 different people.

They all have different ideas of how maybe they'd wanna see that money spent.

But the governor's budget really is kind of a framework that they're gonna work off of.

And so it could look relatively similar towards the end of the session or it could look a little bit different.

Obviously the governor's office has a lot of pull when it comes to the budget.

So it kind of remains to be seen how that will all shake out.

- SDPB politics and public policy reporter, Lee Strubinger.

You can find his reporting online at sdpb.org/news.

Lee, thanks as always for your work.

- Great Jackie, thanks for having me.

- The Americans with Disabilities Act is more than 30 years old, but many businesses and tourist attractions remain inaccessible.

That makes it tough for disabled people to know where they can easily visit.

A new volunteer organization in the Black Hills is trying to tackle both of those issues.

SDPB's Arielle Zionts has more.

- [Arielle] Kelsey Stein uses a power wheelchair to go up the ramp at the Dahl Arts Center in Rapid City.

And she uses a button to open the first door, but Stein can't reach the button to open the second one.

So she opens the door with her hands and has to move quickly so the door doesn't close on her.

- I haven't seen a ramp like that anywhere kind of in Rapid, just like very long, very easy gradual inclined to get into.

The only problem for me is specifically the second button is a little bit higher than I am, and I know all disabilities are different but that could be a deterrent if I was alone all the other second doors lighter so I could open it.

- [Arielle] Stein recently started Accessible Black Hills, an organization that rates businesses and tourist attractions across the region.

Volunteers created a master list of local attractions and independent businesses.

They then choose or are assigned places to visit.

The information is then uploaded to a website where they also post photos and reviews.

- So that people are not an after thought with disability.

Like it just seems like a normal tourism organization and it happens to also show all the accessible area.

- [Arielle] The website can help locals who are providing insider knowledge to visitors.

Stein passes by a restaurant with no ramp in front of the building.

That might make it seem inaccessible to first-time visitors.

- So if you go to the side or the other side, which you might not right away there are ramps into the building.

And then it is very wide concept, accessible bathrooms, just a full... Like a very sweet place to stay but you might not know approaching here right away.

- [Arielle] Maria Town is president of the American Association of People with Disabilities.

Town says the Americans with Disabilities Act is sometimes criticized since it made requirements, but didn't provide any funding.

She says, Accessible Black Hills is unique since it wants to give grants to establishment that want to become more accessible.

Callie Tysdal is a volunteer with Accessible Black Hills.

She has her checklist and measuring tape on hand as she introduces herself to the owner of The Cave Collective.

That's a music and community center in Rapid City.

- So what I usually do with your permission is go around, I take some pictures so we should promote.

Some other pictures for data collection procedures.

And then I go around and measure a couple of things.

- That sounds great.

- [Arielle] Tysdal measures the width of doorways and heights of sinks.

She notes the location of any ramps and handicap parking spaces.

The Cave Collective checks all of the boxes except one.

It doesn't have a bathroom changing station for older kids and adults with disabilities.

- And we had a band come through that the lead singer was in a wheelchair and we were unable to accommodate that.

And so we ended up just lifting the wheelchair onto the stage and it worked out okay.

But it wasn't really ideal.

Okay.

- But other than that- - [Arielle] Dexter Carmen is one of the founders of The Cave Collective which is at its second location.

The original venue had a stage two feet off the ground.

The Cave Collective learned from that experience and built a new stage that's only two inches off the ground.

It's also planning on adding a ramp.

Kelsey Stein is making business and tourist attractions accessible is the right thing to do.

And she says it's also a smart business move since it can help bring in more customers.

I'm SDPB's Arielle Zionts in Rapid City.

- This year a statewide poll from SDSU surveyed more than 3000 registered voters.

The question's focused primarily on political beliefs and the impact of the pandemic, but it also asked about people's religious beliefs.

Half of respondents say religion is very important in their lives and more than 80% identify with a Christian denomination.

Tonight we're focusing on how some South Dakotans live their faith.

And we begin with a look at a group once famous for music festivals that drew thousands.

Four years after canceling its annual Christian music festival LifeLight organizers are turning their attention back to live events.

LifeLights current ministry is now targeting Gen Z.

A generation research suggests is the least religious yet.

- [Narrator] The LifeLight Christian Music Festival began more than 20 years ago.

It grew into the largest free Christian music festival in the nation.

In 2017 at the apparent height of the festival success, founder Alan Greene announced the organization would take a different direction focusing on youth ministry.

But at a recent news conference, Greene says there's a new goal.

- When we see a move of God we see it always happens among the young people when they have a passion.

And so we're believing this is May 7th event is gonna be a significant event.

It's our coming back home coming to Sioux Falls.

- [Narrator] The Sioux Falls arena we'll host next year's youth worship concert.

Organizers expect the May 2022 event to draw thousands and be the largest youth event in the region.

LifeLight CEO and Alan Greene's son-in-law Josh Brewer, explains the name of the event.

