Nature's temples

No wonder the hills and groves were God's first temples, and the more they are cut down and hewn into cathedrals and churches, the farther off and dimmer seems the Lord himself. — 19th century explorer John Muir

For all of the current "culture wars" over the place of God and faith in the public sphere, nature still provides a silent refuge for the soul.

And while many find their own forms of personal meditation in hiking, climbing, fishing or mountain biking, others still seek out a community of believers in their quest for the divine — especially in the national parks, where grandeur and solitude can draw out the seeker in unconventional worship.

While the spiritual draw to mountain peaks and Mother Earth is grounded in biblical accounts and American Indian lore, government oversight of America's national treasures leaves the role of worship there to individual believers or those with "special permits," though chapels are found inside Yellowstone, Yosemite and Grand Teton National Parks.

Daven Hafey, general ranger at Yellowstone, said both Catholic leaders and a national Christian ministry hold worship services in the Mammoth Hot Springs chapel, built more than 100 years ago by the U.S. Army sent there to help guard the park and now owned by the National Park Service. Special permits to use the chapel are free of charge, and services are offered each weekend from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Other services sponsored by a variety of faith traditions including Catholics and Latter-day Saints are held in outdoor amphitheaters and lodges within the park during the high tourist season, he said.

Hafey said he doesn't know how many people attend because the Park Service doesn't get involved.

The Rev. Bill Young, the area's self-identified "resident minister" and representative for the national Christian Ministry in the National Parks, said that program recruits seminarians and college students to conduct worship and fellowship for both visitors and employees alike in 65 national parks nationwide, including services at the Mammoth chapel.

The part-time ministers work at secular jobs within the parks, and help provide worship services on the weekends. Some 50 mostly Protestant denominations that run the theological spectrum from Anglican to Assemblies of God participate in the program, as does the Catholic Church. Hymns, scriptural reading and prayers are offered, but no communion services are provided, he said, noting worshippers are usually partial to their own form of observance.