A Splendid Playground For Fitness And Fellowship

[This article originally appeared in the February/March 2010 issue of Faith & Fitness Magazine.]

Back in 2000 I experienced fitness on a level I had never seen before. It cast a vision of what I believe can be a standard practice for exercise, wellness and true social networking in every community. It should be an initiative spawned by churches everywhere. Since the “church” in its simplest form is in fact “you” (not a building or organization)— I hope you’ll catch the vision.

I was traveling in China doing media production. It is a culture much different from mine. On a Sunday evening after arriving to my hotel in Guangzhou, a major city, I decided to take a twenty-minute run through Liuhua Lake Park, a charming city park across the street. It was quiet. I had the sidewalks and trails practically all to myself. Knowing I would have a busy day, I decided I would wake early Monday morning and do another solo run.

THE PARK ‘PLACE’
I was up and at the park before 6 a.m. Only this time the scene was very different. People were running everywhere on the now congested paths. These runners and walkers were just the first people I encountered.

Around every bend I discovered something new. There was an outdoor pool full of people swimming laps and children taking lessons. A small plaza had been converted into a field of ping-pong tables.

On the pristine banks of one lake was one of many groups doing Taiji Quan, a traditional form of Chinese shadow boxing with gentle and slow actions. With the daylight I could see the permanently installed outdoor fitness equipment — now all fully in use. People played badminton, young people were lifting weights and I even found a group of seniors playing hakisak. To finish, there was a tea house in the park to strengthen internal health with fine herbal teas.

I ran further and faster than I had planned trying to keep pace with my racing curiosity for what I would find next. The park I discovered is a place that is nothing short of a splendid playground for a few thousand people to congregate daily and start a new day of life with a unified sense of fellowship and inner worship.

I love to get to state parks and national parks here in the United States. They are in my opinion world class. Honestly though I don’t often get to city parks. Some of those parks offer some great programs, services and facilities. My park experience in Guangzhou certainly stands out in my memory as having a massive number of people all coming together early in the morning to be active. I’d love to see more parks all around the world bustling with such community. What I really want to find are people of faith that have vision to start such an initiative at their local park and lead their community to a new understanding of devotion.

NOW IMAGINE THIS