Dan's Papers - December 21, 2007 - John Best

Reverend John Best of the Montauk Community Church was working as a pastor in Erie Pennsylvania in 1995 when he received a call from John Stein, chairperson of the Pastoral Nominating Committee for the Montauk Community Church, offering him a job. Best informed Stein that he would not be able to leave his current position until the following summer, which was months away. He thought this was a polite "no" to the offer. A couple of weeks later Best received a packet of information and a note from Stein, stating that next summer did not seem that far off. Best had never heard of Montauk, but reading about an ocean view from the manse caught his attention. Best moved his family to Montauk in August of 1996. He said, "Montauk and my ministry here has been God's gift to me. God brought me here."

After eleven years with the Montauk Community Church, Best will be leaving Montauk New Year's Day to begin his position as general presbyter in the Presbytery of Lake Michigan. He will say goodbye to his beloved community and move on to a position in Portage, Michigan, where he will be counseling pastors in 72 churches. Best expressed his feelings on leaving. "God has been good to me here. Now God is calling me to a new adventure. As the Montauk saying goes, 'once you get Montauk's sand in your moccasins, you will return.' So it will be with me. I love this place."

Moving to Montauk blindly seems to be a bold choice and at first glance one may wonder if it is too small and secluded in the wintertime for a family to live and thrive. But Best's experience was a positive one. "Montauk is not the sleepy village it once was. We have all the institutions that make a year-round community - great churches, library, school, fire department, service organizations, professional staff - some who still make home visits when needed. Where else today do you get that kind of personal service?" He continued, "the businesses that close for the season have no effect on those of us who live here. If we are secluded, that is just the way we like it." As far as raising a family in Montauk, Best said, "It's a great place to raise a family." When he first moved to town with his three kids who were in first, sixth and ninth grades Vera Engstrom, a member of the Pastoral Search Committee, told him, "If kids get bored here, they have no imagination." Montauk has the premiere fishing, surfing and boating on the East Coast. "We live close to nature, close to our Maker. You can see the stars at night and breath fresh air. You know your neighbors and you can depend on them, yet they know when to leave you alone."

Best's legacy will be his leadership in taking the gospel outside the church's walls. He held worship at Gurney's Inn for two summers, orchestrated an outdoor worship series at some of Montauk's most beautiful settings and led prayer walks on Montauk trails. Best also enjoyed effectively using his gifts as a musician and is very proud of his work with the church choir and his association with Montauk Theater Productions. He recalled, "Our first summer theater dinner was The Gospel According to Broadway. I performed a song from Jesus Christ Superstar, as King Herod nastily interrogating Jesus. Kay Maxwell, a member of the church, could not believe that it could be me, asking, 'who is that?' I raised some eyebrows when Rob Stewart, pastor emeritus of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church, and I sang the love song from West Side Story, "There's a Place for Us." I am proud of the open hospitality of the Community Church."

Over the years, Best had many experiences as the Reverend in the Montauk community that he will take with him. He has officiated at many weddings and funerals, mostly for non-church members. The Reverend remembers a funeral early in his tenure. "I was asked by the Montauk Fisherman's Emergency Fund to lead a memorial service for John Williams, a much loved and rather 'earthy' or I should say 'salty' fisherman they called Indian John. We met at the Chowder House at 5 p.m. when the boats were in for the day. Many were having a drink at the bar when I arrived. We then went out on the dock for the service. I kept it pretty simple, mentioning that some of Jesus' best friends and followers were fisherman. Then I opened it up for stories, which I often do. In this case a lot more people spoke than usual and several speakers concluded their story with a raising of the glass. One man, at the end of his story, threw back a shot of whiskey and then threw the glass into the water. Another raised his glass in salute to his friend and threw the whiskey into the water. It was a cross-cultural experience for this straight-laced pastor." He continued, "However, I honored the power of the ritual and symbolic gesture. It was quite sacramental, Montauk style. It was touching and was the first breaking of the ice in my relationship with the fishing community that earned me some of the trust that I was later given by the community as a whole. Montauk may be a drinking village with a fishing problem, but Montauk folk know how, in their own earthy way, to respect holy rites and moments."

The wedding scene is an unheralded segment of Montauk's economy. Best has officiated many destination weddings for people from all over the world. He recalls a wedding held on the lawn of the Montauk Manor on a hot 4th of July afternoon. The couple was from England and they had been together for 25 years. During their visit the prior summer, the bride had a gall bladder attack and had to undergo emergency surgery. Her partner had to return to England before she could travel. The experience had shaken them up and got them asking themselves what would happen if something happened to one of them. "I was taken by the tears in their eyes," he said.

Another memorable time for Best was a St. Patrick's Day Parade when he drove the Fire Chief's SUV with Ann Duffy riding shotgun and Elizabeth Job in back. "That was a ride to remember."

"My years in Montauk have flown by," said Best. "George MacDonald, founder of the Iona Community in Scotland, described places like Iona and Montauk as thin places, where the distance between heaven and earth is tissue thin. Beyond the natural beauty is the beauty of the people, who again and again rise to the occasion in the time of need. There is nowhere I'd rather be in a time of trouble. The water defines Montauk. We have neighbors only to the west. When there is a need, the community rallies to aid neighbors in need. In this age of isolation, where people don't know their neighbors, it is a beautiful thing to see."