Creation Care Walk Future Posts
May 20, 2010
Creation Care Walk Day 5
May 13, 2010
by Rev. Mitch Hescox
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Day five on the Creation Care Walk, it started out great a beautiful morning after a great night of rest at the home of Allen and Debbie Johnson. We walked around 8 miles in under 3 hours and just stopped for lunch along the road. Then all hell broke as lighting flashed, thunder boomed, and the rains came. I even started looking for Noah and the Ark as the rain fell in torments for over 3 hours. Finally, we drove back into town to have cell phone reception, and after checking out weather.com we learned of flash flooding and that the storm was to continue until midnight. I don’t mind walking in rain but lighting is another matter.
So, we quit for the day – how disappointing – only eight miles. We must trust in God and find a way to make up the lost time and complete the journey on time. Pray for the disappointment and a better day tomorrow.
God is good! All the time!
Creation Care Walk (Continued Thoughts from Day 4)
May 12, 2010
by Rev. Mitch Hescox, Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Marlinton, WV
Most of today, we spend walking along the Greenbrier River. It was a beautiful day to walk filled with rain and more rain and even more rain. Given the low river and lake levels, this area of God’s creation was in need of a recharge. This morning before our start, I prayed for a fresh baptism for The Lord’s creation and God answers prayer. We walked less than five minutes when the heavens opened with a wonderful outpouring of wet “spirit.”
Some 12 or 13 miles later, we decided enough for today. When I stopped to remove a stone from my right shoe and began to retie my laces, I noticed my fingers were cold and numb and even a little blue. We found that today temperature throughout the walk was about 40 degrees. The temperature, the wind and THE RAIN made a for a chilly day.
When we allow creation to follow the Creator, recharge and renew; new life occurs. Jesus wants the same for us. But how often are we willing to walk with God, even in the cold rain to be renewed and recharged. So often, we hide from times of challenge, when they may be times of great renewal and life.
Along the Greenbrier this morning, clouds kept surrounding the mountains and the hollers with a beautiful caress. The clouds simply enveloped the mountains in a simple loving touch. God touched me at the same instant and while it felt cold and wet on the outside. The warmth put into my heart renewed my Spirit.
Creation Care Walk Day 4
May 12, 2010
by Gretchen Peck, Renewal: Students Caring for Creation
Today’s walk can be summed up in two words: wet and cold! It was in the 40’s and started raining about five minutes into the walk. Thankfully we didn’t have far to go and the scenery was beautiful even in the rain. Our trail ran along Greenbriar River, one of the six rivers that flow out of Pocahontas County.
After reaching Marlinton we dried out at the laundromat and ate some good country fixins’ (pinto beans and cornbread for me thank you!) at a local restaurant. Currently, we are at Allen Johnson’s library which is the only one in the state to loan out fishing poles and binoculars. (This library also won an award in 2003 for being the best rural library in the US.) Tonight we are participating in a meeting similar to last night’s where we will meet and speak with members of the community.
Creation Care Walk Day 3
May 11, 2010
(Post regarding Monday, May 11, 2010)
By Gretchen Peck, Renewal: Students Caring for Creation
I think we are falling in love with West Virginia. The past two days have been filled with so much good—good walking, good people, good food, good conversations, and good sights. Yesterday morning we departed from a town called Summersville. The walking was mostly on a two lane road with part diverging onto an old railroad bed. In the morning we worshiped at a little Methodist church which welcomed us warmly (even though we hadn’t showered in a couple days…). West Virginia is filled with churches. There’s just about every denomination you can think of and they all start at 11 o’clock. We probably passed at least ten during the fifteen miles that we walked.
After our full day of hiking we ended in Richwood where we met up with a new addition to our group-Elaine and also our host for the night-Bob Henry Baber. Bob took us up (literally) to his farm which lies above 4,000 feet and along with another friend Ronda, served us a delicious meal. One of the highlights was getting to dig up ramps from the woods. Ramps are a type of leek and are celebrated in West Virginia. In fact, Richfield boasts the largest ramp festival every spring. Apparently, ramps also have something to boast about—their lingering pungency on a person who consumes large amounts of them!
