Written by Rev. Marlene Urban-Funk, Associate Director of Cal-Pac Retreat Ministries
Pictures provided by Rev. Urban-Funk and Cal-Pac Communications
On May 14 – 16, 2026 eight people from across the Cal-Pac Conference gathered in the Owens Valley, home to Big Pine and Bishop UMCs for a retreat to experience the abundance of Earth’s goodness. Guided and inspired by the book The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, written by Robin Wall Kimmerer, our retreat was replete with abundance and was inspired by the extraordinary landscapes of creation found in the Eastern Sierras and the Owens Valley.
Many of us began the retreat by carpooling together from Mariposa Retreat Center in South Pasadena to Big Pine, CA. We met our fellow retreat participants and our gracious pastor-host, Rev. Dr. Kate Hunter at the Bristlecone Motel at the base of the Sierras.
Our first order of business was to visit the Farmers Market that FUMC Bishop hosts every other Thursday. After some great live music, some tasty local honey, and some outlandish locally-roasted coffee beans, we were led to a room where we were inspired by the story of Eastern Sierra Farm Fresh. We heard a member of FUMC Bishop talk about how he joined forces with a former Bon Appetit magazine editor and her husband to form a 501(c)(3) that gleans from over 50 homes in the Owens Valley area, as well as from the Manzanar National Historic Site. From the farmers’ market, we took the mile trek in our cars to visit Bishop’s amazing community garden. For the final touch, we were given a tour of the Psalm 8 Wormery housed at Bishop UMC. A project that has enlivened the Owens Valley community and provided purpose and valuable income to the East Sierra UMC congregations. ($10,000 plus in income last year alone!)The abundance and reciprocity of this community and the United Methodist presence was palpable!
Robin Wall Kimmerer, in her most recent book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World says that “All flourishing is mutual.” She convincingly explains that “enumerating the gifts you’ve received creates a sense of abundance, the knowing that you already have what you need. Recognizing ‘enoughness’ is a radical act in an economy that is always urging us to consume more.”
Using this book as our inspiration we worshipped, explored, conversed, and relished in the wisdom of a gift economy; an economy that does not hold scarcity as its main driver, but rather abundance; abundance and reciprocity.
On Friday, we had the most exceptional breakfast harvested from the local eggs, locally butchered bacon and locally baked breads of the Owens Valley community. A bonus was the strawberry-rhubarb pastry cooked with the rhubarb from the farmer’s market. Our delicious breakfast was graciously prepared by our host Kate Hunter and our eco-justice rep Katie Donaldson in Kate’s newly remodeled parsonage.
From there we selected an excursion to Mono Lake (About Mono Lake). This lake has been used to source the water for Los Angeles, some 300 miles south. That is a whole story that you should definitely research! (Check out this documentary: The Longest Straw – https://youtu.be/JU75VIaz1Yw?si=ZSFUP4tl4z8sqQ0n ).
After a delightful sack lunch and short walk to the Mono Lake Tufas, we climbed back in the cars to head back to Big Pine by way of June Lake (June Lake | Visit June Lake Loop ) and Convict Lake (Home – Convict Lake Resort). Our day concluded with some famous BBQ (Copper Top BBQ Order Online for Shipping or In House Pickup | Copper Top BBQ), a contemplative watercolor activity at the gracious, gorgeous, and historic Big Pine UMC. We finished the day with a closing worship time with photo reflections from our day together.
Saturday held another amazing home-cooked breakfast, a tour of the historic Bishop UMC, a trip to Schat’s Bakery, and a fabulous lunch/love-feast at the park, complete with a Honey Communion service. (See link to resource below)
Robin Wall Kimmerer, as a member of the Potawatomi nation and as a PHD Botanist, makes a beautifully compelling argument that abundance and reciprocity can be the guiding principles of our lives together as human and more-than-human kin on this precious planet. She expresses that a gift economy can be both enlivening and sustaining for our planet. The joy that she exposes us to in her book The Serviceberry was a joy that our retreat participants experienced in real time. And it was delightful!
Our sincere gratitude to Rev. Dr. Kate Hunter, Big Pine and Bishop UMC (Home | Esierraumc), East Sierra Farm Fresh (ESFF), Psalm 8 Wormery (Psalm 8 Worms | Esierraumc) and the whole community of the Owens Valley! Also thank you to The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement (UMC Creation Justice | Growing a Creation Justice Movement in the UMC) who created an amazing resource based on the book The Serviceberry: The-Serviceberry-final.pdf. This 4-week free worship resource was an amazing tool for our retreat preparation and is free to any congregation wishing to explore the abundance of creation. We highly recommend Robin Wall Kimmerer’s books: Books — Robin Wall Kimmerer. Her children’s book: Bud Finds Her Gift was particularly lovely. All of her books are exceptional!
Cal-Pac Retreat Ministries hopes to host another Abundance & Reciprocity Retreat in the future. Contact us if you are interested: murbanfunk@calpacumc.org.