- The student-led movement to reach Generation Z.

We call it the Z8 event and we're so excited.

Generation Z, which has anybody from 1995 and beyond.

So college age, high school age, middle school age, and we're excited to see what God does in this next generation.

- [Narrator] A few weeks after they announced next year's concert, we visited Josh brewer at LifeLight Youth Center near downtown Sioux Falls.

He admits he was hesitant about the new direction at first.

- About five years ago a friend asked me...

He said, "What would it look like if LifeLight were to start a youth center in Sioux Falls?"

And I thought my first response to that was, "Well, that's irrelevant because we do festivals."

- [Narrator] The three-story youth center holds office space, a game and snack center and a concert area in the basement that some kids also use for shooting hoops or Nerf gun battles.

It's open to all kids Wednesday through Friday evenings.

They get a free meal along with spaces to study and pray.

It's in the Pettigrew Heights neighborhood of Sioux Falls, a familiar place for Brewer.

- I grew up in your Pettigrew Heights and which is a shock to some of these kids because then they hear my story and they're like, "What?

That doesn't make sense?

How did you go from that to this?"

I grew up in a dysfunctional family and my dad was a drug addict and an alcoholic and a drug dealer here in Sioux Falls.

And so I didn't know anything about church or faith or Jesus.

And when I was 16 years old, a random classmate invited me to church.

And there I met this pastor who loved on me, who cared for me and took care of me.

And that eventually led to me changing my life.

- [Narrator] In fact, Josh Brewer says it was a LifeLight Music Festival that made him dedicate his life to Christianity.

- And now fast forward 10 years later and I'm working at LifeLight and I'm getting to share my story from that same stage and just (indistinct) eye-opening to see that God used my story then 10 years later to change someone else's life in the back of the crowd and just so awesome how God is a God of full circles.

And he sees all things to completion.

- [Narrator] During the recent press announcement Brewer explained the origin of the organization's new venture.

- God had some other plans for us.

In about eight months ago... About a year ago, I was approached by a young 16 year old who said, "God woke me up at five o'clock in the morning and said, 'I'm supposed to help coordinate a citywide youth worship service.'

I thought, "That's incredible, let's do that."

- [Narrator] That 16 year old is Katana Thompson.

She started volunteering at the LifeLight Youth Center last year and has since thrown herself into the work.

- So this has impacted me because it's literally my day to... Like every single day life I switched to online school so I could be with the team at LifeLight and be with my family more and just grow in my faith and grow in my walk with Jesus.

But also to lead others to Christ and just encourage them and be side-by-side with them.

Obviously, there was the crazy world of COVID and then I had reached out to some close friends of mine that I saw as mentors and explained to them what the Lord had put on my heart.

And they kind of just shot me down.

And they were like, "There's things like that in Sioux Falls that you can get involved with it."

And so as soon as I brought it to Josh and the LightLight team they were like, "Let's do it.

Let's start a movement like never before.

Let's start a next generation revival here in our city and reach it out to the Midwest."

- [Narrator] Like the youth center, the Z8 event next May is supported by donations and corporate sponsors.

Josh Brewer explains the LifeLight team is continually finding ways to make the ministry sustainable while keeping the events free of charge.

- Steven when we did the big festival it was through donors and people who just cared about our community and cared about change lives.

And that's still the same even today with the youth center, there's no way to really make money off running a youth center to just build relationships with kids and to disciple kids.

And so the kids that come if there was a ticket price or if there's a charge to get in, these kids wouldn't be able to come.

- [Narrator] Some of the sponsors for the Z8 event include Chick-fil-A, Vander Haag's Truck Parts in Sioux Falls and Wireless World.

Though the LifeLight organization has transformed through the years.

Brewer explains the mission is the same as it was when Alan Greene founded the festival.

- That call back in 1998 of taking the church outside the walls.

And in 1998 they launched this music festival and they thought, "Man, people will come to a music festival then maybe before they'll go to a church service, but they'll come to the music festival."

That really the mission is still the same with LifeLight.

The vehicle has changed does not... At least here in Sioux Falls it's not a festival, it's a youth center but the mission is still the same.

We're just wanting to get in front of people who don't know who Jesus is, who's maybe lacking that hope and we get to provide them with that hope and that love and get to tell them the story of Jesus and watch them grow in a relationship with him.

- LifeLights Z8 Youth Worship concert is scheduled for May 7th, 2022.

Attendees can also register for a day of service with non-profits throughout Sioux Falls ahead of the evening concert.

Lifelight began with the idea to bring faith outside the confines of a church.

Our next story is about a friendship that transcends the boundaries of faith.

Last month we learned about the complicated history between native Americans and Western systems of education.

The nation's legacy of forced assimilation also includes spirituality, sacred ceremonies like sweat lodges, and Sun Dances were federal crimes until the late 1970s.

But those traditions survive in our practice today across South Dakota.

