By Rev. Andrew Black “All I’m saying is simply this: that all life is interrelated, that somehow we’re caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. For some strange reason, I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be.

How A Colorado Mountain Became a Permanent Part of this Family
Stanley, age 7, on the top of his namesake mountain in Colorado, looking south into Clear Creek County. He was born on December 5th, and Mount Stanley has an elevation of 12,500 feet.

Hiking
By: Ruby Gene Topple Hello! I’m a shoe, a hiking shoe to be exact. The giant who wears me says that my twin shoe and I are her favorite. She wears me everywhere, so much, it’s too many to count. I have so many precious memories, good and bad, you know… I think I’ll tell you a story now! Should

Finding Communion and Community on America’s Trails—A Hospital Chaplain Reflects on Reconnecting with Nature in Times of COVID
(3 nights/4 days ~28 Miles) – Sept 4 – 7, 2020 By Rev. Chester Craig Topple, Hospital Chaplain “A period recourse into the wilds is not a retreat into secret silent sanctums to escape a wicked world, it is to take breath amid effort to forge a better world.” – Benton MacKaye This pandemic period has certainly shifted much of

Insult to Injury: A Shameful Display of Callousness Around Chaco Canyon
By: Rev. Andrew BlackMany have wondered what lengths the Trump administration would go to in its quest to turn our public lands over to oil and gas drilling – satisfying its so-called energy dominance agenda. It seems we have an answer: despite the fact that the Navajo Nation and many tribal communities have been disproportionately hit harder by the COVID-19

Creation and Environmental Stewardship
Tony Arnold Go outside and spend some time observing. Go for a walk in the park. Go down to the creek or river or lake. Go up to the mountains, into the forest, across the grasslands, out to the beaches and oceans. What do you see? How many different plants and trees? Are any of the flowers glorious? Are any of the butterflies, bees, dragonflies, or birds

The Environment and My Journey of Faith
By Tony Arnold Our study of the Neighborhood Church book as prompted me to offer to share a little about how I live out my faith in the world outside of Sunday mornings at John Knox – and what I see as some of the important issues that the church as the worldwide body of Jesus Christ is wrestling with

Use the Land With Love and Respect
As a child who fished, camped and hiked all over the Land of Enchantment, I learned early on that there’s nothing more awe-inspiring than watching a herd of elk cross the Valles Caldera or bighorn sheep scale the rugged cliffs of the Rio Grande Gorge or pronghorn bound across the plains.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund: Preserving Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy
Public lands were created for all Americans – no matter their race, age, gender, religion or socioeconomic status. They are a uniquely American idea that is rooted in deep sense of egalitarianism.