Sacred Trails: Where do you find God?

Where do you find God?

This is a question we ask on the Faith to Go podcast each week. It is an opportunity to reflect on the week that has passed and consider the places where we felt God’s presence or sometimes felt its absence in our lives—a consolation or a desolation. We ask it when we have guests on the show and encourage listeners to reflect on it at home. Quite often, the responses include a reflection on being out in nature.

God’s creation is a place where it is easier to quiet our churning thoughts and listen to the wind, the birds, a stream that flows nearby – to be present to the presence of God.

This April 27th, you are invited to step away from the business of life and step onto a trail, a Sacred Trail. In partnership with the Creation Care Community, The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego has four hikes heading out that day. They are in different regions, at different times, and with varying degrees of difficulty. There just might be something for everyone. All of them include a prayer practice; several include a Eucharist.

Choosing to tread lightly on these Sacred Trails is a way to recenter yourself, to set time apart to experience God in God’s glory. It is also an opportunity to share that experience with those you hold most dear, including those who aren’t connected to the Episcopal Church. It can feel daunting to accept an invitation to church, a place where you may not know the prayers or the liturgy or understand the Episcopal words that we use to describe our buildings and the location of coffee hour.

It is much easier to access words like dirt and breeze, mountain and valley, wildflower and cactus – words that paint vivid pictures and bring familiar memories. A natural step in deepening your own discipleship and strengthening your evangelism muscle.

Consider this my personal invitation—an opportunity to answer the question, “Where have you seen God this week?” with a renewed spirit.

An opportunity to walk on Sacred Trails.

Click here to register for Sacred Trails!

Join us on April 27th:

• 8:30 A.M. Iron Mountain, Poway – Difficulty Moderate/Hard – Distance 6 miles – Hike Leader: The Reverend Hannah Wilder
• 9:00 A.M. Mission Trails Regional Park, Oak Canyon to Grasslands Trail – Difficulty Moderate – Distance 4 miles – Hike Leader: Charlette Preslar
• 11:00 A.M. Guagome Regional Park, Oceanside – Difficulty Easy – Distance under 3 miles – Hike Leader: The Reverend Brian Peterson
• 2:30 P.M. San Dieguito County Park in Solana Beach/Del Mar – Difficulty Easy – Distance under 3 miles – Walk Leader: The Reverend Brynn Craffey