In Vermillion or Wase Wakpa as it's known in Lakota, two men reflect on a friendship they hope ripples throughout their community for a long time to come.

- [Narrator] Rich Boyd is the (indistinct) Lakota from the Rosebud reservation and he's lived in Vermillion for nearly 40 years.

He presides over the Sun Dance.

One of the most sacred annual ceremonies for the Lakota community in the area.

Steve Miller is from New England and came to be the lead pastor of the Vermillion United Church of Christ in the mid 90s.

Their friendship began with a Lakota ceremony in the basement of the church.

- What was kind of your first connection with each other?

- Why don't you tell the story first and then I'll correct you.

(Steve and Rich laughing) - (indistinct) ties?

About the ties?

- Yeah, that's what I would say.

That's where I will go.

- Yeah.

Years ago we had our Lakota community, Wase Wakpa community was looking to a place to conduct our ceremonies.

And Steve was gracious enough to offer us to use of the UCC Church here.

So we were doing some kind of a ceremony.

I can't remember which one it was- - I think it was a Yuwipi.

(indistinct chatter) - Which is a healing ceremony for somebody that had requested prayers for healing.

- We had been approached by some of the other elders.

They needed a place, If I remember, you might have to help me with Yuwipi.

It needs to be kind of underground and they didn't have an inside space to use.

And they asked about our basement.

We talked to our elders or it's our cabinet it's called.

And they granted permission for our friends to use the space.

One of the things that's very important in indigenous tradition, which I have learned about is that when you're using someone else's space, they wanted to make sure that I was present as well.

So they said, "We'd really like you to be at the Yuwipi."

Which I really didn't know much about at that point.

- By the time I got to the church that evening it was in the basement two, Steve was sitting at the table with some women and they were trying to teach him how to make prayer ties.

And that's what we use to... We call them prayer ties and you tie these tobacco things up with string and make a string of them.

And he was kind of struggling.

So I sat down with him and I said, "Here, let me help you."

And I showed him how to do them.

And that's just kinda how we met and how things got... We got a friendship going from that moment on.

- That was 20 years ago, since then their friendship has become an example for others.

Miller and Boyd have shared their story at events like The Red Road Gathering, a regular conference based on indigenous wellness and modes of healing.

- Somebody said you two ought to talk about the friendship between a Lakota and a Christian and how that was working.

We did that for many years.

We were presenters at The Red Road talking about the healing between two communities that kind of happens through friendship.

- Say a little more about that.

Have you seen this friendship ripple out?

Like you hoped a friendship like this could?

- Well, for me this is actually what I've always wanted to do.

Going back to even to my college days, I could see the cultural differences between natives and non-natives.

And I was always really interested and trying to find a way to bridge the gap between the understanding of the cultures and bringing the two sides together.

Meeting Steve was probably the first real big chance I had to actually apply myself in some kind of way to work and do those kinds of things where each culture could have a better understanding of the other.

- I think with that we learned a lot and often talk about.

We have very different ways of perhaps... Our ceremonies are very different and our languages is very different, but what we were able to figure out is that when you kind of got below those levels the things that we were trying to do, the spirit that we were trying to capture was very similar.

And we learned early on that when we started focusing on the similarities of what we were about, we found really common ground very quickly.

- [Narrator] That common ground inspired a course at the University of South Dakota where Steve Miller taught religious studies.

- I talked to the elders about potentially doing a class that eventually became what we called The Pipe and The Cross.

Which was a class kind of looking at South Dakota history through the eyes of both spiritual traditions.

The goal was always to enhance communication and to help natives and non-natives get along a little better in South Dakota because that has not always been the way that has gone.

And Rich was instrumental.

He helped me set it up and he often came to lecture as many of the other elders did.

- There's a lot of misunderstanding I think between native and non-native culture.

And most of it is just because of the history in this state and around the country with natives and conflicts, with the government and such.

There's a lot of stereotypes.

There's a lot of fear.

People fear getting to know natives because they're not really sure what to think about us and how we live.

And in a small way touches certain people.

And like you said, it does ripple out because the people will go home and they'll say, "You know what?

I just found out today that natives have really good... Or really have a strong spirituality.

And they incorporate that into their living.

It's a way of life."

And it causes them to want to learn more about.

- The fact that folks didn't ever know but now they have built relationship and those relationships...

I mean, you have taught me that relationship is the key.

Once you start having a friend you can't really...

Your prejudices begin to go away once the friendships begin to form.

And that's what this has been about.

- [Narrator] More recently, that friendship brought Miller and Boyd here along the Missouri River for River Appreciation Day.

It's a familiar spot for both of them.

Here the Vermilion United Church of Christ holds a sunrise service on Easter Sunday.

Rich Boyd has often joined with a hand drum and a Lakota prayer song.

For river Appreciation Day, the two told (indistinct) middle school students about their respective traditions and how being good stewards of the natural world is another common theme.

