The cowboy church service at Cheyenne Frontier Days, an iconic rodeo in Wyoming, provides an hour of grace before the games start. The open setting – a rodeo arena – reflects an open attitude: Come as you are and find respect.

“A good God makes good people and good people make good societies,” Mark Eaton, the pastor, told the congregation, dressed in jeans and 10-gallon hats.

Beyond the pop-up services held at rodeos like this, similar cowboy churches have popped up across the country — since at least the late ’80s — in dedicated spaces. Sometimes it means a barn.

“In its ideal form, the cowboy church is an evangelical Protestant church that avoids formality and deliberately lowers social barriers in order to accommodate people who typically do not feel comfortable in traditional churches,” writes Marie Dallam, author of “Cowboy Christians”, in an e-mail. .

After the service, cowboy Wil Nichols strolls past the jerky and rope vendors. He is inspired by the call to be good and enjoys camaraderie. He says cowboys lead by example Christian values.

“Friendship and protection towards each other”, he offers as an example. “When you compete against other people, but cheer them on as much as you want to win.”

Cheyenne, Wyo.

Soon funnel cakes will melt in your mouth, lemonade lines will form, the arena will chime with the national anthem, horses will rear and bangs will fly..

But first, the cowboys pray.

The cowboy church service at Cheyenne Frontier Days, an iconic rodeo in Wyoming, provides an hour of grace before the games start. Last Sunday, the mix of Christianity and the American West summoned followers in denim and 10-gallon hats. The open setting – a rodeo arena – reflects an open attitude: Come as you are and find respect.

Organ prelude released. Johnny Cash enters.

“One piece at a time…Mark Eaton sings a line from the Cash track while playing as people find bleacher seats. Like many here, the pastor is wearing a button-down shirt, jeans and boots.

Beyond faith in Jesus and the Bible, he tells the Monitor, the setup is not Christian in the traditional religious sense, his fingers wrapping quotation marks around the word “Christian.”

“At the church, we had an organ playing. And those people won’t show up,” he said. “They’re tired of someone who doesn’t understand their lifestyle telling them they need to do more and try harder.” His talk today is about being good.

“A good God makes good people, and good people make good societies,” he said, pacing in front of the expanse of land.

Mr. Eaton comes from the “café culture” of Seattle. Married to Christian singer Susie McEntire-Eaton (sister of Grammy-winning Reba McEntire), he now lives on a family ranch in Oklahoma.

Ms McEntire-Eaton was unable to come to the service due to a diagnosis of COVID-19, Mr Eaton told his fans. A co-host of Cowboys Church Television and descendant of rodeo royalty herself, she began organizing these Cheyenne Frontier Days services in 1986. Republican Gov. Mark Gordon, briefly taking the microphone, leads a prayer that includes her. The prayers here call for cowboy respect: take off your hat when you bow your head.

Beyond the pop-up services held at rodeos like this, similar cowboy churches have popped up across the country — since at least the late ’80s — in dedicated spaces. Sometimes it means a barn. Cowboy Christians author Marie Dallam writes in an email that the church aims to welcome worshipers who have been marginalized by mainstream Christian congregations. (For others, “biker church” fulfills a similar need.)

The cowboy church is “defined mostly by behaviors and structures, and maybe a little bit by values ​​and expectations, but not by theological differences,” adds Dr Dallam, a professor at the University of Oklahoma. “In its ideal form, the cowboy church is an evangelical Protestant church that avoids formality and deliberately lowers social barriers in order to accommodate people who typically do not feel comfortable in traditional churches.”

For some, it’s the first time they’ve come.

“It just seemed like an outdoor atmosphere would be good,” says Randall Shedd, a Republican state representative from Alabama. He is one of many foreigners.

For others, it’s a return to basics.

“As cowboys and Christians, we all share the same thing – these values ​​and morals. …helping each other, showing love,” says Willy Evans of Torrington, Wyoming, who has attended similar services. Ms Evans, who rides horses with her granddaughter, says she participated in rodeos growing up as a cowgirl.

“As I got older, tying goats became my favorite,” she says, here on a date. Her American flag earrings are dangling.

Mr. Eaton dives briefly into politics in a way that fits with Old West individualism. He laments the idea that it is “the nation’s responsibility to take care of me”.

“You can’t legislate kindness. And if you try, it still looks like taxation,” he laughs. It rivals the low hum of what sounds like tractors rumbling through the arena.

After the service, cowboy Wil Nichols strolls past the jerky and rope vendors. He is inspired by the call to be good and enjoys camaraderie. He says cowboys lead by example Christian values.

“Friendship and protection towards each other”, he offers as an example. “When you compete against other people, but cheer them on as much as you want to win.”

It doesn’t matter that he didn’t qualify to compete as a team roping. He came to the rodeo on Sunday, a spectator this time, to encourage the others.