What if people standing on some of God’s most beautiful places on earth could see them as sacred. The new app, Sacred Ground, makes that hope possible. Premiering in Sonoma County, California, the app also has potential for helping visitors in other places recognize the sacred worth of the ground upon which they are standing.
Live now as of August, 2023, Sacred Ground connects visitors to 17 of Sonoma County’s beautiful scenic vistas, parks, and trails. Each location on the audio tour includes—
information on local challenges related to climate change,
a land acknowledgment,
an invitation to a faithful action we all can take to preserve and restore fragile ecosystems,
and a mindful spiritual practice.
To experience the app, check out this 8-minute promotional video on the Sacred Ground YouTube channel.
The Sacred Ground project received initial funding from a grant by the Los Rios District Union of the California-Nevada Annual Conference. The developer, Rev. Laurie Bayen of Windsor of Community United Methodist Church, enlisted a number of nature-loving church members, neighbors, and colleagues to collaborate on research, writing, photography, and recording of audio narrations for the project. Now that the app is launched, she hopes to engage local, mission-aligned organizations in sponsorship and publicity, so that this form of “church without walls” might reach a wider audience.
Rev. Bayen would also like to expand the Sacred Ground project to include beautiful places in other regions, so if you’d like to help bring this app to your community, contact her at pastorlaurieumc@gmail.com.
Powering the Sacred Ground app is Otocast, a GPS-activated audio guide that can be downloaded for free for use on Apple or Android devices. To access the app on your smartphone, search for “Otocast” on the App Store or Google Play. Once the app is downloaded, if you are located in or near Sonoma County, “Sacred Ground” should appear at or near the top—or scroll down the alphabetical list to find Sonoma County, California, click on “Sacred Ground,” and start exploring!
If you don’t have a smartphone, click here. This version of the guide works in a web browser. You can even use it with your phone in “airplane mode” or places where cell phone service is spotty, as it pre-loads all images, text, and audio.
Rev. Laurie Bayen is currently serving as pastor at Windsor Community United Methodist Church in Sonoma County, California. She has a passion for music, prayer, and the use of projected imagery in worship, as well as connecting with the divine in nature.