Last month, I traveled to southeastern Minnesota for my fifth annual "Solo State Park Adventure." These short state park trips have become a tradition for me, and a couple years ago I tallied up the number of parks I’d been to and realized the number was high and ever-growing. So, I did what any type-A personality would do: I made it a goal to visit every single state park in the state of Minnesota! There are more than 60 parks, so it is an ambitious goal that will no doubt keep me occupied for several more years. These adventures have brought me to parts of the state that I never would otherwise have visited, and I have enjoyed getting to know just how diverse the Minnesota landscape is. Many Sing For Joy listeners know that I grew up in South Carolina, so as a transplant to the Midwest, this state park goal has helped me to deepen my roots here.
My trip earlier this summer took me to two sites of significance for Indigenous communities throughout the generations. I visited Pipestone National Monument and learned about the sacred use of that special stone to carve ceremonial pipes, and I traveled to Jeffers to see petroglyphs carved centuries ago by Indigenous peoples who used such symbols to tell stories, engage in rituals, and create maps of the area. I happened to visit these sites on July 4th, which invited me to ponder the beauty and pain of the stories that this land holds. It was a remarkable gift to behold such beautiful landscapes as I remembered the generations of stewards who have tended the land, and I give thanks for those who help to protect these natural areas for generations to come.
I was reminded that weekend of the two passages we will hear this month from the epistle of Hebrews. The writer paints a broad picture of what faith looks like — "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" — by reminding the reader of all the generations of people who went before them in the faith. He reminds them of Abraham and Sarah, Samuel and David and the prophets; he reminds them that all these faithful ones followed God, comprising a "great cloud of witnesses" who inspire, encourage, and challenge us in our faith. Just as the land around us has been stewarded by diverse communities for generations, so has the story of our faith. We are surrounded by the witness of those who went before us, and we do well to remember that witness, seeking to honor it in our own time.
As you move through this month, may you seek out the landscapes, stories, and faithful witnesses of those who went before you. You never know what you might find, and you never know how your own contribution might pave the way to a new generation of faithfulness!
