“I didn’t know this place even existed!” said one of the youth in our church’s fellowship group as we hiked the hillside west of the church Wednesday evening. It wasn’t a large expedition, just a quick walk up to a natural amphitheater that is nestled in the hills above our church. Rapid City is a unique place because of the way the hills weave their way through the heart of the city. A block away from our church, which is nestled in an urban residential neighborhood, there are undeveloped hills filled with deer, turkeys and even an occasional mountain lion. A couple of convenient trails lead up from the city to the skyline where there are commanding views of the plains and badlands to the east and the hills to the west. Last evening was a great time for a short hike, with the full moon rising and the air clear and warm. A gentle breeze was sufficient to keep us from getting too hot on the steep climb.

With parents who were pilots, I was born traveling. I can’t remember my first ride in an airplane. It was something that we always did. Family vacations took us to Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Chicago. When my father was moderator of the Montana Conference, he visited every congregation in the conference in a year and most of the visits were family trips. It wasn’t unusual to us to travel 250 miles to attend church and then get in the airplane and travel the same distance home.

As an adult, I have had the luxury of frequent travel and have been able to visit many distant locations. Summers have usually involved quite a bit of travel. I have attended many General Synods of the United Church of Christ in places such as Tampa, Hartford, Grand Rapids and other cities.

So the summer of 2013 was a bit different for me. For the most part we stayed home. We did take one trip to attend a family funeral in North Dakota and we had a wonderful vacation trip to the West Coast, but there were almost no trips for church meetings. I didn’t attend General Synod this year and didn’t even have a church meeting in Chamberlain or Sioux Falls during the summer.

One of the joys of the summer was the ability to go many times to the same place and see the subtle changes and nuances that occasional tourists miss. I have watched nearly 30 sunrises from the surface of Sheridan Lake this summer, sitting in hand-built canoes, kayaks and a rowboat I made. I have watched the birds and animals enough to be able to identify a specific beaver or great blue heron on different days. And there has been a bit more time to simply walk in our own back yard. It doesn’t take a major trip to be immersed in the beauty of the natural world. And, when you live where we do, it doesn’t take a lot of time. In less than ten minutes of walking from my home or from the church I can be in the midst of un-peopled nature.

But we often don’t take the time to look at what is near at hand. The youth who “didn’t know this place existed,” has lived in Rapid City all of his life. He is a fourth-generation child of our church. I officiated at his baptism. I laid my hands on him at his confirmation. He knows well where our church is located. But until last night, he didn’t know what the hillside behind the church was like. He is an outdoors kid. He has always loved being outdoors, observing the birds and animals, hiking and exploring. This summer he traveled to Alaska with his grandmother and the trip was one of the high points of his life. The excitement is still in his voice when he shows his pictures and tells the stories of seeing grizzlies, catching salmon and visiting remote places. But before last night he had never hiked the trails right next to the church. It was such a delight to be able to share the evening with him.

We didn’t have much time for our little walk. The light was fading and we needed to get back down the steep part of the trail before it got too dark to see where our feet were falling. Soon we were back in the church, sharing a snack and reporting on the adventures of the summer. The youth placed stars on a map to show the places they had visited during the summer and talked about their travels.

Susan had prepared a brief devotion for the group and asked how you know where you are in this world. The youth reflected on the knowledge that God is nearby even when you travel to a distant location. One youth observed that when you are feeling homesick it is good to remember that God is with you. I observed that that knowledge was a major breakthrough in our people’s understanding of God. The stories of Abraham and Sarah in our Bible tell of a major theological transition when our people discovered that God was present in every place and traveled with those who journey. Susan concluded the meditation by using the letters GPS as ways of finding ourselves in the world. Instead of using an electronic device with connections to a network of satellites, a faith GPS focuses attention on God, Prayer and Service. A person engaged with God, prayer and service is never lost in this life.

Outside of a few pictures taken with cell phones, the evening was free from electronic devices. We didn’t have any amazing high-powered program or a blast of rock music to attract a crowd of teens. Instead we offered a gentle walk in a nearby location and a fresh perspective on an age-old truth. Sharing the faith from generation to generation is much more presence than program – more who we are than what we do.

And with the guidance of our GPS, we continue to chart a course into the future.

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