This is a photo of Lake Huron taken from the St. Paul Lutheran’s picnic grounds, Alpena. It’s about as Pure Michigan as it gets! Although summer does not begin until June 21, that has not stopped us from switching into summer mode. Gardens are planted, boats are now in the lake, pools are filled, and plans are being made to take some time to recreate outside. A sunny, 75-degree Michigan day is our reward for shoveling wet snow back in February!
One of the newer things I have learned along the way is about a movement called “Wild Church.” Wild Church is about returning to nature as a spiritual practice. It is not so much an outdoor worship service, as it is deliberately interacting with the natural world expecting to encounter the Creator. The majority of the time spent during a Wild Church service is in people wandering off on their own to listen to what God is saying through the sound of the wind in the trees, or the unexpected appearance of a snake slithering across the past, or the dance of dragonflies on the surface of a pond.
You can also “Wild Church” all on your own and I encourage you to give it a try this summer. You can go to a forest or simply step outside into your yard! Here are some suggestions to help you get started:
- Separate/Be deliberate. Cross a threshold of your own choosing to enter into a different kind of seeing. Stop and intentionally step over a stick or bridge into a more deliberate, open relationship with the creation, with God, with your soul.
- Wonder. Fully attentive, listen closely. Use all your sense. Notice little things. Smell. Listen. Observe.
- Share. Engage in a conversation with what grabs your attention. This is not your native language, so words sometimes don’t work. Journal maybe, or sketch or meditate, listen deeply, allow images and emotions to arise. Listen. Behold. Be still. What insights come to you from the encounter or conversation?
- Gratitude. Show some gratitude to the tree, the rock, the water. Offer some acknowledgement of honor and gratitude. Your full attention is a gift of gratitude. You may be the only human who will ever pay full attention to that lizard. Like a dog or a child who brightens us with your full attention, so it is true with all living beings.
- Return. Cross back over the threshold and return to your day.
God has been so generous and creative! Thanks be to God for the gift of summer!
+BJST