WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:05.279 Hi. This is Compass finding spirituality in the everyday. I'm host 2 00:00:05.279 --> 00:00:08.960 Reverend Ryan Dunn. And in this episode, I'm joined for a 3 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:11.780 wild adventure by Reverend Corey Turnpenny. 4 00:00:12.320 --> 00:00:15.860 Corey discusses the unique blend of community 5 00:00:16.375 --> 00:00:20.215 and nature that defines church in the wild 6 00:00:20.215 --> 00:00:23.815 where worship is, like, harmoniously aligned with the 7 00:00:23.815 --> 00:00:27.415 rhythms of the natural world. So we're gonna discover how 8 00:00:27.415 --> 00:00:30.930 this innovative faith community, Church in the Wild, embraces outdoor 9 00:00:31.170 --> 00:00:34.770 worship, the beauty of a camp setting, and the 10 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:38.550 profound spirituality found under open skies. 11 00:00:39.170 --> 00:00:42.690 Corrie Turnpenny is the founding pastor, of course, of Church in the 12 00:00:42.690 --> 00:00:46.290 Wild, a nature focused congregation in Upstate New 13 00:00:46.290 --> 00:00:49.985 York. Her journey began at the UMC Next conference 14 00:00:50.125 --> 00:00:53.805 in 2019, leading her to establish a faith 15 00:00:53.805 --> 00:00:57.505 space where individuals can reconnect with their spirituality 16 00:00:57.805 --> 00:01:01.440 amidst the splendor of creation. Through church in the wild, Corey's 17 00:01:01.440 --> 00:01:05.200 pioneering a movement that calls people back to nature, fostering a 18 00:01:05.200 --> 00:01:09.040 sense of belonging for those who feel spiritually homeless in 19 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.420 traditional settings. If you appreciate conversations 20 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:16.414 like this one that we're having with Corey, hit the like and subscribe 21 00:01:16.414 --> 00:01:20.094 button on your podcast listening platform. And if you're ready to 22 00:01:20.094 --> 00:01:23.935 take the next step, leave a rating and review. That would 23 00:01:23.935 --> 00:01:27.550 really help us out. Thank you. Let's get to the story 24 00:01:27.550 --> 00:01:31.010 of Church and in the Wild with Reverend Corey Turnpenny. 25 00:01:31.750 --> 00:01:35.470 There's so much to explore around Church of 26 00:01:35.470 --> 00:01:38.830 the Wild, but let's start with this. How are you? How goes it with your 27 00:01:38.830 --> 00:01:42.034 soul today? Okay. Yeah. Okay. 28 00:01:42.655 --> 00:01:46.414 Happy season. You know, winter 29 00:01:46.414 --> 00:01:49.854 is hard. Yeah. And I I'm I'm I 30 00:01:49.854 --> 00:01:53.454 remind myself of that that this is, you 31 00:01:53.454 --> 00:01:54.814 know, the season that, 32 00:01:56.990 --> 00:02:00.670 was hardest for humanity, especially here up here in the 33 00:02:00.670 --> 00:02:04.510 North that, took a 34 00:02:04.510 --> 00:02:08.050 lot of, you know, special care and 35 00:02:09.465 --> 00:02:13.225 lots of different traditions throughout human 36 00:02:13.225 --> 00:02:16.985 history to help us survive winter. And there's been, 37 00:02:16.985 --> 00:02:20.105 of course, a lot of just social and 38 00:02:20.345 --> 00:02:23.725 Yeah. National stuff loaded on top of us 39 00:02:24.140 --> 00:02:27.900 in the middle of winter. And so yeah. It's hard and 40 00:02:27.900 --> 00:02:30.940 heavy for a lot of folks right now. Well, in talking about some of the 41 00:02:30.940 --> 00:02:34.700 ways in which we connect with the natural world, what does the 42 00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:38.220 rhythm of life look like for Church of the Wild during the 43 00:02:38.220 --> 00:02:41.834 wintertime? Yeah. We try really 44 00:02:41.834 --> 00:02:45.055 hard to match the rhythms of nature, 45 00:02:45.355 --> 00:02:49.055 and it does take, like, these regular 46 00:02:49.435 --> 00:02:52.970 reminders that it's okay okay to be going slow 47 00:02:52.970 --> 00:02:55.950 and to not be as active right now as a community. 48 00:02:56.890 --> 00:03:00.650 So we worship outdoors for as long as 49 00:03:00.650 --> 00:03:04.269 we can. We're in Upstate New York. So, usually, 50 00:03:05.075 --> 00:03:08.915 by the October, early November, we are moving 51 00:03:08.915 --> 00:03:12.375 indoors at our host site, Skylake 52 00:03:12.754 --> 00:03:15.655 Camp and Retreat Center. They're k. Phenomenal 53 00:03:16.275 --> 00:03:20.030 hosts to us and welcome us indoors 54 00:03:20.250 --> 00:03:23.690 to cozy rooms where we can have a fire in the 55 00:03:23.690 --> 00:03:27.530 fireplace and still look out, you know, at the lake 56 00:03:27.530 --> 00:03:31.105 and and feel a connection to nature. And 57 00:03:31.105 --> 00:03:34.705 then after Christmas, we go 58 00:03:34.705 --> 00:03:38.465 on Zoom for a month or so. Okay. So 59 00:03:38.465 --> 00:03:42.245 we meet virtually, which is also really awesome. 60 00:03:42.625 --> 00:03:46.370 You know, I I I try to tell people a lot. 61 00:03:46.370 --> 00:03:48.790 Like, as a a nature focused 62 00:03:49.730 --> 00:03:53.510 congregation, we are not tech averse. Like, 63 00:03:53.650 --> 00:03:57.189 there's great tools in the Internet and Zoom, 64 00:03:57.250 --> 00:04:00.955 and we can use those to do great 65 00:04:00.955 --> 00:04:04.795 ministry. And so it's really fun in the winter to 66 00:04:04.795 --> 00:04:08.335 expand our circle. We we get people joining us from 67 00:04:08.635 --> 00:04:12.235 all over the country and all over the world. We have people from Sweden 68 00:04:12.235 --> 00:04:15.860 and Brussels. It's amazing, the folks that find 69 00:04:15.860 --> 00:04:19.620 us and wanna join in. And then that allows us to bring 70 00:04:19.620 --> 00:04:22.920 in guest speakers. So, you know, people that 71 00:04:23.220 --> 00:04:26.835 aren't near us geographically can still come talk to us, 72 00:04:27.395 --> 00:04:30.854 and we can learn about the great stuff they're doing. 