Peter Boogaart, Caring for Creation Coordinator
The challenge is over and the challenge was met. Thanks and congratulations to each of you who participated in our Ottawa County Parks Challenge. Maybe you were one of those who trekked through knee deep snow at Burr Oak Landing or endured blazing heat at North Beach Park. Maybe you simply enjoyed the historical connections at Eastmanville Farm or the wildflowers at Tunnel Park. You probably didn’t get to all the parks. As far as we know, nobody did. But that isn’t the point. What counts is that you were outdoors enjoying nature and the parks. Author Richard Louv likes to point out that being in nature is an essential component in personal and spiritual development. We hope that you discovered that to be true.
Children participated by filling in a bingo card which recorded the parks they visited. Each child received a final “Parks Explorer” certificate along with a nature bookmark and magnifying glass from the gift shop at Hemlock Crossing. Ariana and Haleigh Smith won special prizes as the children who visited the most parks. Congratulations to the Karen and Mark Pearson family; they won a special prize as the family attending the most parks. Be sure to check out the Hope Church Facebook page for pictures from many of these outings.
Early next year, the Caring for Creation ministry will be looking for families that want to work together at making their homes more energy efficient. We’ll be going “off the grid” – at least in programming terms – and scheduling meeting times outside the traditional Adult Education format. We’re going to look for the changes that each of us can make in our own individual homes and then support each other in following through. More information will be coming in early 2014.