Mission Statement:
The mission of The Sacred Parks Project, or "Sacred Parks," is to inspire and equip people of faith to see the earth ("and the fullness thereof" - Ps. 24:1) as God's earth - and our home - so that we can together care for it faithfully and responsibly, in ways that preserve, conserve and honor the gift of this planet, the resources it contains, and our neighbors in Creation.
This new vision calls us to engage in real relationship with Creation, to re-align how we see the things we "own", and to re-frame what and who is our "neighbor." To do these things - preserve, conserve and honor Creation - are fruits of a faith also given by God, through no merit or action of our own. Alone we cannot save the planet, but with God's Spirit working through our hands we can help plant seeds and move mountains. (Mt. 17:20 - "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.' " (NIV) )
This new vision calls us to engage in real relationship with Creation, to re-align how we see the things we "own", and to re-frame what and who is our "neighbor." To do these things - preserve, conserve and honor Creation - are fruits of a faith also given by God, through no merit or action of our own. Alone we cannot save the planet, but with God's Spirit working through our hands we can help plant seeds and move mountains. (Mt. 17:20 - "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.' " (NIV) )
"Faithfully exploring and living simply, in community with our nation's parks"
Unpacking it further:
1. "Faithfully exploring...":
Sacred Parks is grounded in a Christian faith that states that "if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV) Trusting in the promise of God's continually evolving Word, we are transformed by a God who is always re-creating our hearts to reach out to all people of faith (and even those with no faith or faiths different from our own) by honoring their beliefs and by "preaching the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, us(ing) words." (St. Francis of Assisi) The project also hopes to embody a spirit of exploration: a means of seeing the challenges of living on a fragile planet, and envisioning our new challenges not through the lens of fear, but through an ethos of exploration and a means of seeking new ways to engage our neighbor with a sense of adventure and courage.
2. "...(and) living simply..."
While it is possible to "see the big picture" by exploring in the literal sense, a life of faithful stewardship in the real sense involves seeing not just the economy and ecology of this planet on the surface, but the deeper attitudes, beliefs and realities underneath our consumer habits and practices. As people of faith, we are called to live within our means, and help others to do the same. Just because God's grace is without bounds does not mean that our planet's resources are infinite. The Sacred Parks Project philosophy on living simply encourages us to think of the ethics presented to us as we hike and camp in parks (e.g. "Leave no trace." "Pack out what you pack in" and "Reduce your footprint".) These are indeed living lessons we can translate into our daily lives and see how God teaches us in the wild to care for Creation - not just in extraordinary settings away from home, but in our daily, ordinary lives and places.
3. "...in community.."
The word "community" has become a catch-all word in our culture, but what does it really mean? A June, 2005 blog on a Christian website states that community is "almost a ruined word." The blog's author hopes to re-claim the word by listing four building blocks for community: availability, vulnerability, a shared life, and stability. The Sacred Parks project would like to build on each of these four concepts, with this additional clause: "with God, neighbor, and Creation." Only by seeing - and doing - environmental stewardship with a true sense of bold and adventurous community with each other can we truly shed the shackles of political (and even religious) claims on environmental issues and collectively improve the quality of life we hold on this planet, regardless of our backgrounds and ideological persuasions.
3. "...with our nation's parks."
In some ways, this last phrase might seem the weakest link in the project faith statement: should we not be in community with ALL of Creation, not just parks!? Yes. But for this project, and this ministry, this phrase is central for three reasons: (1) we focus on parks because they are places that are set aside for us all to enjoy, and be taught by God through Creation; (2) we experience parks together because they are rare places in this world where people of all walks of life come to see the wonders and creatures of this planet; and (3) we are profoundly affected by our parks because they are some of the last places on earth where God still comes to us in the wild...And the wilderness can help heal us like no other place can!