73 00:04:31.475 --> 00:04:35.014 And then for, February and March, 74 00:04:35.235 --> 00:04:38.914 we meet at another church in 75 00:04:38.914 --> 00:04:42.760 their chapel. And that still allows 76 00:04:42.760 --> 00:04:46.200 us to be able to have people join us on Zoom. So 77 00:04:46.200 --> 00:04:49.880 our our Zoom friends are with us, you know, 78 00:04:49.880 --> 00:04:53.580 for three or four months. We're actually hoping 79 00:04:53.640 --> 00:04:57.194 that on the at the end of this year when we come indoors 80 00:04:57.255 --> 00:05:00.935 again, that we can start Zoom earlier than 81 00:05:00.935 --> 00:05:04.634 January to keep, you know, keep our connection 82 00:05:04.694 --> 00:05:08.315 with them. They're they're really regular, awesome 83 00:05:08.375 --> 00:05:12.060 attenders and and give a lot to 84 00:05:12.060 --> 00:05:15.660 our community. So, yeah, we we come 85 00:05:15.660 --> 00:05:19.500 indoors for this time. And for, you know, 86 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:23.340 for January, we are hearing from guest speakers. For February, like 87 00:05:23.340 --> 00:05:26.995 this month, we're just sharing our soul songs. So every 88 00:05:26.995 --> 00:05:30.755 week we have three or four people just share a song. We listen to it 89 00:05:30.755 --> 00:05:34.435 and they tell us about it. So it's not even a full worship service. You 90 00:05:34.435 --> 00:05:38.115 know, we don't have our full liturgy or program. We just we're 91 00:05:38.115 --> 00:05:41.960 taking it easy. And and there's always a part 92 00:05:41.960 --> 00:05:45.660 of me that feels anxious about that, and I have to remind myself 93 00:05:45.720 --> 00:05:49.100 that, no. This this is what the world 94 00:05:50.040 --> 00:05:53.805 should be doing right now, and we have to we almost 95 00:05:53.805 --> 00:05:57.645 have to work at slowing down. It takes it takes some 96 00:05:57.645 --> 00:06:01.104 effort to not get caught up in our cultural pace 97 00:06:01.565 --> 00:06:05.324 and to really keep with the pace of nature. What have been some 98 00:06:05.324 --> 00:06:08.720 of the songs that people have shared? Oh my god. 99 00:06:09.060 --> 00:06:12.760 That has really stuck out to you like, Yeah. There have been 100 00:06:12.760 --> 00:06:16.520 some great ones. Last week, we got Soul 101 00:06:16.520 --> 00:06:20.120 Shine, from Government Mule. Mule. Okay. 102 00:06:20.440 --> 00:06:24.075 Great one. We got some Mumford and Sons coming up this 103 00:06:24.075 --> 00:06:26.095 week. We had some John Denver. 104 00:06:28.155 --> 00:06:31.215 What else have we had? Some really some 105 00:06:31.755 --> 00:06:35.170 really eclectic tastes in our congregation, which is 106 00:06:35.170 --> 00:06:38.690 awesome. And it's like this little, window 107 00:06:38.690 --> 00:06:42.290 into somebody's soul when they they say 108 00:06:42.290 --> 00:06:46.130 like, yeah, this song speaks to my soul and they tell 109 00:06:46.130 --> 00:06:49.765 us about why and how it connected for them. And 110 00:06:49.765 --> 00:06:53.465 it's really cool. We're we're putting it all into a great playlist 111 00:06:53.765 --> 00:06:57.445 for for ourselves. Preference community preference, though, would 112 00:06:57.445 --> 00:07:00.505 probably be to to meet outside. Is that correct? 113 00:07:01.140 --> 00:07:04.200 Yes. Absolutely. We 114 00:07:05.380 --> 00:07:09.000 are full of nature lovers. 115 00:07:09.460 --> 00:07:13.300 Our group loves to be outdoors, and we 116 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:17.145 just get to savor it and soak it in when when the weather 117 00:07:17.145 --> 00:07:20.985 allows. Yeah. Well, how did all this come about? 118 00:07:20.985 --> 00:07:24.205 How did a community of nature lovers come 119 00:07:24.425 --> 00:07:28.044 together to form this church? Oh, well. 120 00:07:29.830 --> 00:07:33.270 Let's start at the v maybe we can start with what inspired you, 121 00:07:33.270 --> 00:07:37.030 Cori, to Yeah. To make this kind of movement? 122 00:07:37.030 --> 00:07:40.470 What was stirring in your soul? Well, it was back 123 00:07:40.470 --> 00:07:44.275 in, gosh, 2019. 124 00:07:45.134 --> 00:07:48.755 I attended, the UMC Next conference 125 00:07:50.014 --> 00:07:53.535 that happened that year as we were getting ready for a general 126 00:07:53.535 --> 00:07:57.180 conference and what's you know? And, of course, all 127 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:00.800 none of that happened as anyone thought it would, but we had this great 128 00:08:00.800 --> 00:08:04.560 gathering. It did. Just five years later. Yeah. It 129 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:08.240 happened. Just yeah. Yep. So we got you know, a bunch of 130 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:11.585 people from across the country gathered, 131 00:08:12.845 --> 00:08:16.145 at Church of the Resurrection, and it was all about, you know, dreaming. 132 00:08:16.605 --> 00:08:20.445 What about the future of the church? And so I was sort of 133 00:08:20.445 --> 00:08:24.045 in that space as I was traveling back 134 00:08:24.045 --> 00:08:27.800 home and, you know, a late night drive, 135 00:08:28.020 --> 00:08:31.540 you're talking to God feeling I was kinda 136 00:08:31.540 --> 00:08:35.220 complaining to God, feeling like, you know, 137 00:08:35.220 --> 00:08:38.919 there's just thinking about the future for myself 138 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:42.625 personally. I was at at a great 139 00:08:42.845 --> 00:08:46.524 church, but I knew I couldn't stay there forever. You know, I was there 140 00:08:46.685 --> 00:08:50.464 it was, like, my sixth, seventh year and thinking 141 00:08:51.084 --> 00:08:54.620 locally in my area, what other churches, 142 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:58.840 you know, might be options for me as a leader. And I 143 00:08:58.840 --> 00:09:02.440 would this was the complaint is in that I didn't feel like there 144 00:09:02.440 --> 00:09:05.980 was any church that I could really be my full 145 00:09:06.280 --> 00:09:08.540 authentic self as a pastor. 146 00:09:09.845 --> 00:09:13.605 And that was frustrating to me. And I was complaining to 147 00:09:13.605 --> 00:09:16.905 God kind of, and it really felt like this 148 00:09:17.045 --> 00:09:20.425 very sassy reply of, well, you know, 149 00:09:20.965 --> 00:09:24.380 you could start your own congregation. 