We just got back from our family vacation to Yosemite National Park in California -- wow! Four things impressed me most. 1. The weather is perfect everyday. They don't even bother checking the forecast. 2. The mountains and giant sequoias are so massive that a person feels truly humbled. As my daughter said, "Thank you, God, for glaciers and tectonic plates." 3. Fully half the visitors there were from other countries. Our national parks are not only a treasure for Americans, they provide an incomparable pleasure ground for the world. 4. That this nature sanctuary was established at a time of great national turmoil.
It was 1864, and Gen. U.S. Grant was preparing for an assault on Richmond. President Lincoln and legislators were caught up in the agony of the Civil War. And yet . . . in the midst of all of this, Senator Conness from California introduced legislation to set aside a certain portion of the Sierra Nevada as a Land Grant to be used for public recreation forever.
What were the chances of success? None of the senators or representatives had ever been to Yosemite; it took months of hard travel to get there from Washington. All they had seen were a few photos and paintings of the mountains, streams and falls. This would be the first public wilderness park established anywhere in the world. There were more pressing issues on the legislative docket, and yet the Yosemite Land Grant passed after just a few minutes of discussion.
Only later was the territory actually surveyed, and then tirelessly promoted by naturalist John Muir and landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. In the 20th century, photographer Ansel Adams would become a fierce advocate for Yosemite and other parks. Thank God for their foresight. Though they faced many competing claims, they never stopped thinking about tomorrow.
At First United, we owe so much to the legacy of forward-thinking leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries. Several months ago, we began an initiative to promote planned giving, in order to preserve the legacy of our building and provide renewal for ministries of the future. An estate gift can make a huge difference in a church's mission. Most of us get so caught up in the problems of each day that we don't consider the needs of coming generations. We forget that we too will leave a legacy . . . as long as we don't stop thinking about tomorrow.
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