From Kivalina you can see tomorrow. The Alaskan village of Kivalina is on a sand spit between the Arctic Ocean and a fresh water lagoon. It is north of the Arctic Circle, above the tree line. A few miles west is the international date line, and Russia.

The Church of the Epiphany has been a part of Kivalina for more than 90 years. One of its biggest milestones occurred in 1964, when the Rev. Milton Swan, now retired, was ordained the first Eskimo priest. The present rector of Epiphany is the Rev. Raymond Hawley, a priest in Alaska for 22 years. His assistant, the Rev. Jerry Norton, was ordained in 1993 after serving as a deacon for 19 years.

"It's continuity," said the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, Bishop of Alaska. "The seniors pass on the mantle to the next generation."

Each priest is non-stipendiary. "We look for jobs to support our families," Fr. Norton said. He works as a carpenter and heavy-equipment operator. Fr. Hawley is presently working on construction of a hospital in Kotzube; his wife Winona teaches at the local school.

The Rt. Rev. Andrew Fairfield, Bishop of North Dakota, visited Kivalina often during his 16 years as a member of the diocesan staff in Alaska. "Fr. Hawley and Fr. Norton give their time to the church," he said. "They lead worship and respond to crises. Everyone takes part in pastoral care, visiting. All [the church members] feel they are servants of Christ, according to their own gifts and talents."

And everyone sings. "The singing is incredible!" said the Rev. Scott Fisher, rector of St. Matthew's, Fairbanks, and formerly assistant to the bishop. "Any four people get together and sing harmony. Easter services go on for 17 hours, singing and singing. When they sing the Sanctus, it comes from the bottom of the earth!"

"Two or three hundred people visit at Easter," Fr. Hawley said. "They like our church."

"People come from surrounding villages in a 200-mile radius," Bishop Fairfield recalled. "Kivalina is the Mecca of gospel music. Everyone sings four-part harmony at the top of their lungs. It's loud and wonderful!"

Mrs. Hawley said members of Epiphany and the Friends' Church spent most of December practicing for Christmas. The two churches rotate Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services so everyone can go to both - and sing in English and in Inupiaq, the coastal Eskimo language.

Epiphany's present building, described by Fr. Hawley as a "36-foot by 70-foot lumber church," was built in 1976. Because there are no trees so far north, all wood and other construction materials have to be brought by barge.

"We kept extending the old church, putting on additions," Mrs. Hawley said. "But the floor was rotten."

Fr. Fisher served with the diocesan office for 20 years, traveling around the interior and the Arctic coast. "One Sunday," he said, "I was preaching on the lesson about the 'vine and the branches.' But there was nothing higher than my ankles. People go 200 miles for a Christmas tree."

The population of Kivalina is about 380; some 200 people belong to Epiphany. The village has one other church, a group of California Friends. "It's a small town," Mrs. Hawley said. "We don't need more churches."

On Sunday mornings, choral Eucharist alternates with Morning Prayer. "The service is in English, with announcements in Inupiaq," Mrs. Hawley said. "Bible readings and sermons are translated into Inupiaq." The evening service is less formal. Often the content of the morning service is reviewed in Inupiaq, people witness, and, of course, everyone sings.

As close as Kivalina is to the future, its roots are firmly in the past. "People have lived here for 30,000 years," Fr. Fisher said. Hunting and fishing are life-sustaining activities. Whales are hunted from small boats during the spring migration. "The church bell is rung when a whale is caught," Fr. Fisher said. And, he added, "Polar bears hunt people. You don't walk at the end of town."

In the present, Epiphany and Kivalina are a strong, vibrant community. The village has telephones and cable television, which broadcasts international programs and local messages. And everyone, said Fr. Fisher, has a CB radio in the living room, or the kitchen. "Every morning," he said, "when people wake up, they all get on the CB and say hello to each other. And then before they go to bed, they say goodnight."

Bishop Fairfield said of Epiphany's members: "They take their Christianity seriously, and act it out."

"It's a holy place," Fr. Fisher said. "These are real people and it's their home, but it's a holy place. The whole church is better because there's Kivalina."

Patricia Wainwright is an editorial assistant at The Living Church.