150 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:28.540 And I just said, no. No. What? 151 00:09:28.600 --> 00:09:32.279 No. I never first of all, I never thought I would 152 00:09:32.279 --> 00:09:35.955 experience another call. Like, I I had 153 00:09:35.955 --> 00:09:39.795 my call to ministry, and I said yes. Great. And I, 154 00:09:39.795 --> 00:09:42.775 you know, did the whole thing, god. But now 155 00:09:43.555 --> 00:09:47.175 this, no. I was not interested in planting a church. 156 00:09:47.395 --> 00:09:51.200 It seemed like a lot of work. And most 157 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.960 of the church planters I knew, you know, were 158 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:58.640 over workers working a ton of hours and 159 00:09:58.640 --> 00:10:01.840 trying to start, like, another megachurch or 160 00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:05.875 Yeah. Or just another type of church that that, again, I don't know that I 161 00:10:05.875 --> 00:10:09.654 would feel comfortable or able 162 00:10:09.795 --> 00:10:12.454 to be my full authentic self. 163 00:10:13.475 --> 00:10:17.074 And so I I said no, of 164 00:10:17.074 --> 00:10:20.730 course, initially, but these things tend to 165 00:10:20.730 --> 00:10:24.330 not really leave you alone. And so it kept you know, the 166 00:10:24.330 --> 00:10:27.950 thought kept circling around in my brain for a month or so. 167 00:10:28.410 --> 00:10:32.170 And then I was with my, clergy covenant group at 168 00:10:32.170 --> 00:10:35.935 annual conference, And I I heard myself say 169 00:10:35.935 --> 00:10:39.395 the words, I just wanna be the pastor at Skylake. 170 00:10:40.095 --> 00:10:43.315 Like, why can't I do that? And it was 171 00:10:43.774 --> 00:10:47.580 then it felt like God was like, there you go. You know? It just 172 00:10:47.580 --> 00:10:50.940 took you a little while, but that's that's the 173 00:10:50.940 --> 00:10:54.780 ticket. And Was there a church already at Skylake, or are you 174 00:10:54.780 --> 00:10:58.380 saying, like, I just wanna be a pastor in this area? Yeah. At Okay. 175 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:02.185 At at camp. You know? So this is the camp I Skylake is the 176 00:11:02.185 --> 00:11:05.865 camp. Yeah. It's where I grew up attending as a kid. 177 00:11:05.865 --> 00:11:09.245 I worked there on summer staff for five summers. 178 00:11:09.945 --> 00:11:13.565 You know, it was it is my soul's 179 00:11:13.625 --> 00:11:16.579 home. It's where I feel 180 00:11:17.839 --> 00:11:21.380 the most connected to God, 181 00:11:21.920 --> 00:11:25.600 the most self confident and at 182 00:11:25.600 --> 00:11:29.154 ease and peaceful and grateful. You know? It 183 00:11:29.235 --> 00:11:32.754 it's just the place where I feel best and it's 184 00:11:32.754 --> 00:11:36.214 beautiful. And and it's this underutilized 185 00:11:38.194 --> 00:11:41.875 resource that's just sort of sitting there most of the week. You know? There's 186 00:11:41.875 --> 00:11:45.370 retreats on the weekends, but I just thought, gosh. I 187 00:11:45.370 --> 00:11:49.130 wanna be a pastor, and I wanna be a pastor at Skylake. And then 188 00:11:49.130 --> 00:11:52.430 it was like a flood of ideas 189 00:11:52.890 --> 00:11:56.570 when I thought, wait. We could actually do that. You 190 00:11:56.570 --> 00:11:59.655 know? Like, people are doing church in bars and restaurants and 191 00:12:00.215 --> 00:12:03.675 and movie theaters. Like, why couldn't we do church Yeah. 192 00:12:03.815 --> 00:12:07.415 At camp? It almost it 193 00:12:07.415 --> 00:12:10.935 made so much sense. I was like, I I don't know why I 194 00:12:10.935 --> 00:12:14.680 didn't think of this sooner, but here we are, you know, all 195 00:12:14.680 --> 00:12:18.120 in all in the spirits time. So that was the 196 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.580 initial idea and it was a little nerve wracking at first. 197 00:12:22.760 --> 00:12:26.280 So I just, how did you pitch it to the powers that 198 00:12:26.280 --> 00:12:29.785 be? Yeah. So openness at the time? I 199 00:12:31.285 --> 00:12:34.425 I started by just sharing with, you know, 200 00:12:35.445 --> 00:12:39.045 my close family, a couple close friends who were 201 00:12:39.045 --> 00:12:42.640 also a part of, like, the camp community 202 00:12:42.779 --> 00:12:46.620 there. Just just to say, let me just 203 00:12:46.620 --> 00:12:50.459 gut check this for me. Is this totally out of 204 00:12:50.459 --> 00:12:54.300 the, you know, realm of possibility? You know, what do you think about 205 00:12:54.300 --> 00:12:56.885 this idea? And they were supportive. 206 00:12:58.705 --> 00:13:01.745 So I went to our conference at the time, 207 00:13:03.185 --> 00:13:06.625 the person overseeing new 208 00:13:06.625 --> 00:13:10.190 church starts and told him the idea, and he 209 00:13:10.190 --> 00:13:13.870 thought it was great. And, you know, every 210 00:13:13.870 --> 00:13:17.630 point here, I was just, like, waiting for somebody to tell me no or 211 00:13:17.630 --> 00:13:21.390 don't do this, and that never happened. So here 212 00:13:21.390 --> 00:13:24.454 we are. It's like you just wanted somebody to confirm 213 00:13:24.915 --> 00:13:28.514 your own reservations or misgivings. Yeah. I just 214 00:13:28.514 --> 00:13:31.654 knew somehow to get out of having to do this 215 00:13:32.194 --> 00:13:35.334 because I knew it wasn't gonna be easy. 216 00:13:36.730 --> 00:13:40.570 So, you know, he gave me some people to talk to. And, obviously, the first 217 00:13:40.570 --> 00:13:44.410 step was talking to the director at Skylake to say, hey. Would 218 00:13:44.410 --> 00:13:48.170 you support this? Would you be willing to host a 219 00:13:48.170 --> 00:13:51.545 new faith community here? And when he was supportive, 220 00:13:52.005 --> 00:13:54.905 then I was like, okay. I guess we're doing this. 221 00:13:55.925 --> 00:13:59.605 Fine. Alright. So then I just, you know, started 222 00:13:59.605 --> 00:14:03.365 talking to people I knew who liked 223 00:14:03.365 --> 00:14:07.080 the outdoors, who were part of camp, were interested, 224 00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:11.320 and they kept giving me other people to talk to. 225 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:15.700 