Pastor’s Corner – June 22, 2023
Dear Beloved,
How is your summer going? Being outside more is my favorite part of the summer. Some of you might prefer being outdoors in the winter. Even though, I don’t resonate with that, I am excited you do because the older I get, and the more I learn, the more I feel believe and feel that being outside in God’s creation can be very healing – healing of body, mind, and spirit – individually and as a collective. I think about all the time our leader Jesus spent outside and all the stories of Jesus that connect us with nature (and symbols we use as part of a community of his disciples).
As summer was beginning, I saw the following statistics in The Big Book of Nature Activities by Drew Monkman/Jacob Rodenburg (p. 2)
2,500 – Number of ads a child encounters in a day
2,738 – Hours average North American child sits in front of a glowing screen/year
183 – Hours a child spends outdoors in unstructured play/year
As we think about how we support the children and teens in our lives and communities, I encourage us to think about how we model connections with God’s creation and practices that are renewing to our spirit. There are many practices that involve refreshing our spirit that can be done absolutely anywhere. At the same time, I hope you’ll take some time this summer if you’d like to and are able to, to be outside – to directly experience God’s creation and to enjoy the blessings God offers us in creation. Please let me know if you’d like to join a group for mindfulness/meditation walks outdoors this summer and fall. We are also considering and praying about some nature-based service learning experiences/reflection-action experiences in the months ahead and in the summers to come. Please let me know if you are interested in being a part of the planning and/or in participating. You are welcome to email, text, or call.
With gratitude,
Sarah pastorsarah.friedensucc@outlook.com 317-709-5857
God spoke: “Earth, green up! Grow all varieties of seed-bearing plants, Every sort of fruit-bearing tree.” And there it was. Earth produced green seed-bearing plants, all varieties, And fruit-bearing trees of all sorts. God saw that it was good… Genesis 1:11-13
