Geographies of Faith – Colleen Earp

“You shall not defile the land in which you live, in which I also dwell…” –Number 35:34

I have always been one who connects best with faith through witnessing the incredible details of creation. I grew up by the ocean in New Jersey, with trillions of unique grains of sand between my toes and the endless strength of the waves available to watch, listen to, and play in. What high school student voluntarily wakes up before dawn? I did, to catch the sunrise on the beach frequently. All seasons, all hours, I appreciated the seemingly endless stretch of sand, sea, and sky.

As if that wasn’t blessing enough, I have been very fortunate to find many reasons and means to travel to other places in my life—in high school, annual mission trips all around the United States; in college, up and down the east coast to visit classmates on breaks as well as my first trip abroad to the United Kingdom; after college, across Canada through lakes, plains, and mountains; a research trip to Mexico; a mission trip to Malawi; a mission year in Southern Louisiana. In all of these places I get excited about seeing different aspects of creation, from the muddy flats and diverse wetlands south of New Orleans, to the high, rocky plateaus outside of Blantyre, to the bright and bustling cities in Quintana Roo, to the glorious glacier-tipped peaks of the Rockies in Alberta.

My focus on the intricacies of the environment was exacerbated by majoring in geography in college. I learned a lot about this concept of place that didn’t really sink in until I was forced to face its converse concept of placelessness. This is when the uniqueness of a place is disrupted by making it all look like anywhere else, removing the personal and sentimental relationship people might have with a place. The concept is usually illustrated by development: the same half-dozen fast food chains and the same half-dozen department store chains repeat themselves endlessly along paved highways, making one locale nearly indistinguishable from the next.

It’s not just developed spaces that demonstrate this placelessness. As roadways become littered, as streams become polluted, as animals have their habitats destroyed, as monocultures take over the landscape, it’s hard to differentiate these places from one another as well. Complex ecosystems become overwhelmed by contamination and cease to function as they were created to. We as humans are reducing these lovely and intricate communities into a system of commodities.

And yet, in these most placeless of places, I find my faith the strongest. I know God is dwelling there, hidden amongst the hurting environments. God may be very present when the skies burst into amazing colors as the sun comes up again over the Atlantic Ocean, but God is also most certainly present in the damaged places that we might not even recognize anymore. My faith is strengthened by a clear call to action not just to admire these places, but to protect them, to help heal them, and to share this environmental gospel with others.

Those who know me well often joke about how unattached I am to any given place. I really, truly love where I grew up, but I also love where I went to college, and the six different zip codes I’ve dwelled in since, and the many other places that I’ve enjoyed shorter visits to in between. I’m constantly on the go and always looking for another beautiful adventure. Perhaps rather than thinking about my faith’s connection to a certain place, it is more connected to the concept of place—this idea that places are precious and different parts of a greater community, and should be cared for in order to remain so. God created me as one small part of this intricate and ongoing community, but instead of finding that intimidating, I find that empowering. Everywhere I go is a part of this incredible kingdom. Every place is God’s. As I continue to wander, I only get more excited about being part of this greater community, part of God’s ongoing and amazing creation.

Colleen Earp is a geographer and Young Adult Volunteer alum who is excited about natural resource conservation and education. She is currently serving the Presbytery of the James as Director of Youth, Environmental, and Service Ministries at Camp Hanover. Colleen lives in Richmond, VA.