And then we had a group of, like, 10 people who thought this 226 00:14:15.700 --> 00:14:19.000 was a good idea. And so we just met 227 00:14:19.140 --> 00:14:22.040 monthly for, like, six months to talk about, 228 00:14:23.355 --> 00:14:26.655 okay. So who who do we want this community 229 00:14:26.955 --> 00:14:29.775 to be for, and what what 230 00:14:30.795 --> 00:14:34.415 values do we want this community to have? And, you know, we 231 00:14:34.635 --> 00:14:38.300 we resisted jumping right to worship. Like, 232 00:14:38.300 --> 00:14:42.060 what's it gonna look like? What are we gonna do? We wanted to first lay 233 00:14:42.060 --> 00:14:45.740 the foundation of who's this for? What's it really about? Like, 234 00:14:45.740 --> 00:14:49.420 what our mission and vision and all of that and our 235 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:53.134 name and, you know, so we sort of workshopped all this stuff 236 00:14:53.134 --> 00:14:56.894 together. And our last meeting was 237 00:14:56.894 --> 00:15:00.595 March of twenty twenty Yeah. Alright. Before 238 00:15:01.055 --> 00:15:04.790 everything shut down. Yeah. So we we took 239 00:15:04.790 --> 00:15:08.630 a pause with the rest of the world and regrouped and 240 00:15:08.630 --> 00:15:12.230 said, what do we think? Do we wanna keep going on 241 00:15:12.230 --> 00:15:15.990 this? And and everyone said, yes. We think 242 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:19.485 we need this now more than ever. A few few folks 243 00:15:19.485 --> 00:15:23.085 said, yes. You should still do it, but I have to step 244 00:15:23.085 --> 00:15:26.465 back, which was totally understandable. 245 00:15:26.845 --> 00:15:30.685 So we've sort of forged ahead. You know, the plan 246 00:15:30.685 --> 00:15:34.360 was to build community first, which was a little 247 00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:38.200 bit different on Zoom. You know, we had lots of 248 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:41.800 Zoom gatherings and then we started doing, service 249 00:15:41.800 --> 00:15:45.580 work. So we were outdoors and we were able to, you know, 250 00:15:45.800 --> 00:15:48.300 be social distanced and all of that and 251 00:15:49.695 --> 00:15:53.535 doing doing community work together. And what kind of work was 252 00:15:53.535 --> 00:15:57.135 that? We did, like, a 253 00:15:57.135 --> 00:16:00.735 cleanup day at Skylake. We did, we 254 00:16:00.735 --> 00:16:04.279 built a new community garden for our local, 255 00:16:05.540 --> 00:16:09.300 community garden group. We did 256 00:16:09.300 --> 00:16:13.139 some street cleanups in different neighborhoods where 257 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:16.839 they were hosting it. So there there was a lot happening outdoors 258 00:16:16.980 --> 00:16:20.485 that we could, like, show up and support, which was nice during that 259 00:16:20.485 --> 00:16:24.105 time. And and we really wanted to start with 260 00:16:24.644 --> 00:16:28.425 service work because that is way less scary 261 00:16:28.725 --> 00:16:32.420 to people than starting with a worship 262 00:16:32.420 --> 00:16:35.640 service, especially a new kind of worship service. 263 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:39.400 So we we wanted to get people together, 264 00:16:41.060 --> 00:16:44.600 in in that setting first before launching 265 00:16:44.900 --> 00:16:48.714 worship. So we we were building community. We had a 266 00:16:48.714 --> 00:16:52.235 great group of folks help get 267 00:16:52.235 --> 00:16:55.855 started. You know, we we did some trial runs of worship 268 00:16:56.475 --> 00:16:59.480 and then had our first, you know, public 269 00:17:00.020 --> 00:17:03.460 official launch day worship the June in 270 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:06.680 2021. And we've been 271 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:10.760 going strong every week since then. Ma'am, 272 00:17:10.924 --> 00:17:14.765 how did you first come in contact with 273 00:17:14.765 --> 00:17:18.365 some of the people who are joining in besides that initial leadership 274 00:17:18.365 --> 00:17:21.804 group? Have there been other people who have heard about what you're 275 00:17:21.804 --> 00:17:25.530 doing and joined in? I I I asked this because in my 276 00:17:25.530 --> 00:17:29.130 mind, I imagine, part of the 277 00:17:29.130 --> 00:17:32.590 allure of the natural world is a sense of isolation. 278 00:17:33.370 --> 00:17:36.990 And so how do you connect with people who feel 279 00:17:37.050 --> 00:17:40.190 like, or value a sense of isolation? 280 00:17:41.495 --> 00:17:44.955 Yes. It has been fascinating 281 00:17:45.175 --> 00:17:48.955 to me how people find us. And the most 282 00:17:49.175 --> 00:17:51.915 incredible people have been brought together 283 00:17:53.335 --> 00:17:57.140 under this, you know, concept of church in 284 00:17:57.140 --> 00:18:00.900 the wild. It's just I'm just blown away. Every time a new 285 00:18:00.900 --> 00:18:03.720 person comes and I learn their story, 286 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:08.280 it's just incredible. And and they're 287 00:18:08.535 --> 00:18:11.915 so excited to have found something that resonates 288 00:18:12.135 --> 00:18:15.975 with them, their life experience, and their, 289 00:18:15.975 --> 00:18:19.655 you know, their spirituality because I I can't tell 290 00:18:19.655 --> 00:18:23.035 you how many times people have said, I didn't know 291 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:27.030 there were other people like me in this area 292 00:18:27.090 --> 00:18:30.850 or that, you know, that that there was this kind of thing around 293 00:18:30.850 --> 00:18:34.610 here. It mostly people find us 294 00:18:34.610 --> 00:18:38.065 online. They they see our website or social 295 00:18:38.065 --> 00:18:41.905 media and and different events that we're doing and connect with us there. There's 296 00:18:41.905 --> 00:18:45.665 one person who's super involved right now, 297 00:18:45.665 --> 00:18:49.425 and she just saw our, like, yard sign that we had 298 00:18:49.425 --> 00:18:53.110 out front of the camp. She was driving past, 299 00:18:53.250 --> 00:18:56.610 saw the