There were a lot more Saskatchewan Roughriders jerseys in the audience than usual at the fourth Mayors' Prayer Breakfast in the Battlefords.
The faith-based event, organized by the Battlefords Ministerial Association, has become a mainstay on the calendar, with this year's edition taking place at the Western Development Museum in North Battleford.
Mayor Ian Hamilton of North Battleford was at the event once again, as was Mayor Derek Mahon of Battleford, who attended for the first time in his new position. Also there were MLAs Herb Cox and Larry Doke and several council members.
The event isa time for the various local ministries andthose in the community to come together to provide their moral support to the leadership of the two communities.
This year, however, the event had a particular football-based theme with two members of the Roughriders - team chaplain Barret Kropf and defensive tackle Keith Shologan - on the agenda.
As a result, many in the audience - including Mayor Hamilton - were dressed for the occasion in Riders' jerseys.
Kropf and Shologan shared stories of faith and its importance in their lives. Shologan, who grew up in northern Alberta and who eventually went on to success at the University of Central Florida before joining the Roughriders, spoke of the strong influence of faith on himself and his family.
He talked about the strength faith provided to his family after his two younger sisters were killed in an automobile accident.
"They didn't blame. They didn't blame God," said Shologan. "They praised God on TV, they praised God in the news. And they went 'you know what? We're going to share that good work of Jesus Christ through this terrible situation.'"
Despite coming from a strong Christian background, Shologan said it was only a couple of years ago that he fully accepted Jesus Christ as his personal lord and saviour.
Before that day, Christ was "the acquaintance down the road," said Shologan - someone that "we knew pretty well, but you know, he wasn't the guy we were going to call to get unstuck." He describes his acceptance of Christ to "like a light switch one day."
Kropf spoke of his role as chaplain of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and being someone for the players to turn to for spiritual guidance and support.
He had been with the team for seven years and had been to a number of Grey Cups with the team, including the 2007 champions and the 2009 and 2010 runners-ups.
While he did have a few stories to tell about his time with the Roughriders, he also spoke of his strong connections to hockey and the SJHL, including as a player for the Melfort Mustangs.
It was in that league he started out as a chaplain, working for three or four teams at once. He had been doing Bible study in Weyburn, but had also travelled to the Battlefords to do work as chaplain for the SJHL's North Stars in 2000.
"Never in a million years did I think Battlefords and Weyburn would be in the SJHL championship," he said. The series went seven games and was won by the North Stars in dramatic fashion at the Civic Centre, with Kropf providing chaplain services for both teams.
"I was celebrating with my guys on the Stars," he said about the aftermath, and "then I would turn around in the hallway and cry with my Weyburn guys because they just lost."
Kropf also spoke about the importance of developing an identity beyond the "surface identity" of being a Roughriders fan or player.
"We've got an inward identity, and our identity comes from the word of God and having faith," said Kropf.
Kropf encouraged the audience members to look "deeper, to look beyond the surface, because there's so much more there."