Another highlight of the evening was sitting around Bob’s table sharing each of our stories. Bob is an especially gifted storyteller. He told us about his work on reclaiming a clear-cut mountain and shared with us beautiful poetry that he wrote about the coal industry.
This morning, we were very blessed to spend the whole day walking through the Monongahela National Forest. The foliage changed from tulip trees and sycamores to birches and hemlocks as we increased in altitude. This preserve is interesting because there is a little pocket of northern-like biome with cranberry bogs and trees that normally only grow in higher latitudes.
We have also been blessed today with good conversations. Walking is an excellent way to get to know someone and a perfect opportunity to discuss paths and goals. We learned that Elaine wants to be trained in leading silent retreats and we helped Ben discern what he should pursue in grad school.
The day ended at a Methodist church in Hillsboro where a full spread awaited us. We feasted! Afterwards Mitch led a talk with some community members on our call as Christians to care for the earth and how we can do that in our own churches and homes.
Our final treat for the day was seeing our lodgings for the night. A mountain lodge complete with a glowing fire (yes, it’s cold here) and lofts greeted us and we responded with “wows” and wide eyes. Susan Burt runs a camp for girls here at High Rocks. Susan is a visionary and has a contagious spirit. She started High Rocks as a place for young girls to be encouraged in faith and character and to equip them for college feeling smart and beautiful. I wish we had more time to stay here but tomorrow we’re off to Marlinton!
Creation Care Walk (Day 2, continued thoughts from Day 0)
May 9, 2010
By Rev. Mitch Hescox
Sunday, May 9, 2010. 6:45 am – day 2 of the creation care walk is to begin. Two things keep jumping from my heart – the beauty of this land and our Spiritual poverty that results in greed, envy, fear, and anger.
Larry Gibson – the man of the mountain. For the past 30 years has been attempting to save the mountains from mountain-top coal mining and the pollutions it causes. Larry is a simple but highly intelligent man. He is a man who loves creation, especially people, and he has a passion that seems to burst at his seams. A passion created by the love of the mountains but festered by years of frustration, as he contends with a seeming lack of results. His frustration has turned in many ways to anger, anger directed at politics, economic profits, and even the church. Where has the church been, Larry asked? Has it also been corrupted by the black coal soul, a soul of profits or has it stood for the people of God? The question remains, where is the church? Are we passing by or are we listening to God for creative solutions that provide for families, care for creation, and assist. Solutions that just don’t complain or protest, but offer a new vision, a kingdom vision to heal this land and the people.
Katharyne Hoffman – the woman of the other mountain. This seventy something Spirit filled woman has a peace that radiated from her presence, the peace of Christ. She is also passionate about the mountains, the water, the people, and transformation. It is interesting to note that Katharyne is as passionate as Larry. Her drive to change is probably even greater, but her faith not her anger drives her mission. Mrs. Hoffman, a former schoolteacher is a powerhouse in saving the mountains and the people. Nevertheless, her faith and peace have impacted my life in a profound way.
As I begin day two am I more like Larry or like Katharyne? Is my passion fueled the Risen Lord, a just passion handled in the Jesus way or something else.
This is my prayer for today’s walk.
P.S. many of the lakes have a low water level now. Is this the same as our faith level; are we at best running on a partially filled faith?
Creation Care Walk (Day 1)
May 8, 2010
by Gretchen Peck Renewal: Students Caring for Creation
Seventeen point five miles down! And we’re (mostly) in good shape and ready to rock and roll again tomorrow. Today was a perfect walking day. Beautiful blue sky, a nice breeze and not too many hills. At our starting point in Ansted we were blessed to be joined by a few members from the community (and a friendly puppy!). Also along was independent journalist Michael Garrity from Dayton.
You can see Rev. Mitch, Alexei, and Gretchen and their reflections on Day 1 here.
