In an article in Blue Ridge Outdoors Dane Rauchenberg makes the claim that the “church” of running in the great outdoors may bring him more spiritual wisdom and tolerance than hunkering down in a pew. A critique behind his article is that church may need to rethink the “when” question of church? In addition, How might our worship experiences appeal to those who have active lifestyles, and who find great solace, beauty, and wisdom in the wonders of God’s creation?
Church of Sweat
From Blue Ridge Outdoors
I was raised Catholic. Ironically, I have very little guilt left in me about skipping church these days. I guess my parents did a poor job of raising me in their chosen religion. However, they did instill in me a fantastic amount of faith, which I find far more important, and for that, I thank them. Now, this is not a scathing review of religion (and living in Utah would provide me with ample ammunition for such a discourse) but rather a review of personal faith gained by reaching out to a higher power in a different way.
Having gone on a weekly basis to church growing up, with Sunday school afterward, and weekday classes to further my relationship with God, I have spent many hours sitting in a pew or with those who wished to inform me about what God wanted for me. Going to college and grad school, where Sunday mornings became the one day where I could actually sleep in, signaled the beginning of the end of my regular attendance to church. Running 52 Marathons in 2006 on weekends only was the death knell. However, I now consider myself far more faithful with at least as strong an understanding of a higher power than anyone who can quote a passage from Deuteronomy, let alone spell it. Running brought me this.