sign. She never grew up going to 300 00:18:56.610 --> 00:19:00.070 church. She didn't really know anything about church, 301 00:19:00.690 --> 00:19:04.150 but she looked up our website after seeing the sign 302 00:19:04.450 --> 00:19:07.905 and thought, I think this seems cool, and just showed 303 00:19:07.905 --> 00:19:11.585 up by herself. You know? I'm just like, the 304 00:19:11.585 --> 00:19:15.205 the courage it takes for somebody to do that, 305 00:19:15.425 --> 00:19:19.190 I was astounded. So, yeah, it's amazing 306 00:19:19.250 --> 00:19:22.770 how people find us word-of-mouth, you know, people bringing friends a 307 00:19:22.770 --> 00:19:26.370 lot. But there is sort 308 00:19:26.370 --> 00:19:29.970 of, yeah, there is a sort of sense of some 309 00:19:29.970 --> 00:19:33.355 seclusion. You know, we're we're about a half hour drive 310 00:19:33.355 --> 00:19:37.035 from our closest city. And so it is 311 00:19:37.035 --> 00:19:40.795 sort of like this mini retreat every every week 312 00:19:40.795 --> 00:19:44.620 when you come out of that busyness. And, you know, 313 00:19:44.620 --> 00:19:48.140 we call it the camp bubble when when you're at camp 314 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:51.980 for, you know, the whole summer, you feel like you're in this bubble. Like, 315 00:19:51.980 --> 00:19:55.760 you don't even know what's happening in the rest of the world. It's it's great. 316 00:19:57.154 --> 00:20:00.455 And and we want to we want people to have that 317 00:20:00.755 --> 00:20:03.894 little mini experience of that to come get away, 318 00:20:04.434 --> 00:20:07.735 be in this incredibly beautiful 319 00:20:07.875 --> 00:20:11.235 space, you know, and and then just 320 00:20:11.235 --> 00:20:15.000 have have a moment of sort of exiting 321 00:20:15.300 --> 00:20:18.760 your your everyday life and coming into 322 00:20:18.980 --> 00:20:22.360 the glory and grandeur of nature 323 00:20:22.420 --> 00:20:26.040 is is really special and important. And 324 00:20:26.180 --> 00:20:29.915 and I think people get, I don't wanna 325 00:20:29.915 --> 00:20:33.755 say addicted to it, but, you know, they they long for it. 326 00:20:33.755 --> 00:20:36.495 You know, you come once and you're like, oh. 327 00:20:37.435 --> 00:20:41.135 So you wanna keep coming back. Yeah. 328 00:20:42.140 --> 00:20:45.820 So besides the the setting, when you do gather, what do 329 00:20:45.820 --> 00:20:49.440 those gatherings look like? Right. We're we're 330 00:20:49.820 --> 00:20:53.580 in this great beautiful setting on the shores of 331 00:20:53.580 --> 00:20:56.800 of the lake with these huge trees all around us. 332 00:20:57.420 --> 00:21:01.235 We we gather in the round. We sit in a circle. We 333 00:21:01.235 --> 00:21:05.075 have some benches. Sometimes people bring their lawn 334 00:21:05.075 --> 00:21:08.915 chairs or, pull up a blanket. We 335 00:21:08.915 --> 00:21:12.710 have, like, a bag of of blankets for folks to sit 336 00:21:12.710 --> 00:21:14.890 on or wrap up in if it's chilly. 337 00:21:17.350 --> 00:21:19.850 We we start, you know, by 338 00:21:20.710 --> 00:21:24.295 reminding each other what we're about, which is our 339 00:21:24.295 --> 00:21:28.055 mission following the wild spirit through creation, adventure, 340 00:21:28.055 --> 00:21:31.515 and restoration. And we 341 00:21:31.575 --> 00:21:35.415 share, it's sort of like passing the piece, 342 00:21:35.415 --> 00:21:39.240 but we share something new and good with people 343 00:21:39.240 --> 00:21:42.820 next to us. So every every week, it's it's a 344 00:21:42.820 --> 00:21:46.580 real spiritual practice to say, okay. What 345 00:21:46.580 --> 00:21:50.019 is new and good in my life? And sometimes it's a 346 00:21:50.019 --> 00:21:53.715 challenge to come up with something, but that's why we do it and to 347 00:21:53.715 --> 00:21:57.075 remind each other there is good in the world. And then we, 348 00:21:58.195 --> 00:22:02.035 I'll go get something from nature around us and bring it 349 00:22:02.035 --> 00:22:05.255 up to our altar, which is just these 350 00:22:05.750 --> 00:22:09.450 five wooden crates that we stack on top of each other. 351 00:22:09.910 --> 00:22:12.810 And we have a candle and a pitcher of water, 352 00:22:13.830 --> 00:22:17.210 and then everybody brings stuff to the altar. 353 00:22:17.674 --> 00:22:21.294 So sticks and rocks and pine cones and acorns and feathers 354 00:22:21.355 --> 00:22:25.054 and leaves and flowers, anything that's around. 355 00:22:25.595 --> 00:22:28.975 And so every week, our altar looks 356 00:22:29.595 --> 00:22:33.309 like the season that we're in. You know? We 357 00:22:33.529 --> 00:22:37.370 we see the changing colors and textures of of 358 00:22:37.370 --> 00:22:40.909 each season reflected in our altar, and it's this beautiful 359 00:22:41.130 --> 00:22:44.330 work of art, and then we take it down. You know? It's this practice of 360 00:22:44.330 --> 00:22:48.095 impermanence that we come together. We 361 00:22:48.095 --> 00:22:51.855 have this beautiful experience, and we return those things back to 362 00:22:51.855 --> 00:22:55.615 the earth, and it's good. You know? It doesn't have 363 00:22:55.775 --> 00:22:59.610 we don't have to try to preserve everything. So we build our 364 00:22:59.610 --> 00:23:03.450 altar while we sing a song and, that we have a 365 00:23:03.450 --> 00:23:06.810 nature connection moment where 366 00:23:06.810 --> 00:23:10.250 someone from our congregation shares something 367 00:23:10.250 --> 00:23:13.870 cool about nature, some cool nature information 368 00:23:14.884 --> 00:23:18.325 that usually connects to, like, whatever the theme for the day 369 00:23:18.325 --> 00:23:22.105 is. And then our kids, we have a wildlings 370 00:23:22.245 --> 00:23:25.544 club, and they go with the kids' leaders 371 00:23:25.605 --> 00:23:29.309 and do their thing, which can be 372 00:23:29.370 --> 00:23:33.070 scavenger hunts or games or books or, you know, 373 00:23:33.529 --> 00:23:36.110 anything that you can do at camp. 374 00:23:37.610 --> 00:23:41.225 And then we have a poem. Every week, we read a 375 00:23:41.225 --> 00:23:44.765 different poem and a wisdom 376 00:23:44.904 --> 00:23:48.205 reading. And then we 377 00:23:49.304 --> 00:23:52.924 have a message time, but it's very conversational. 