- What makes the river such a good teacher for those kinds of ideas?

- Well, human beings rely on water to live.

And so we have to have the proper respect for it, it's medicine.

Lakota's look as the river and water as medicine as opposed to just liquid.

It brings us healing, it gives us life, it gives us nourishment and even a spiritual grounding.

Being able to have respect for Mother Earth, so you could sit by the river and just listen and hear and feel the spirituality of the world in that way.

- I mean, if you look at the creation stories that come from the Judeo-Christian tradition from Genesis, all of life comes from the water, right?

The spirit moves over the water in the story.

What's fascinating to me is even as we talk now I'm constantly learning how the stories that we tell and the way that impacts our spirituality.

They're very different and yet they're not so different.

We're both talking about water.

- [Narrator] Now, a friendship that has rippled through communities is changing.

Steve Miller is leaving his position at the United Church of Christ in Vermilion to move closer to family on the East Coast.

That transition has led both to reflect on the legacy their friendship will leave in the community and the impact it's made on both their lives.

- Just this last fall, my mom died.

And when Rich found out about that he texted me right away and said, "Why don't you come pick me up and let's go out to the tree, which is the sacred ground in his tradition.

And because I trust him and because I knew him we went out together and he was able to pray for me and for my mom.

And it was a really hard time for me in that moment but again, it transcended our traditions.

I think what we've always found was the bottom line and the way we take care of each other.

We've each been there for each other in moments, bringing our community sometimes and sometimes it's just the two of us.

But I can, I just...

It's just human beings taking care of each other in whatever way they can.

And Rich teaches me that over and over again every day.

- We have sort of a meal schedule for Sun Dance to feed the people for four days and families schedule a meal that they wanna donate and prepare.

We had one spot left and I just knew who to ask.

I told everybody I said, "I'm gonna go talk to Steve."

And I already knew that he would say yes before I even asked him.

And so then every year after that they come out and he brings a group of people and they cook breakfast for us.

And it's a really nice way to get to know more people that way.

When you have a friend you can ask things and you can trust.

And I trust Steve a lot when I'm in need of things.

- Thanks, bro.

I trust you too.

- You're welcome.

(Steve chuckles) - As we just heard relationships and trust can overcome prejudice, while forgiveness is a central concept in Christianity.

It's a complicated skill in practice.

We've talked about breaking through walls tonight.

Now we meet a faith leader whose understanding of forgiveness has been forever changed by his work inside the walls of South Dakota prisons.

Not far from Sioux Falls most famous site, there's a building most people do their best to avoid.

The South Dakota State Penitentiary houses more than 700 state and federal inmates.

It's also home to the Hope Chapel.

The chapel hosts services on behalf of several religious groups.

One of the largest is a prison based congregation called St. Dysmas.

Its pastor is Wayne Gallipo.

- Talk me through what a typical service here would look like?

- Yeah, a typical worship service that the men will get rung out.

Rung out means that's when they opened their doors at 6:15 on Thursday night.

And so they'll start coming up and an officer will check them in.

You have to sign up for worship and so they'll start coming in.

Before that I'll have gone down to the lobby and gotten our guests that are coming to worship with us.

And so they'll be here.

So before the worship starts, the guests and the inmates will be talking.

And then it's a typical like blended service for an ELCA Lutheran church which we are.

- [Narrator] We weren't able to interview any of the men who attend these services in time for our broadcast.

But I attended as a guest in late October.

- Pastor Gallipo gave us an orientation and an officer did a pat-down of each visitor just before we entered the first round of locked doors.

Nothing can come in with you, no cell phone.

Just a photo ID that you trade for a visitor badge and a body alarm just in case you ever feel that you're in danger.

Pastor Gallipo also told us we're often the only visitors some of these men see.

And honestly, the men I interacted with were very friendly and excited to introduce themselves before the service.

There are volunteers who visit on a near weekly basis, but other people just can't shake the discomfort of where they are and who they're sitting next to.

So that made me wonder how does a person become a prison pastor?

After our visit in the chapel Pastor Gallipo and I sat down in his office in the East Side Lutheran Church not far from the penitentiary.

- Tell us how you got involved with ministry?

- It's just something that I had been feeling for a long time.

I'm retired from the Navy.

My late wife and I moved back to Aberdeen where we're both from.

And I had this feeling inside of me that I needed... That God was calling me to the ministry.

And then that was affirmed by several people.

And there was quite a process to that to go through, to end up finally in seminary and then to be ordained.

And so it was just things like, I'd see the pastor baptizing a baby and I'll just get all edgy.

- [Narrator] He first experienced a St. Dysmas service at the penitentiary as a visitor about 30 years ago.

- [Pastor Gallipo] I just remember going to that worship service and thinking, "Wow, this is something special."

Fast forward, I'm ordained.

