South Dakota clergy on the hunt for insights beneath the Black Hills

Deep Science and Dark Mysteries Project confronts intersection of science, theology

South Dakota clergy are teaming up with scientists probing dark matter and God particles beneath the Black Hills to explore where cosmology, physics and theology meet.

The South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) has received a grant to launch the Deep Science and Dark Mysteries Project — a new initiative that will bring ELCA clergy into dialogue with researchers at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead.

“The mysteries of the universe have long captivated both scientists and theologians,” said Rev. Kari Webb, director of digital community and learning at the South Dakota Synod, announcing Friday that the organization’s congregational leaders will use the complex to ponder the most profound scientific questions of the age, including the nature of the universe, the existence of dark matter, and humanity’s place in the cosmos.”

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Vehicle tail lights glow inside the North DUNE Cavern with the Sanford Underground Research Lab in Lead, South Dakota. (Courtesy of SanfordLab.org)