Wild Church

Wild Church Port Townsend is an opportunity to gather in and with creation, with other folks, and with the other beings on this earth.

We practice to develop kinship relationships with the other than human beings that live around us and feel our belonging with them; we practice moving from human being to earth being. Read more in a guest blog I wrote.

Wild Church is sponsored by Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (QUUF) and guided by me. Everyone journeying into deeper relationship with earth, regardless of religion or belief is welcome. No affiliation with QUUF necessary.

We meet outside under an amazing Doug Fir tree at Fort Townsend, in rain, (snow), or shine, unless the conditions are severe enough to pose a safety concern. This being’s protective branches keep us mostly dry in the winter and cool in the summer. It’s such a gift!

Meeting in all weather gives us a chance to build relationship with the earth—not just in some internal weather, in a building looking out.

There are three parts to each gathering: Greeting & Grounding, Wandering & Wondering, and Circling Up & Sharing.

We start with our names, a Land Acknowledgment that acknowledges the land, the First Peoples, and the watersheds that nourish us. We speak an invocation and sing a chant to help us remember who we are more deeply. Then we move into a grounding practice. I vary what the practice is, but it’s always about getting out of our heads and into our bodies and hearts so that more of us is available to explore connection with the other than human beings when we go out onto the land.

Wandering on the land for 30 minutes is our core practice. Before that, I share a poem or reading and offer an invitation to wander with. The wander is not a walk or a hike. It is a time to follow the call of the living earth—not the mind and its ideas. We let ourselves be drawn, guided, more from the body, heart, and soul than from the mind. We focus on being in relationship with the other than human beings we meet.

The last 30 minutes is spent sharing about our Wander experiences in a circle with no cross talk. It is a joy and a privilege to witness each other lighting up, feeling touched by our experiences. We come away feeling more connected and more belonging, more enchanted and more present. We end with a song and gratitude for each other, the living earth, and the circle.

We are part of the Wild Church Network, a support system for new and growing wild churches and their leaders since 2016. I received my training from the Wild Church Network in 2022, started offering our Wild Church in February of 2023, and continue to share resources and learn with them.

Read more on my calendar about how to prepare for Wild Church.

Come join us any 4th Saturday!