And God Saw That
It Was Good

A Spirituality Course Accompanying Ken Burns's film The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

Join us for the launch of an exciting new four-session, self-guided offering from the Center for Spirituality in Nature: And God Saw That It Was Good: A Spirituality Course Accompanying Ken Burns’s film The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Whether you are visiting the national parks this summer, or are loving them from afar, this program will enhance your understanding and enjoyment.

OVERVIEW

Bonus Session
May 7th at 7pm!

Program Author Beth Norcross and Creation Justice Ministries Co-Executive Director, Avery Davis Lamb, will hold a special virtual session for participants registered by May 7th to introduce the study guides and themes of exploring our rootedness in the natural world.

Over four sessions, this self-paced online program will offer written study guides supported by stunning video clips of the national parks from Ken Burns's popular film. The step-by-step guide can be used by both group leaders and individuals to explore how the national parks can teach us about our relationship with both Divine Mystery and Earth.

Session 1 will introduce the series with a discussion of how and why the national parks were created and how time in the parks can bring us back to our own rootedness in the natural world.

Session 2 discusses how the Divine Mystery seems so present to us in the national parks, and in nature more generally.

Session 3 reflects on the human impact – positively and negatively – on the national parks and on Earth.

Session 4 traces how the National Park System moved beyond being solely a recreation ground for humans to a broader mission of preserving natural systems. It explores how we might expand our vision of the Divine presence to include the non-human along with the human.

Each session can be completed in as little as an hour, but you might want to linger over these beautiful images and thought-provoking material.

REGISTER

This program is offered as an online course in four parts with easy access to the written study guides and accompanying film clips. It is entirely self-paced. All materials will be become available May 7, 2024 and be available on-demand after that date.

FOR INDIVIDUALS

FOR GROUP LEADERS

BACKGROUND

The program was originally prepared, with help from Earth Ministry, to be used in churches and Sunday schools, and therefore includes many references to God and Scripture. We believe that the material has universal relevance and can easily be adapted to be used by people and communities of all faiths or no-faith.

Enjoy this extended film trailer from PBS. Our program uses clips from throughout the series.

WITH THANKS

We are incredibly grateful to Ken Burns and Florentine Films for the use of the breathtaking film clips from this important film. The Center for Spirituality in Nature is not affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, endorsed by, or in any way officially connected with Florentine Films, Ken Burns, PBS or any public television station.

YOUR GUIDE

Beth Norcross is educated in forestry, eco-theology and spirituality and is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Spirituality in Nature. She speaks, writes and leads numerous programs that offer spiritual guidance for developing deep, sustained, loving relationships with nature.

Beth has developed a number of educational resources in addition to this one, including the popular six-week video series: The Spiritual Wisdom of Trees (with Leah Rampy). She also wrote our two popular spiritual guides: Inside Out: Practices for Going Deeper in Nature and Start SINGing: How to Form Your Own Spirituality in Nature Group.

Guides