I met my second call (indistinct) and I used to go up to worship with the guys about every other week just to worship because as a pastor I find it hard to worship when I'm leading worship.

So it was quite a treat to go up there.

And first of all be with the men but also to have a pastor proclaim the gospel to me and received the sacrament.

And I got my pink tag which is this tag here, which is the credentials I need to get into the prison on my own.

So I can go anywhere in the prison with this tag.

- [Narrator] Gallipo later filled in for a pastor at the state prison in Springfield.

And when the lead pastor of St. Dysmas in Sioux Falls retired he answered the call to serve.

That was about five years ago.

- How have you seen the men in this congregation change over time?

- There are men in the congregation because of what they've done don't believe that anyone could love them and that how could God possibly forgive them?

And I have the privilege to be able to talk with them one-on-one, they can ask to come visit with me.

And they will unload.

This particular man I'm thinking of was very tensed sitting on the edge of his chair.

You could just see the tension in him and the burden.

And then I reminded him that he's loved and that God loves him no matter what.

And that he is forgiven.

And we did private confession and I read some more scripture and I could see sat back in his chair and I saw him relax.

And it's just beautiful.

So what I was seeing, the big change I see in a lot of men is maybe they're experiencing for the first time a deeper sense of peace, some hope.

I've had men who are lifers come up and tell me, "St. Dysmas is what keeps me going in here."

- [Narrator] It's worth mentioning how the congregation got the name St. Dysmas.

In the Bible, the gospel of Luke says, "Jesus was crucified with two thieves.

One of them snares at Jesus but the second asks Jesus to remember him when he arrives in the kingdom of God."

Jesus then says to the second thief, "Today, you will be with me in paradise."

The early church named that man Dysmas and some call him the patron saint of penitent criminals.

Pastor Gallipo says, the men who first started this congregation in the penitentiary chose the name.

And that's not the only point of pride for its members.

- [Pastor Gallipo] We've got a beautiful chapel.

The stained glass windows, everything is seeing the chapel was...

The work was done by inmates.

The stained glass windows were made by an inmate that taught himself how to make stained glass.

And all the woodwork was done and all the upholstery.

It was all inmate work.

There is one man that's instilled in the congregation who made the chairs that you see in the video.

So they're very proud of that chapel.

- [Narrator] The chapel is home to services for 14 spiritual traditions, including eight Christian denominations.

Some inmates attend as many as possible.

- [Pastor Gallipo] So they all come to St. Dysmas on when?

On Thursday night and then the next night the Reformed Church Cornerstone worships, and they'll go to Cornerstone.

And then the next day on Saturday there's Catholic mass and some of them go to the Catholic mass.

And Sunday a Protestant group comes in and has a worship service.

During the week there are a lot of chaplains coming in.

- [Narrator] But the men serving time aren't the only ones who learn from the experience.

- Being a pastor and a leader of a church is already such a unique faith journey.

And then add on to it being in a specialized ministry.

How has this work impacted your own faith journey?

- Being a prison pastor has shown me in greater depth, the capacity for God to love and to have mercy and the depth of God's grace.

Because the men that are in my congregation, some of them have done some really awful things.

But they are God's children and they're loved by God.

And a man came to me once before I was the pastor, the pastor that was here mentioned something about justice in his sermon and during the sharing of the peace, he said, "Pastor Wayne, I don't need justice.

I received justice, I'm here.

I'm right where I belong."

He said, "Pastor Wayne, I need mercy."

- [Narrator] Some members of this congregation will spend the rest of their lives in prison but for others this is a temporary stop.

Each week Pastor Gallipo and other members of the St. Dysmas congregation pray with any man who's about to be released.

He prays they find housing and a healthy community.

He prays they don't come back.

- [Pastor Gallipo] I may be one of the only pastors that's preaching with pepper spray and a body alarm and a radio.

But I'm also one that probably when they leaves we never wanna see you again.

(Pastor Gallipo chuckles) But I will always qualify that with, "If you do end up back here you are welcome."

So and it's one of the things we emphasize at St. Dysmas is all are welcome.

I don't care who you are or what you're doing.

You're welcome to worship.

- The SDSU poll we mentioned earlier showed 80% of state residents identify with a Christian denomination.

7% practice Islam, Buddhism or Judaism.

All of these traditions weave the fabric of faith in our state.

But religious conflict and hate crimes are present in South Dakota.

In late November some antisemitic signs went up in Sioux Falls, following a trend of increasing antisemitism across the nation.

But local community and faith leaders from a variety of backgrounds refuse to let the messages go unchallenged.

- [Narrator] About a hundred people gathered in downtown Sioux Falls to support the Jewish community and defy the bigotry of antisemitic signs and stickers.

There was a swastika reported outside a downtown bar while other stickers displayed antisemitic conspiracy theories.

Jen Dreiske is president of the Mount Zion Congregation, a reformed Jewish community in Sioux Falls.

She says no one has taken responsibility for the actions but the messages cause fear in her community.