378 00:23:54.184 --> 00:23:57.789 I love that most weeks, I am not the one to 379 00:23:57.789 --> 00:24:01.390 say the most profound thing. It takes a lot of 380 00:24:01.390 --> 00:24:05.010 pressure off. You know, I just sort of have to ask some questions, 381 00:24:05.230 --> 00:24:07.490 and then we have this incredible conversation. 382 00:24:09.155 --> 00:24:12.135 We sing a couple songs. We have a great, 383 00:24:12.995 --> 00:24:16.755 guitarist, who leads us in all kinds of 384 00:24:16.755 --> 00:24:20.434 music, you know, secular, sacred, you 385 00:24:20.434 --> 00:24:24.040 know, oldies, folk, up to current stuff. 386 00:24:24.580 --> 00:24:28.340 We'll sing whatever fits. And 387 00:24:28.340 --> 00:24:30.920 we have a time of prayer and meditation 388 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:35.735 that one again, another member of the congregation 389 00:24:35.955 --> 00:24:39.635 leads that time. And that takes many 390 00:24:39.635 --> 00:24:43.075 different forms too. Sometimes we'll all just go wander 391 00:24:43.075 --> 00:24:45.815 and sit for ten minutes and 392 00:24:46.995 --> 00:24:50.700 just be in nature. Sometimes 393 00:24:50.760 --> 00:24:54.520 it'll be kind of a guided meditation or we'll invite people to take their 394 00:24:54.520 --> 00:24:58.120 shoes off and ground on the earth or or we'll 395 00:24:58.120 --> 00:25:01.914 walk while we meditate or, you know, 396 00:25:02.135 --> 00:25:05.674 a a traditional sort of, pastoral 397 00:25:05.895 --> 00:25:09.735 prayer. It it varies week to week. And then we 398 00:25:09.735 --> 00:25:13.414 set intentions for the week ahead so everybody gets a 399 00:25:13.414 --> 00:25:16.715 chance to share, you know, a word or a phrase 400 00:25:17.309 --> 00:25:21.070 that they're claiming as as their intention this 401 00:25:21.070 --> 00:25:24.429 week. And we share the Celtic deep peace 402 00:25:24.429 --> 00:25:28.029 blessing as our benediction and and send people 403 00:25:28.029 --> 00:25:31.445 off with that. Yeah. Full 404 00:25:31.665 --> 00:25:35.424 bodied. Like, by the end of the hour, I 405 00:25:35.424 --> 00:25:38.885 feel like I just did yoga or got a massage. Like, 406 00:25:39.184 --> 00:25:42.540 I just feel so relaxed and 407 00:25:42.540 --> 00:25:45.980 good, but alert and present, you know, just 408 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:49.340 spending that time with that fresh 409 00:25:49.340 --> 00:25:52.940 oxygen and, you know, hearing the birds 410 00:25:52.940 --> 00:25:56.240 songs and it just is so 411 00:25:56.995 --> 00:26:00.534 peaceful. So we send each other off with that. Have congregants 412 00:26:01.395 --> 00:26:04.835 told you why this is appealing to them or 413 00:26:04.835 --> 00:26:08.434 meaningful for them? Yes. Absolutely. I 414 00:26:08.434 --> 00:26:11.910 hear a lot. Well, I'll tell you. 415 00:26:13.090 --> 00:26:16.930 Early on in our first year, someone came for the 416 00:26:16.930 --> 00:26:20.770 first time, and they they they said when 417 00:26:20.770 --> 00:26:24.310 they showed up, I'm kinda nervous. You know, I just heard about this. 418 00:26:24.424 --> 00:26:28.265 I came by myself. And and so it was great to 419 00:26:28.265 --> 00:26:32.105 have a moment of, like, reassuring them that I was gonna be okay. And they 420 00:26:32.265 --> 00:26:35.945 then they met someone they knew already there, which was 421 00:26:35.945 --> 00:26:39.660 great. And afterwards, they said, you know, my whole life, 422 00:26:39.880 --> 00:26:43.340 I have felt like I was spiritually 423 00:26:43.560 --> 00:26:46.700 homeless. Like, I just didn't fit in anywhere 424 00:26:47.560 --> 00:26:50.620 until now. Like, this is 425 00:26:51.315 --> 00:26:55.095 my spiritual home. This is what feels like home to me. 426 00:26:55.635 --> 00:26:59.154 And that was huge to hear that 427 00:26:59.154 --> 00:27:02.934 reflected back to us early on because that helped us 428 00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:08.070 with our own identity of what this community is. You know, it's not 429 00:27:08.289 --> 00:27:11.830 just about creation care. It's not just about 430 00:27:12.370 --> 00:27:15.890 we're a place full of nature lovers, worshiping God 431 00:27:15.890 --> 00:27:19.275 together outside, that this was an 432 00:27:19.275 --> 00:27:22.895 alternative to other religious 433 00:27:23.195 --> 00:27:26.794 or spiritual places that could be a home for 434 00:27:26.794 --> 00:27:30.235 people that didn't feel like they fit in anywhere. And so 435 00:27:30.235 --> 00:27:32.655 we've we've heard that similar 436 00:27:33.700 --> 00:27:37.460 story time and time again as people find us. They say, wow. 437 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:41.140 This this is what I've been looking for, you know, for so long. This 438 00:27:41.140 --> 00:27:44.680 feels right. I've tried so many different things, and this 439 00:27:45.060 --> 00:27:48.695 is what I've been longing to find. So it sounds 440 00:27:48.695 --> 00:27:51.995 like the the natural world is a central 441 00:27:52.054 --> 00:27:55.895 piece of your your community gatherings. Are there 442 00:27:55.895 --> 00:27:59.355 ways that you encourage congregants to kinda 443 00:28:00.040 --> 00:28:03.640 take an awareness of the natural world into their own 444 00:28:03.640 --> 00:28:06.860 spiritual practices, like, away from the Sunday gathering? 445 00:28:08.120 --> 00:28:11.900 Yes. Absolutely. We we have, 446 00:28:12.554 --> 00:28:16.255 like, a monthly action that we set for 447 00:28:16.315 --> 00:28:20.075 our group that we do together. And it can be, you 448 00:28:20.075 --> 00:28:23.755 know, let's all sign this petition or 449 00:28:23.755 --> 00:28:27.590 send a letter about this usually environmental 450 00:28:27.810 --> 00:28:31.330 issue. You know, this month, we're encouraging 451 00:28:31.330 --> 00:28:35.010 folks to support black owned businesses in our community. It 452 00:28:35.010 --> 00:28:38.450 can be a variety of different things, but it's it's usually 453 00:28:38.450 --> 00:28:42.135 about how are we helping to care for 454 00:28:42.135 --> 00:28:45.575 creation? How are we answering that charge we've been 455 00:28:45.575 --> 00:28:48.795 given? One one of my favorites was, 456 00:28:49.495 --> 00:28:52.795 we made up these little signs that said, like, 457 00:28:52.935 --> 00:28:55.675 bananas don't need a plastic bag. 458 00:28:56.309 --> 00:29:00.070 Plastic takes three years to break down in in 459 00:29:00.230 --> 00:29:04.070 you know, then it's microplastics. And so we we 460 00:29:04.070 --> 00:29:07.529 encourage people to take them and, like, clip them to the 461 00:29:08.070 --> 00:29:11.775 banana stand at their local grocery store just to sort of 462 00:29:11.775 --> 00:29:15.315 spread this message, like grassroots. 