From the pages of Issue 3: Revival

By Jennifer Gurecki | @yogurecki

Organized religion has never been my jam. I attended Sunday School only once when I was being cared for by dear family friends when my brother was born. My babysitter in elementary school was Mormon and my neighbors would gift me a Mormon bible every year for my birthday (I think they were trying to tell me something). I was raised in an agnostic household, and my spiritual-free childhood is likely due to the resting bitch face that my grandma Alice donned at my parents’ wedding. My mother was raised Jewish and my father Catholic, and no one was happy that they chose not to marry within their faith (along with my father’s inability to complete a sentence without dropping at least one four-letter word). So they said fuck it and we celebrated holidays like Christmas and Easter for the food and presents and festive decorations.

So you might wonder how we landed on Revival, a word laden with religious connotations, as the theme of Issue 3.

Revive is the translation of chayah and means “to live” or “cause to live.” It’s the restoration to life (Genesis 45:27; Judges 15:19, etc.), of rebuilding (Nehemiah 4:2), of restoration to well-being (Psalms 85:6). I, like many of you, am revived when I spend time in nature. I become grounded, strengthened, and connected to something bigger than myself. Perhaps that’s why “going to church” has taken on a new meaning on those Sunday mornings when we choose to worship and revel in the wonders of our natural world.

Inside this issue, we’ve curated stories about the people who share spiritual experiences similar to my own. They are breathing new life into the outdoors. Their experiences in nature are ones of endurance, strength, spirituality, and revitalization. The existence of Sisu Magazine is also a revival of sorts—we’re hoping to resurrect print into a tactile, analog experience that requires us to slow down and soak it all in.

You also might notice that we are partnering with Merrell in Issue 3, and we can’t thank them enough for helping to bring this issue to life. Gone are the days of static, glossy print ads that act like hard stops in what should be a flow. We’re grateful that they understand our vision at Sisu Magazine and that they’ve chosen to support us and so many other people who are trying to create more inclusive and relevant outdoor experiences. We are excited to engage with the brands and the people behind them who are making a difference and living their values, and we hope you are too.