Woodland spirit

The Reverend Stephen Butler Murray, Skidmore’s new chaplain, joins forces with biologist Sue Van Hook to open a “spirit in nature” meditation path on campus. The quarter-mile walking trail begins in the North Woods directly behind Wilson Chapel, crosses a small creek, and loops around a “sacred circle rock”—a large boulder of smooth, cool gray subtly clothed in silver-green lichens. A few quotations on nature and religion are posted along the way, but the overarching ideology is most eloquently expressed by oaks, maples, and beeches, small wildflowers, and the occasional woodpecker or warbler. The path, says Van Hook, “provides a sacred landscape where members of the Skidmore community may enjoy solitude and peace.” —SR