- The holocaust wasn't too long ago.

It is very much a part of who we are as Jews because of our connection to family and community members that we lost.

- [Narrator] Dreiske helped organize the interfaith show of support.

Speakers represented Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions.

- [Dreiske] For Jews to be the only ones to combat antisemitism.

That's asking the victim to take care of that.

We need non-Jews to stand with us.

Just like the LGBTQ community, they need the straight community to stand with them.

Just like the Muslim community, they need the Jews and Christians to stand with them when they are experiencing Islamophobia.

So today we are standing united to say, "We are not going to tolerate any kind of hate in our community."

- [Narrator] Dreiske is also involved with the non-profit South Dakota Voices for Peace.

It was created in 2017, in response to failed legislative proposals.

Resolutions that sought to link Islam to terrorism.

Taneeza Islam is the executive director of the group.

And currently a candidate for Sioux Falls Mayor.

She says the Jewish community stood alongside their Muslim neighbors during the 2017 protests.

- It's really critical for us to come together as we all experienced hate and bigotry in different ways.

Words matter and for someone who may not understand the historical trauma of how those words and symbols have created genocide, have created the termination of millions of people.

And that continues today.

It starts with dehumanization and for groups of people to believe in those dehumanizing things.

That's why it's South Dakota Voices for Peace, we want to counter bigotry when we (indistinct), not to get to the level of action if you will.

- [Narrator] On a recent night, people countered bigotry at a demonstration outside the First Congregation Church in downtown Sioux Falls.

Reverend Martell Spagnolo is the senior pastor.

- As an openly gay pastor, as the only openly gay pastor in South Dakota.

I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of hate.

And I'm also a believer that we are called to be in solidarity with other people who are on the receiving end of hate.

So after I was made aware of the signs and that hate is alive and well in South Dakota.

When Jen made it available to me to be part of this I said, "Of course."

- Local political leaders submitted statements to be read at the demonstration.

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said, "I am sorry that I cannot be with you in person today to stand with you in solidarity.

As mayor, I am committed to Sioux Falls being a welcoming community to all and will always stand up against any hate or malice that finds its way into our community.

During the season of Hanukkah when we celebrate light in a time of darkness, it's incredibly saddening to see antisemitic propaganda randomly appear in our community.

As mayor, I will always ensure that every resident of this city is protected from discrimination and can be proud to live in a community that is accepting to all.

I stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in our city and we'll continue to do everything I can to ensure they feel welcome in a community that embraces a one Sioux Falls spirit."

- Governor Kristi Noem also sends a message of support condemning what she called the evil of antisemitism.

All three members of South Dakota's congressional delegation, also condemn the recent displays and express their solidarity with the Jewish community.

- [Narrator] The demonstration in Sioux Falls coincided with the eighth night of Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights.

Jen Dreiske explains the significance.

- It's the brightest of nights for the holiday.

So this is when the entire hanukia is lit up.

And so what a perfect night to stand against hate and bring light into the darkness and to share that with solidarity with our Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters.

- Dreiske encourages anyone who sees antisemitic material to report it to law enforcement and South Dakota Voices for Peace, which tracks incidents of antisemitic displays in the state.

South Dakota's communities of faith are diverse and active.

Tonight's stories share a common theme of building relationships beyond boundaries and the beauty that can come from finding common ground.

If there's a faith community you'd like to see highlighted or another big story we're missing, send us an email sdfocus@sdpb.org.

Earlier this year we talked about efforts to improve mental health care across the state.

One program we didn't mention was the Farm and Rural Stress Hotline from Avera.

The statewide hotline caters to the unique challenges that face farmers and ranchers.

Karl Oehlke proposed the idea.

He's a certified physician assistant with Avera Medical Group and he's a farmer himself.

That firsthand experience helps him form a connection with many of the (indistinct) producers who call for help.

Karl Oehlke tells us the story.

- You know, one was a spouse that called worried significantly about her husband.

Called distress hotline, counsel related to me and said, "This lady would appreciate a call back."

So I did.

She said, "Well, it's really for my husband.

I really want you to talk to him.

I said, "Okay, that's fine.

Is he there?"

She's like, "No, he's out planting corn."

I'm like, "Oh, okay, well that's good I'll be planting corn later.

I can call later."

She's like, "You can't call until after 10 o'clock at night.

I don't think that's until he'll be home."

I'm like, "Well, that's a new one but okay."

So lo and behold, that was the spring of 19 I believe.

I was out planting corn too because of course it was gonna rain the next day.

So about 10 o'clock I ended up giving this gentlemen a call and you could certainly hear the fear, the trepidation on the end of the line.

It was obviously his wife's idea and he's sitting there holding the phone.

But I got to the end of a round planting corn and my monitor went off and anybody that's run a John Deere tractor planner knows kind of the beep in the background of what happens when you come to the end, your monitor always goes off and immediately he says, "What's that sound?"

