We have a long-time friend who lives in Loveland, Colorado, a pleasant community with ready access to a variety of experiences of the outdoors. We have visited several times and loved driving up to Rocky Mountain National Park, just over an hour away from Loveland. That area of Colorado is currently affected by wildfires, some of the largest in the history of the state, including one named East Troublesome. Estes Park, which is a mountain town at the edge of the park, has been evacuated because of the proximity of one these fires.
Nearby is Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center, a beautiful spot which our friend recommended we visit. Years ago Ruth and I attended an excellent continuing education event sponsored by the Presbyterians for Earth Care with an excellent roster of speakers, including one of my favourite theologians, Dr. William Brown. His term "groundlings" to describe the first-formed humans of Genesis was the inspiration for the title of this Groundling blog.
I wonder how Highlands is faring in the midst of this calamity? I am reluctant to describe what is transpiring as a natural disaster because the scope and intensity of these fires has been amplified by the human-made (groundling-made?) climate emergency. It's location in the midst of incredible beauty makes it vulnerable to fire.
We have acted as though God's Earth is too big to fail, to our peril. Let's hope and pray, groundlings, that we'll awaken to the threat posed to a groaning Creation and act.
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