Simon Robson- Blog 15- Outside Reading

    Worship Among the Wonders

Simon Robson

12/13/2020

     Today I found an article titled “Christian’s Find God in US National Parks”. This was appealing to me as a Christian and as someone who loves to spend my time in national parks even if they are just the George Washington National Forest in the heart of Virginia. I want to travel out west soon however and visit some of the more famous national parks and understand the true awe that they bring to people. The article however wrote about worship services that are led in Bryce Canyon National Park for visitors and park staff on sunday mornings. 

I had no idea before this that any formal religious services were held in national parks, but as I began to read it made sense. It seeked to catch the attention of visitors and allow for them to have somewhat of a spiritual awakening. As you are among some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world you are more susceptible to spiritual experiences and a worship service is the perfect way to kick this off. A quote from the article says “The national parks and their beauty attract people from all over the world for excitement and adventure, but also people who are searching for something,”. These services can help to find those who are missing something greater than themselves and open them up to a faith based relationship. 

The outdoor setting of these services in the National Parks allows people to really enjoy God’s creations while they worship and learn more about him. These settings can help to facilitate spiritual interactions and reach people on a deeper level as it opens them up to ideas of something greater than themselves. Especially in places where the trees tower so high, rock arches are stand over top of people and canyons are so deep it’s hard to see the bottom, it is not hard to open one’s mind up to the idea of something bigger than them. In addition to this people usually have no cell service here therefore are less prone to distractions. 

I feel like the idea of having religious services in such wonderful natural environments is an amazing idea and is something that I would love to try one day if I can. It allows for a joyful and grateful setting and visual representation of the creator through his works. These services open up the eyes of people who may not have seen the lord before and people who come from all over the world. The spiritual transitioning is much more powerful in settings such as this and these Christians will take advantage of it.