463 00:29:15.615 --> 00:29:18.895 You know, we didn't get permission or anything. We just stuck these signs in different 464 00:29:18.895 --> 00:29:22.595 grocery stores saying like, hey. You don't need plastic for your bananas. 465 00:29:23.135 --> 00:29:24.995 So little things like that were, 466 00:29:26.600 --> 00:29:30.059 incorporating into our spiritual 467 00:29:30.360 --> 00:29:33.799 lives as not just, you know, 468 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:37.500 sitting in nature and meditating, but caring 469 00:29:37.559 --> 00:29:41.105 for creation is part of our spiritual practice. 470 00:29:42.045 --> 00:29:45.565 We also do encourage people to 471 00:29:45.565 --> 00:29:49.405 notice what's going on to make 472 00:29:49.405 --> 00:29:52.705 sure you get, you know, even if you just step outside 473 00:29:53.005 --> 00:29:56.500 for five minutes one day, you know, 474 00:29:56.500 --> 00:30:00.180 especially now when it's cold, you know, just having 475 00:30:00.180 --> 00:30:03.640 that little bit of, rubbing 476 00:30:03.700 --> 00:30:07.460 shoulders with your your nature around you 477 00:30:07.460 --> 00:30:10.645 are our wild neighbors. You know? 478 00:30:11.345 --> 00:30:14.485 We're called to love our neighbors, and that's not just humans. 479 00:30:14.705 --> 00:30:18.325 That's the trees and the animals and the plants 480 00:30:18.385 --> 00:30:21.905 and the air and the water and the land 481 00:30:21.905 --> 00:30:25.529 itself. And we can we can 482 00:30:25.529 --> 00:30:29.149 gain so much from all of them 483 00:30:29.690 --> 00:30:33.130 just as much as we can give. And so, yes, 484 00:30:33.130 --> 00:30:36.510 really encouraging to notice, to slow down, 485 00:30:37.130 --> 00:30:40.265 practicing Sabbath, you know, practicing 486 00:30:40.645 --> 00:30:44.425 rest as a spiritual practice is a big part of creation 487 00:30:44.485 --> 00:30:48.245 care, and learning from 488 00:30:48.245 --> 00:30:52.085 nature. And we've heard I I 489 00:30:52.085 --> 00:30:55.929 just love we have a woman who goes to 490 00:30:55.929 --> 00:30:59.610 morning church because we we meet at 4PM. So she 491 00:30:59.610 --> 00:31:03.450 goes to her local United Methodist Church in the morning, and then she comes 492 00:31:03.450 --> 00:31:07.130 to church in the wild. And she 493 00:31:07.130 --> 00:31:10.565 has said, my siblings told me 494 00:31:10.945 --> 00:31:14.085 since I started coming to this wild church, 495 00:31:14.625 --> 00:31:17.925 I am so much more relaxed and calm. 496 00:31:18.625 --> 00:31:22.385 And it really does. It makes a big difference for me. She 497 00:31:22.385 --> 00:31:25.930 said, you know, I just feel more in tune and 498 00:31:25.930 --> 00:31:29.610 more connected and present. And that, you 499 00:31:29.610 --> 00:31:33.450 know, brings a tear to my eye because that's exactly what we're 500 00:31:33.450 --> 00:31:36.430 hoping for is to help people find that 501 00:31:37.225 --> 00:31:40.445 calm, that peace that we find in nature. 502 00:31:41.544 --> 00:31:45.225 Your use of the word wild, I feel like we need to talk about that 503 00:31:45.225 --> 00:31:48.764 a little bit. You talked about the wild spirit, and you couldn't name the church 504 00:31:48.825 --> 00:31:52.279 like church in the woods or church in Skylake. But 505 00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:55.740 why why center in on this term wild? 506 00:31:56.120 --> 00:31:59.960 Why is that important for your identity? It's a little bit of a 507 00:31:59.960 --> 00:32:03.645 reclaiming of the word. Right? I think it 508 00:32:03.645 --> 00:32:05.825 connects to the idea of, like, 509 00:32:07.804 --> 00:32:11.645 negative connotations for nature when I think 510 00:32:11.645 --> 00:32:14.705 of of our history, you know, 511 00:32:15.325 --> 00:32:18.640 calling people savage because they 512 00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:22.720 lived in huts or tents or teepees. 513 00:32:23.820 --> 00:32:27.520 And though that sort of connotation of, like, oh, the wild 514 00:32:27.820 --> 00:32:30.800 is scary or dangerous or 515 00:32:32.595 --> 00:32:36.195 not civilized. Right? And and we want 516 00:32:36.355 --> 00:32:40.135 that's that's where we wanna be. We wanna be outside 517 00:32:40.674 --> 00:32:42.934 of, you know, the manicured, 518 00:32:45.955 --> 00:32:48.940 perfect, like, controlled 519 00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:52.540 nature experiences that 520 00:32:53.320 --> 00:32:56.380 exist in a lot of places. We want to 521 00:32:56.840 --> 00:33:00.360 to follow the wild spirit into the 522 00:33:00.360 --> 00:33:03.675 wilds of creation, and we recognize 523 00:33:03.895 --> 00:33:07.575 that life is wild. You know? Like, we're in 524 00:33:07.575 --> 00:33:11.415 the wilderness of our lives sometimes. We're 525 00:33:11.415 --> 00:33:15.015 in the wilderness of society. Like, you 526 00:33:15.015 --> 00:33:18.559 know, things can be, complicated 527 00:33:18.940 --> 00:33:22.620 and and tangled and messy. And that that 528 00:33:22.620 --> 00:33:25.520 is okay, you know, that that 529 00:33:26.300 --> 00:33:29.600 the wild spirit exists in all those places, 530 00:33:31.424 --> 00:33:35.205 whether it's, you know, a swamp or 531 00:33:35.585 --> 00:33:39.424 a city street, there there is nature in all of 532 00:33:39.424 --> 00:33:42.885 those places. And and we know that 533 00:33:43.309 --> 00:33:46.910 the spirit, the source of life is there in all of those 534 00:33:46.910 --> 00:33:50.750 places. And so it's sort of a reclaiming of the word 535 00:33:50.750 --> 00:33:54.350 