Bruington hangs up cassock at First Presbyterian

After 10 years as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Havre and a lifetime of pastoring throughout the country before that, the Rev. John Bruington has hung up his cassock at the church.

His last day was Dec. 31, and Sunday was the first time since he started that someone else - Sherry Edwards from Chinook - preached at First Presbyterian in Havre.

Naturally, he said, he will miss the people most, the same ones who threw him a big party Dec. 17 in the dining hall of the church. An incredible meal was cooked and he received a signed goodbye card inscribed with "Saying goodbye to our cowboy," Bruington said

Bruington, 70, said he plans, for now, to enjoy his retirement in Havre. Yes, he added, he'll probably attend a local church. He didn't want to divulge which one or ones he was considering. The important thing, he said, is he wants to be somewhere he is needed.

When it comes to the state of the national church, from his perspective, it is diminishing, Bruington said. A reason for that, he said, is the church has gotten too bureaucratic. There are other reasons, too, he said. However, in the case of his former congregation, he continued, age was a factor. During his tenure, he said his church had gone from 65 to 50 congregants, a reduction he attributed to age and flight.

"Most people have moved or they've died," Bruington said.

Bruington, who writes the weekly column "Out Our Way" for Havre Daily, said the column will continue, with hopes of expansion to other publications. He said he will see how that goes.

The former pastor's clerical journey began about 40 years ago, he said, at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey. As a man from "all over" - his father's salesman occupation spurred the cowboy preacher to set up camp in many places - Bruington said he turned down clergy posts in New York and Maryland before taking an associate pastor position in Great Falls.

"I came out and said 'Whoe.' ... It was incredible," he said.

The stint in Great Falls lasted two years. Bruington said the next two decades were spent bouncing to pastorships in Wyoming, Indiana, South Dakota and Colorado. Some of his posts were in small towns like Lingle, Wyoming, others in much-crowded metropolises like Indianapolis. He has stories to tell about people in all the churches he lead during those times. He has stories to tell about the landscape, as well.

Bruington eventually got back to Montana, where his post-seminary clergy stint began in 1977, only this time 115 miles north, in Havre.

Over the past 10 years, he said, life has ebbed and flowed. There have been valleys and summits. People have come and gone, there's been adventure, and there's been heartbreak in sickness.

Now, Bruington said, "anxious" perfectly describes the advent of a new phase of life.

"I'm about to shift gears," he said.