Creation Care Walk (Day 0)
May 8, 2010
(From Friday May 7, 2010)
By Gretchen Peck, Renewal : Students Caring for Creation
After an early morning and long drive from Washington DC, we arrived this afternoon to West Virginia. Mitch and Clare Hescox, Alexei Laushkin, Ben Lowe and myself were greeted by Allen Johnson and Rebecca Eppling from Christians for the Mountains. Allen guided us down narrow rutted roads, past coal trucks, and through hollows (pronounced “hollers”) to our destination, the Stanley Heirs Park. Home to Larry Gibson, the homestead is a 50-acre plot of land surrounded by acres and acres of destroyed mountains and devastated landscape. What used to be lush mountains are now flattened terraces, what was formerly pristine valley now filled with “overburden”, aka the tops of mountains.
Larry Gibson passionately told us his story and the challenges he has had to face by staying in the middle of coal industrial work. Larry spoke about the way people used to live by depending on the plants and animals around them, they respected the land, and the land provided for them. Even though his property is extremely valuable to the mining industry, he refuses to move because his family has lived on this land for generations. He has a conviction that mountaintop removal has costly human health impacts. He challenged us to think on what we would be willing to fight for, what if anything would we defend? It is in this light that he takes his stand for mountains and homestead.
After Larry’s, we went to Ansted, W.V. our starting point for the walk tomorrow. In the evening, we met with Mrs. Katheryne Hoffman a W.V. resident for many years and very involved in her local community. She went on to tell us the history of her mountain conservation work in Ansted. She has had to fight to express the views of the local community, which is not interested in potential new mine work. She spoke of her community-based approach, and connected these local issues to human health and clean water.
So, on to spread and add to these stories with the people we encounter on the walk to DC. With prayer for change and thanksgiving for the beauty that still exists, we look forward to tomorrow!
Why I Walk
May 7, 2010
by Rev. Mitch HEscox
Over the past few months as I traveled throughout the United States, I told the story of a five-year-old Tanzania girl who has to walk twelve miles each day for water. She walks to hopefully avoid being abused as many other women and girls have been. She walks fetching water because deforestation, changing climate, and other forms of environmental degradation have destroyed her local watershed. She walks for life and so do I.
The Creation Care Walk is a walk for life, a walk discerned from God to draw attention to the millions of God’s children who are impacted each day by our lack of care for God’s creation. I take very seriously the call to care for the least of these. Whether it is the coal miners and their families whose streams are polluted from mountaintop removal run-off, the Haitians whose nation’s earthquake devastation was exacerbated through deforestation, the child in Africa who is malnourished because of decades of drought, the family in Peru who is impacted by malaria creep in Peru, or the flooded villages of Tuvalu and Bangladesh, our poor creation care intensifies their plight. This walk is truly about life.
I walk to tell the stories of Jesus, my risen Lord, who came to offer the abundant life and proclaim God’s Kingdom is at hand. My Risen Lord first appeared in a garden and was thought to be a gardener. That wasn’t a mistake, but a call to remember that the whole earth belongs to the Lord and that all things were created through Him and for Him. I walk following my Risen Lord’s footsteps and know by following Christ as His disciples, we can change the world through Him, thereby offering real life and hope.
The Creation Care Walk
May 5, 2010
The Creation Care Walk is almost here (May 8-25, 2010). Stay tuned to Deep Green Conversation for the latest updates from the walk and join in if you in the mid-atlantic area, even for a day.
Join Rev. Mitch Hescox, Ben Lowe, Gretchen Peck, and many others as we walk from Ansted W.V. through the Shanandoah Valley and over to Washington D.C. Join us as we see the rich variety of all that God has made, and see first hand how Americans interact and engage God’s creation.
Each night the group will be stopping at a local congregation to speak about the biblical imperative to care for God’s creation and about what each of us can do to be better stewards of everything the Lord has given us.
Follow this blog regularly from May 8-May 25, 2010 for updates on the days events and for opportunities to become engaged. To join the evening sessions, walk, and follow the route click here.
