During the summer Yakama Christian Mission offers weeklong Learning and Serving opportunities that we call SAGE Quest.

Sage is a rather common word on the reservation sage steppe while the word Quest is not.  However, they work well together.  Sage speaks to the wise, perceptive, or clearheaded.  Quest is pilgrimage where uncertainty and risk are bounded by sacred.

Pilgrimage, Phil Cousineau notes, “is an ancient tradition of the transformative journey to a sacred place.”  Sage and quest come together to speak to the artful experience of seeking wisdom.

The “serving” component of the weeklong experience is to have folk engage in hands on work that will directly engage injustice felt on the reservation.  This work is specific to the needs that have arisen in the last year, so the work changes from year to year.  As of early fall 2016, it appears work of 2017 will center on building a greenhouse, planting two-acres of vegetables, weeding, harvesting, and delivering vegetables to three reservation foodbanks and the reservation homeless shelter.  Additional work may be with Yakama Nation wildlife, working on elderly homes and property, and enhancing the White Swan community park.

The “learning” component typically engages issues of injustice found on the reservation or “off”-reservation justice issues that affect the landscape of the reservation.  Over the course of the week, the issues often engaged are: Economic injustice, Racial injustice, Cultural injustice, Ecology injustice.

Spring and summer opportunities often fill during the fall season.  If your group might be interested in visiting the reservation in the spring of summer of 2017, please contact us!

Though these are week long experiences, we are open to shorter stays when not booked.

Take a look at our TYPICAL WEEK (Folk arrive Saturday evening and leave Thursday around noon.).  Our goal is to allow appropriate time for self and/or group-reflection time. We want your experience to edge closer to a pilgrimage than a worktrip!
Have a few Questions? Visit our FAQ page.
Are ready to spend a week?  Go to REGISTRATION to set up a stay.

Registered? If a curriculum is helpful for your group you will find one for six gatherings click Curriculum 2014.