A guy was using the eagle on the top of the flag pole to move the “Love” banner from the front of the sanctuary to a wall off to the side. The banner covers the cross when the chapel isn’t being used as by Yosemite Valley Community Church -- when the chapel is used instead as a public building that’s part of Yosemite National Park. Since I John 4:8 says “God is love,” it seems to me that the banner can be used as a Christian religious symbol, too, but rules are rules…
We’d been looking forward to attending a service at Yosemite Valley Chapel for some time, but driving there takes a little over two hours. We were glad to find a time to visit. During the winter months, the church has only one Sunday morning service, but during the busy summer months, the chapel hosts two (at 9:15 & 11:00 am), the opposite of many churches, where attendance is low in the summer due to vacations (leading to those churches having one service in summer and two the rest of the year). The building is also a popular location for weddings. (We have friends who were married there, which is how Mindy first learned about the chapel. Hi Ken! Hi Michelle!)
We also looked forward to attending a service officiated by Pastor Brent Moore, but that wasn’t to be. His wife recently had surgery, so he had asked some of the ACMNP team (A Christian Ministry in the National Parks) serving in Yosemite Valley to lead worship. From Memorial Day through Labor Day, ACMNP sends college and seminary students to national parks where they work for the various concessionaires in the park during the week and lead worship services on Sundays. The ministry works in cooperation with the National Park system, but receives no government funding. Caroline from Tulsa, Garrett from Dallas, and Anthony from Dallas teamed to lead the music (a cappella), readings, and prayer.
Caroline's sermon was based on parts of 2 Chronicles 33. It was a Father’s Day message on the importance of setting a good example (using King Manasseh as a negative example and her own father as a positive example). Her father, a teacher, participated in the recent teacher’s walkout in Oklahoma, a two-week strike for an increase in educational funding. She assured us this was a necessary measure no teacher wanted, but set a positive example for students.
She noted that at times, all of us fail to act when we should. We don't stand up to bullies, we let racist or sexist remarks go by, we avoid homeless peoples' eyes. When we fail in these things, we fail to set a good example for those around us.
I was able to talk to Caroline after the service. She’s working toward a masters degree focusing on theological perspectives on environmental issues -- Yosemite would be a good place to contemplate such issues.
The service was brief, and as we left, we realized we had time to get to the 10:00 am Mass in the theater of the park’s Visitors' Center. It took some quick walking, but we made it.
There wasn’t a cross on the wall at Our Lady of the Snows (the room is primarily a theater, so there was a movie screen instead). A crucifix stood in the center of the front, with a table functioning as an altar and another table functioning as a lectern. Near the entrance, a larger table held paperback missals (a book with readings, songs, and other worship elements to guide worshipers through the Mass).
Father Matthew O’Donnell, a pastor from All Saints University Parish in Turlock, California, led the service. He was the official Yosemite chaplain for the week -- Our Lady of the Snows is the Catholic congregation of the Yosemite Valley but, as a mission congregation, it doesn’t have a full time priest. Priests are recruited to spend a week in one of the most beautiful places on earth while staying in the church’s rectory in the park. Father O’Donnell described it as a great gig that allows him to go on hikes and swim in the Merced River every day.
What he appreciated about being in Yosemite, he encouraged others to appreciate: the opportunity to allow God to touch their hearts through beauty. He encouraged people to leave their worries and trouble at home -- “they’ll still be there when you get back” -- and enjoy time with family and appreciate the wonders of God’s creation. He said the beauty around us is a way God says, “I’ve got this.”
Two of the Scripture readings for the day (not chosen by Father O’Donnell -- read in most Catholic churches that day), Ezekiel 17 and Psalm 92, spoke of the cedars. We thought about those cedars later as we hiked past trees in the park. Even Mark 4, the Gospel reading for the day (the parable of the seed growing) reminded us of the work of the Great Planter.
People often say, “I don’t go to church, I go out in nature to worship God.” Speaking for myself, I’d say appreciate God’s creation even more after time in church with His people, learning about Him in His Word. Have you ever appreciated a book more after you’ve learned about the author? It’s like that.
As a lover of books, I have to say Yosemite National Park is better than any book I’ve ever read. Well, better than any book except one.
The service was brief, and as we left, we realized we had time to get to the 10:00 am Mass in the theater of the park’s Visitors' Center. It took some quick walking, but we made it.
People often say, “I don’t go to church, I go out in nature to worship God.” Speaking for myself, I’d say appreciate God’s creation even more after time in church with His people, learning about Him in His Word. Have you ever appreciated a book more after you’ve learned about the author? It’s like that.
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