I said, "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry.

It's my planter monitor went off and I'll pull over and we can talk for awhile."

He said, "You actually farm?"

I said, "Yeah."

He's like, "Well, I didn't think that was actually true."

I was like, "Yeah, (indistinct).

I'm actually trying to plant right now.

There's thunder and lightening in the west I can see the rain (indistinct).

He's like, "Oh yeah, just go ahead and keep going.

We'll just talk for a while on the phone."

I probably talked to him for almost an hour and a half on the phone while I was planting, which turned into more conversations down the way.

And some medication adjustments, we did some other things for him, referred them to some other avenues that he was closer to home for him.

And I think but being able to hear that monitor in the background, hear that I was actually in a tractor.

I mean, within 15 seconds of that phone call rapport was set for basically every one of our interactions going forward.

- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the agriculture industry has one of the highest rates of suicide of any industry in the United States.

But support is available.

Avera's Farm and Rural Stress Hotline is just one resource that's free, confidential and available at any time.

A historic appointment in one of the country's largest faith communities has a South Dakota connection.

Bishop Megan Rohrer serves the Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

They're the first openly transgender person in the nation to serve as a bishop for a major Christian denomination.

Bishop Rohrer grew up in Sioux Falls, on a recent visit they joined a Bishop Constanze Hagmaier of the South Dakota Synod to talk faith, transformation and holy anger.

SDPB's In The Moment host Lori Walsh, brings us the conversation.

- So you're the first openly transgender bishop ever ordained or installed of a major U S faith.

And this is international news-making and you also come back to Augustana here in Sioux Falls.

And you remember that that identity, that experience, that lived experience was not always a pleasant thing for you.

Tell me a little bit about coming home and sort of facing some of the past.

- Yeah, So parts of maybe all childhoods have moments that are the wrestling and mud puberty parts and the parts where you struggle with who the community thinks you ought to be and who you might be growing into in ways that you wanna live into your faith, in ways that other people wanna enforce faith on you.

And so there were moments when people were intentionally trying to put hurdles in front of my path towards ministry or towards my ability to love or name myself or claim myself, or get medical care in a way that felt like it was holistic for me.

And what got me through a lot of those moments is that from a very early age I had a kind of mystical connection with God where I knew God and I were good.

What I didn't know how to do was explain that to other people.

And so I tried to be a sculpture major and failed because I deeply wanted to be someone who could use words and pictures and images to try to figure out how I could share the graciousness that I experienced in my relationship with God to other people who maybe hadn't yet figured out how to share graciousness with me.

And so most of the stories about my time at Augustana when they're told in soundbites live a little longer in the hard parts to kind of have a rags to riches story of like, "Look at this person who made good for themselves."

But it's also a story of the professors who worked late and fought hard and people who tried to move mountains or make the tiny changes that would matter to help me along that path.

And then over time than a story of how many people say they were sorry for how they treated you as the world changes and their understanding of God changes.

And so most every person who has ever said a terrible thing that I wish they hadn't said has said sorry.

And there is something kind of beautiful about having faith in yourself, and then coming back to a place where maybe not everybody was the same page with you but with the uniform of faith.

With the community who has declared you faithful, with people who have asked you to be a leader of faith.

And so it's not a (indistinct) I was right and you were wrong.

It's look what time can do.

Look what being faithful over time can do.

Look what God can do with even a wretch like me.

And so I think that for me is the homecoming story to come back and say, "Ta-daa, God was awesome."

- Where is the role of anger and noise and activism and frustration in some of these conversations?

Whether it's about income inequality, poverty.

About transgender bathrooms bills and about women not being able to be in a pulpit.

Like at some point there is an internal human frustration and anger.

Calm it down and be the visible face of Christ or is there a different way to sort of... And Constanze, anger and issues that really bring out passion in you.

How do you approach that human emotion?

- Well, I do have pretty disciplined spiritual practices that help to ground me.

They all happen in the early morning hours.

And I frequently joke.

The only things I really do fast is running and downhill skiing.

Everything else it takes me a while to process.

When I'm really angry I choose to walk away because there's a difference between holy anger that serves the purpose that's an agitating thing that is displayed in scripture very frequently in the book of Psalms.

And there multitude of examples were people get angry with God and agitated.

But there is an anger where I am angry with someone because I have come to my own limitations.

And there's a fine line whether that anger serves me or whether that anger serves to propel God's, God's love forward.

That's really the long and the short of it, is there's differences in anger and I personally need time to process that.

Sometimes it comes quicker.

It's very clear to me.

And then now in this office, there's another whole publicity piece.

And I again need to remember is it serving the organization?

Is it serving the church?

There's lots of voices I speak for, right?

And they're not all in agreement with me.

I'm sure they're all in agreement with you, right?

Yap.

- Anger, activism?

How do you approach that?

- I broke my (indistinct).