and acknowledging that there's nowhere we can go that 536 00:33:54.350 --> 00:33:56.924 is separate or removed from 537 00:33:58.105 --> 00:34:01.625 our creator. You spend a little time searching for that, 538 00:34:01.625 --> 00:34:04.684 and and in that, you had a a sense of, 539 00:34:06.345 --> 00:34:10.179 it sounds like, I don't know, if disassociation, a sense 540 00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:13.719 of unease with kind of the, traditional 541 00:34:14.020 --> 00:34:17.800 trappings of the institution. I 542 00:34:18.100 --> 00:34:21.824 I there are a whole number of people who who feel that 543 00:34:21.824 --> 00:34:25.665 kind of uneasiness as well. Do you have any 544 00:34:25.665 --> 00:34:28.885 advice for those who are, you know, longing for that spiritual 545 00:34:29.025 --> 00:34:32.864 community, but feel like, I don't know, if I just fit in at the 546 00:34:32.864 --> 00:34:36.619 traditional church setting? Yeah. There's a lot of options 547 00:34:37.000 --> 00:34:40.759 for folks in that in that realm. Even 548 00:34:40.759 --> 00:34:44.440 though it feels like there aren't, I think there are a lot of 549 00:34:44.440 --> 00:34:47.799 options. So you can bring you can 550 00:34:47.799 --> 00:34:51.395 bring some of this some of these concepts 551 00:34:51.695 --> 00:34:55.215 into your traditional church. You 552 00:34:55.215 --> 00:34:57.955 know, start a creation care committee, 553 00:34:59.615 --> 00:35:03.400 or or encourage you know, I know churches that 554 00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:07.080 will worship on their lawn in the summer or do, you 555 00:35:07.080 --> 00:35:10.380 know, a monthly outdoor worship service in a park 556 00:35:11.400 --> 00:35:14.700 or put up install a labyrinth 557 00:35:15.225 --> 00:35:18.985 somewhere outside or or a prayer trail if your church has 558 00:35:18.985 --> 00:35:22.425 lots of property. There's so many ways of 559 00:35:22.425 --> 00:35:26.205 engaging with creation, and there's so 560 00:35:26.985 --> 00:35:30.460 there's so much precedent for it in scripture, 561 00:35:30.680 --> 00:35:33.980 in our traditions, you know, the various, 562 00:35:35.480 --> 00:35:39.260 Christian traditions and other traditions have so much, 563 00:35:40.359 --> 00:35:44.055 encouragement and guidance and wisdom about connecting, 564 00:35:44.515 --> 00:35:48.135 connecting with creation. One of our favorite, Bible verses 565 00:35:48.275 --> 00:35:52.035 comes from Job who says, ask 566 00:35:52.035 --> 00:35:55.715 the animals what they think. Let the birds teach 567 00:35:55.715 --> 00:35:59.550 you. You know, put your ear to the earth and learn the 568 00:35:59.550 --> 00:36:03.230 basics about who God is. And that's 569 00:36:03.230 --> 00:36:06.770 exactly, you know, the the indigenous wisdom 570 00:36:06.990 --> 00:36:10.589 that we can learn from that we were the 571 00:36:10.589 --> 00:36:14.325 last ones here. The animals and the trees and the 572 00:36:14.325 --> 00:36:17.705 plants, they were all here before us. They all know how to be earthlings 573 00:36:18.085 --> 00:36:21.305 better than we do. So we have a lot to learn from them. 574 00:36:21.845 --> 00:36:25.065 And, and so there's tons of ways of incorporating 575 00:36:26.319 --> 00:36:29.839 these ideas and practices into traditional 576 00:36:29.839 --> 00:36:33.060 church. There's also lots of 577 00:36:34.240 --> 00:36:38.000 places like Church in the Wild cropping up all over the 578 00:36:38.000 --> 00:36:41.845 world. And there's a couple there's a couple resources 579 00:36:42.225 --> 00:36:46.065 you could check. The wild church network has 580 00:36:46.065 --> 00:36:49.665 a map of different wild churches, and the 581 00:36:49.665 --> 00:36:53.125 center for spirituality in nature has a 582 00:36:53.910 --> 00:36:57.430 database of different, groups that meet 583 00:36:57.430 --> 00:37:01.190 outdoors. They're not all gonna look the same. They all 584 00:37:01.190 --> 00:37:04.950 have various differences about 585 00:37:04.950 --> 00:37:08.470 them, but there are people doing 586 00:37:08.470 --> 00:37:12.265 this. And if you can't find someone near you, I 587 00:37:12.265 --> 00:37:16.105 would love to help people start a wild church 588 00:37:16.105 --> 00:37:19.325 gathering. I have, I have helped people, 589 00:37:20.505 --> 00:37:23.405 done some coaching and training and it's, 590 00:37:24.280 --> 00:37:26.860 it's such a needed and, 591 00:37:28.200 --> 00:37:31.960 important way of connecting with God that I am happy 592 00:37:31.960 --> 00:37:35.640 to help others do that. If, if, if 593 00:37:35.640 --> 00:37:38.780 you're not finding anything, if you're not getting anywhere, 594 00:37:39.365 --> 00:37:43.125 let me know. Cool. Well and, Corey, let's go out with this 595 00:37:43.125 --> 00:37:46.664 then. Where are they gonna get ahold of you? Well, we're 596 00:37:47.045 --> 00:37:50.184 easy to find churchinthewild.org. 597 00:37:50.885 --> 00:37:54.680 And there's all of all of the ways you can connect 598 00:37:54.980 --> 00:37:57.300 to us are there on our website, our, 599 00:37:58.980 --> 00:38:02.420 email, Facebook, Instagram, all those 600 00:38:02.420 --> 00:38:05.880 things, you can find fairly easily. 601 00:38:06.555 --> 00:38:10.175 Send us a message and yes, we would love to connect. 602 00:38:10.234 --> 00:38:13.775 Corey, thank you for sharing your story with us. Absolutely. Thank 603 00:38:14.875 --> 00:38:18.714 you. We hope this episode has given you some food and thought on 604 00:38:18.714 --> 00:38:20.970 how to find spirituality in the everyday, whether 605 00:38:48.710 --> 00:38:52.390 possible. Dedications and hard work keep us on air and 606 00:38:52.390 --> 00:38:55.990 connected to our listeners. And speaking and 607 00:38:55.990 --> 00:38:59.829 listening, if you haven't already, we would love for you to see, to 608 00:38:59.829 --> 00:39:02.935 subscribe to help this podcast, 609 00:39:03.475 --> 00:39:05.815 rate us, and also feedback 610 00:39:07.395 --> 00:39:10.135 helps us reach more listeners and continue. 611 00:39:12.515 --> 00:39:16.069 I'll chat at you again in two weeks time. Again, my name is Ryan Dunne. 612 00:39:16.130 --> 00:39:17.430 Peace to you until then.