I hear this over and over from different people -- that they feel most connected to something "bigger than themselves" when they're in a forest, by a lake or river, on a mountain. Someplace where they can touch and be touched by Nature. These places and moments evoke a sense of the sacred; a sense of something holy; some eternal wisdom we hear in the whisperings and songs of the more-than-human world.
That is my experience, too.
Often it's an experience we have in solitude -- without human companions -- just us and Nature. I wonder what it's like to gather with other people, to explore and celebrate this sense of the sacred in Nature together? This is an ancient way of gathering -- and I wonder if there is a new way we might re-create for our times?
I invite you to join me and other kindred spirits, at a series of "Forest Church" gatherings and celebrations, to explore this together.
Just a bunch of perfectly imperfect human beings, gathering by the riverside or in a clearing in the forest, listening to the call to remember who we are...to find our way home...and perhaps find our way forward.
These gatherings are being hosted in partnership with three United Churches in Ottawa (First UC, Kitchissippi UC and Kanata UC), but are not exclusively based on Christian theology. They draw from a wide tradition of philosophers, poets, songwriters, theologians --- and mostly, they draw on the teachings of the more-than-human world. This is not forest therapy. It does share a lot with the practice of forest therapy, and parts of that practice can offer a starting point for further exploration and reflection together, but I'm not wearing my Forest Therapy Guide hat for this initiative.
Upcoming Gathering:
Cosmic Creation Walk: Our Connection to All That Was and Is
Sunday, September 22, 11 am -- 12:15 pm
Meet at the labyrinth in front of First United Church/All Saints Anglican, 347 Richmond Rd., Ottawa
Come walk a pathway through the neighbourhood that traces the journey of the universe through time – from the Mystery of the beginning, to the birth of stars and elements, to Earth's formation, the first stirrings of life, the arrival of humans, and to today. We'll pause and hear words of poetry and science and mark milestones on this remarkable journey of life. Wear your walking shoes and dress for the weather!
“Everything in the universe is genetically cousin to everything else. There is literally one family, one bonding, in the universe, because everything is descended from the same source.”
– Thomas Berry, who called himself a "Geologian"
That is my experience, too.
Often it's an experience we have in solitude -- without human companions -- just us and Nature. I wonder what it's like to gather with other people, to explore and celebrate this sense of the sacred in Nature together? This is an ancient way of gathering -- and I wonder if there is a new way we might re-create for our times?
I invite you to join me and other kindred spirits, at a series of "Forest Church" gatherings and celebrations, to explore this together.
Just a bunch of perfectly imperfect human beings, gathering by the riverside or in a clearing in the forest, listening to the call to remember who we are...to find our way home...and perhaps find our way forward.
These gatherings are being hosted in partnership with three United Churches in Ottawa (First UC, Kitchissippi UC and Kanata UC), but are not exclusively based on Christian theology. They draw from a wide tradition of philosophers, poets, songwriters, theologians --- and mostly, they draw on the teachings of the more-than-human world. This is not forest therapy. It does share a lot with the practice of forest therapy, and parts of that practice can offer a starting point for further exploration and reflection together, but I'm not wearing my Forest Therapy Guide hat for this initiative.
Upcoming Gathering:
Cosmic Creation Walk: Our Connection to All That Was and Is
Sunday, September 22, 11 am -- 12:15 pm
Meet at the labyrinth in front of First United Church/All Saints Anglican, 347 Richmond Rd., Ottawa
Come walk a pathway through the neighbourhood that traces the journey of the universe through time – from the Mystery of the beginning, to the birth of stars and elements, to Earth's formation, the first stirrings of life, the arrival of humans, and to today. We'll pause and hear words of poetry and science and mark milestones on this remarkable journey of life. Wear your walking shoes and dress for the weather!
“Everything in the universe is genetically cousin to everything else. There is literally one family, one bonding, in the universe, because everything is descended from the same source.”
– Thomas Berry, who called himself a "Geologian"