When Sacred Ground Is Treated Like Spoil

A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble

May 19, 2025

“The Lord God took the human and put them in the garden to till it and to keep it.” — Genesis 2:15

body of water across trees and mountain — Photo by Mick Haupt on Unsplash

America’s national parks have long been described as our “best idea.” But for many, they are more than scenic wonders or recreational landmarks. They are places where something spiritual happens—where we are reminded of our place in the larger story, not as masters of creation but as part of its unfolding beauty and complexity.

To walk among redwoods, to sit in the hush of a desert canyon, to hear the chorus of unseen birds at dawn—these are not just experiences in nature. They are spiritual encounters. They remind us that the Earth is not a commodity, but a sanctuary. Something to be revered, not consumed.

That’s why what’s happening now is so painful. The current administration has made no secret of its intentions: a ramp-up of logging and drilling across public lands, the shrinking of national monuments, and the dismantling of the very agencies entrusted to protect these treasures. The so-called “Valentine’s Day massacre” in February 2025 saw over 4,000 dedicated public servants fired from the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service. By May, the administration proposed cutting the Park Service budget by 40%—the most drastic reduction in its 109-year history.1

These aren’t just policy decisions. They are acts of desecration.

In his teachings on the contemplative life, Richard Rohr says the soul must learn to stand in its own field of perception and trust what it sees.2 If we’re paying attention, what we’re seeing now is an intentional erasure of reverence. Land that once belonged to the public—land that told stories older than empire, deeper than industry—is being redefined as raw material for profit.

This isn’t just bad stewardship. It’s a betrayal of one of the oldest spiritual callings we’ve been given: to care for creation.

The very first command in Scripture wasn’t about power or purity. It was about relationship. “The Lord God placed the human in the garden,” Genesis tells us, “to till it and to keep it.” That word keep in Hebrew—shamar—carries the meaning of guarding, tending, watching over with care. It’s the same word used to describe how God keeps watch over Israel. It’s covenantal. Sacred.

When we poison the air with drilling, when we strip-mine forests, when we gut the workforce of those who have given their lives to protecting the land, we are not keeping the garden. We are extracting it for parts.

Thomas Merton once wrote, “There is in all visible things… a hidden wholeness.”3 That wholeness is what we destroy when we treat land as lifeless and labor as expendable. But it’s also what we must recover, both in our politics and in our spirituality.

Our response, then, must be more than outrage. It must be reverence. It must be the reorientation of our hearts back toward belonging and our lives back toward protection.

We must begin again to treat land as sacred ground, not just in national parks, but in our backyards, our neighborhoods, our cities. We must practice what Merton called “a listening presence” toward the Earth—listening for what it needs, what it’s telling us, and how we might be its faithful stewards once more.

We are in this together,

Cameron

Reflection Questions

What land has shaped you—restored you, challenged you, taught you something about God or yourself?
How do you respond when sacred spaces are treated like disposable resources?
What is one way you can practice reverence and protection for the Earth this week?

A Prayer for the Day

A Prayer for the Earth We Were Meant to Keep

Creator of mountains and meadows,
of rivers and redwoods,
You placed us in a garden—not to own, but to belong.

Forgive us for our forgetting.
For trading wonder for greed.
For turning sacred ground into spoil.

We pray for the ones who watch over the forests,
who steward the trails,
who walk the land with care and memory.

Give us courage to protect what remains,
to rebuild what’s been harmed,
and to live as if Earth were our sanctuary—
because it is.

Amen.

Spiritual Practice

A Listening Presence

Find a natural space near you—a park, a patch of trees, a body of water—and go there not to use it, but to be with it. Sit or stand in silence for at least ten minutes. As you quiet your mind, notice what begins to speak: the wind, the birds, the texture of soil, your own breath.

Practice listening—not for meaning, but for presence. Let the land know you see it. Let your stillness be a kind of gratitude.

And as you leave, offer a silent blessing: May this place be kept. May I be one who helps keep it.

Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…

NEW!!! On June 4, 2025, from 7-8pm ET, join Brian McLaren, Matthew Fox, and me for an exploration of “In the Midst of Doom: Facing Our Moment and Finding Our Way” inspired by Brian’s latest book. In an age of climate crisis, political unraveling, and societal collapse, many are asking: What now? What’s worth doing when the systems around us are failing? How do we find meaning beyond hope as we’ve known it? Join us and we will explore together. Register here.

June 4, 2025, 12pm ET - Jeff Chu has written a new book on a topic close to my heart: Soil! The title is “Good Soil: The Education of an Accidental Farmhand.” I am so pleased to be interviewing him. Together, we’ll explore what it means to cultivate “good soil” in our lives, our communities, and our spiritual practices. I hope you will register. Your registration includes a copy of his new book.

July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more.

August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Mark your calendars! More on this soon.

September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.

October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!

I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.