I learned that last week when I was marching down the streets of San Francisco, - Your physical (indistinct).

- My physical (indistinct) got broken.

I think... Well, we have a phrase in our synod, that you can borrow if you want.

- All right.

- That when a pastor gets angry a new project is born.

A new program is born.

That born out of the anger of faithful people is this recycling of doing a thing to fix it or doing a thing that responds to it.

The AIDS quilt is a beautiful example of anger, right?

A way that we can mourn kind of publicly or have... We can be angry about the circumstances of a death and channel it into all kinds of things.

I don't think anger only looks like foaming at the mouth.

But I'm a little more in the news all the time.

And so I think I have to sort of embrace a... Well here's the way I'll say it.

If the only Christians people hear from are the angry ones shouting on television then maybe Lutherans need more anger.

Not to disguise hate and make it look like love but anger that makes us speak loud enough that we are public and intentional and explicit.

That we denounce racism every time we see it, that we denounce things that are destroying life or taking away humanity.

Things that are causing pain and harm, things that are bringing waste and poverty and particularly harming kids.

That I think it's okay to be angry also about nonsense things.

Like angry that there's not enough chocolate when you need it, right?

Because God cares about the little things like that too.

Like God is willing to show up in whatever ways we vibrate.

Like think of if you ever sat in a sanctuary when the organist shows off and they play that really deep organ note that shakes the whole room.

It's like, (indistinct) throughout the space like that.

I think that we just need to give ourselves permission to go to the fullness of all of our emotions because there's no emotion that God can't be a part of too.

Not anger for the sake of harming folk, not anger for the sake of burning everything down, but anger for the purpose of knowing that I can go anywhere, and never, ever, ever be separated from the love of God.

- Bishop Hagmaier and Bishop Rohrer joined SDPB's Lori Walsh in our Sioux Falls studio earlier this year.

You can hear the full conversation online at listen.sdpb.org by searching Bishop Rohrer.

Music has a way of speaking to a special place in the human heart.

We'll end tonight with the story of South Dakota schools celebrating a gift of music.

High schools across the Pine Ridge Reservation received more than 900 new musical instruments.

The donation is part of the Tunes for Tots program by the rock band Widespread Panic in partnership with other nonprofits.

The donation gives more students the opportunity to study music and uphold longstanding traditions.

SDPB's Richard Two Bulls reports.

- [Richard] Nonprofit organization, Conscious Alliance brought the most recent delivery to Pine Ridge High School.

Music teacher Ann Chesley says, she's been keeping the school's music department alive anyway she could.

- A lot of the instruments that we have I've put together.

I've bought at garage sales and pawn shops.

Big borough and steel everywhere we could get them.

And these are new.

These are specifically what we want.

What we asked for.

They're exactly nothing's used.

It's all new.

It's the top of the line.

It's the very best.

- [Richard] Students helped unload the instruments.

Kristen Two Lance is a junior and started playing the trumpet when she was in ninth grade.

She says that the new equipment should foster more interest in the music program.

- (indistinct) what I think is that there's gonna be more people that are gonna probably join because (indistinct) instruments and more percussion items that showed up.

- [Richard] Conscious Alliance collaborates with musicians to raise awareness of food insecurity and is committed to youth empowerment initiatives.

Natalie Hand is the organization's Pine Ridge field director.

- Our believe at Conscious Alliances is music is medicine.

And we have so many gifted and talented young Lakotas that just need the resources in order to express themselves and share their talent.

And so to me this is giving them the tools that they need to share their gifts.

A lot of them are self-taught musicians, and now they're gonna have amazing new equipment too to perform with.

- [Richard] The donation not only supports the high school music programs, but also the Rock The Rez music program and the Pine Ridge Flute Society.

Will Peters directs the society and he explains how the society is different from other school music programs.

- It's an opportunity for these students to earn something that belongs to them.

They're not gonna be...

These flutes are not gonna be kept in a way where they're gonna be used over and over again.

Whoever's hands that they fall into is gonna have the opportunity to earn that flute and that is gonna belong to them so that they can continue that healing.

A lot of these flutes society members have graduated, they've gone on.

But since they started the recognition from your own, our own people comes from when?

They're asked to come to play at a wake or a funeral or at a wedding or at a Sun Dance to offer a spiritual uplifting.

And the thing that's amazing about it is that it's actually a young people society and it brings that sacred aspect that these young people have.

- [Richard] Red Cloud, Crazy Horse and Little Wound High Schools also received instruments.

I'm SDPB's Richard Two Bulls in Pine Ridge.

- You can find stories like these any time at sdpb.org/news.

That's all we have time for tonight.

As always, you can send us story, ideas by email or by finding me on Twitter @JackieHendrySD.

South Dakota Focus is back live on Thursday, January 13th, as we launch our coverage of the state legislative session.

Until then on behalf of all of us at South Dakota Public Broadcasting, happy New Year and thanks for watching.

(upbeat music)