By Lake Lust | FāVS News Reporter
Outdoor recreation in the Inland Northwest, and throughout the country, has never been more popular. Among the millions of Americans preparing to camp and hike this season are Spokane-based pastors, theology professors and young Christians seeking spiritual experiences.
Whether it’s crouched around a campfire or on a steep mountain summit, many educators say nature offers important opportunities to explore faith.
“I find students are more curious outdoors, and I suspect it’s because the world feels more expansive,” said Samantha Miller, a theology professor at Whitworth University. “You feel the sun, you’ve got the wind in your hair and you’re more immersed in the world. That posture of wonder is really important for conversations about faith.”
Connecting Youth with Nature
Miller has led student backpacking trips since 2018 and writes about “wild pedagogy” on her blog. Whitworth itself has an outdoors club more than 100 members strong, and in Spokane, dozens of churches and Christian organizations offer outdoor retreats for kids of all ages.
Without access to brick-and-mortar churches and classrooms, services and studying look a bit different. At Millwood Community Presbyterian Church, for example, retreats for middle and high schoolers have included rock-climbing, white-water rafting and trips to remote areas of Alaska.
“When you’re hiking up a mountain, every step is a prayer, every step is an acknowledgement of gratefulness and blessing, and that’s worship,” said the Rev. Matt Royston.
Exposure to more demanding activities, according to Royston, has the dual effect of building confidence and bringing kids closer to God’s vision. He cited the second century St. Irenaeus, who famously wrote “Gloria enim Dei vivens homo” — often translated as “the glory of God is a human fully alive.”
“Young people find that their physicality is more capable than they once thought it to be,” Royston said. “I’ve seen kids with tears in their eyes saying, I had no idea I could do that.”
The relationship between humans and the natural world is the subject of diverse spiritual interpretation. For educators, outdoor trips can inspire moments of learning and reflection, too.
God in Nature
“Creation is something we should explore and play in,” Miller said. “God is in butterflies and rainbows and all the pretty things, and also nature can be terrifying, and that reminds us that God is God and we are not.”
Emma Moore, the children’s ministry coordinator at Whitworth Church, said she finds spiritual value in her role as a steward of the earth.
“When you look at it, we get to help be caretakers of this garden,” she said. “We’ve been given more agency and freedom than a lot of creatures around us. We really do have power to influence it, and it’s up to us to maintain this creation.”
Moore also spent two seasons as a nature coordinator for Camp Spalding, a Christian summer camp at Davis Lake. Her outdoor lessons included walks in the woods, teaching second through sixth graders about native flora and fauna.
Often, she would show students how to identify different species of pine trees down to the number of needles per bunch.
“When you’re talking about concepts of faith that are less tangible, it’s really confusing for young kids especially if they can’t interact with it or see it on a screen,” Moore said. “Being able to take them outside and say, ‘hold this pinecone, look at all the details, let’s talk about how it was made,’ those examples help them learn.”
The Positive Impacts
Miller said experiences like these lead participants to be more involved in their communities, in faith and in nature as they grow older. She also believes in their positive impact on mental health.
With mood disorders such as anxiety and depression on the rise, evidence suggests that spending time in nature can significantly alleviate symptoms.
“Young people need these kinds of experiences, experiences with God unmediated by a screen,” Miller said. “Mediated by people, or by creation, or by sunsets and squirrels. We just need that.”
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Love the emphasis on nature and how it can be supportive to our beings. Thanks for covering!