Church of the Wild

Worshipping Among Trees

on August 17, 2018

Last week The Washington Post reported on a new “Church of the Wild” of about 50 worshipers that meets in the woods:

Worshipers drum, sing and listen to recitations of poetry in an effort to connect with nature and fulfill the church’s stated goal: honoring “the mutual indwelling of the Divine with the Earth and all of its beings.”

The headline was: “No sermons at this church: Congregants wander silent and barefoot through nature at Church of the Wild.”

It would be easy to mock this group of barefoot nature religionists as pantheistic, New Age crypto hippies trapped in a 1960s time warp. But such critique would not be entirely fair.

English journalist Malcolm Muggeridge remarked that ancient pagan animists worshipping rocks were closer to the truth than secular modern man who worships himself or his pleasures.

There’s much to affirm about Church of the Wild. They’re outdoors, with family and friends, finding community, nurturing spirituality, seeking purpose and transcendence beyond themselves. Their Sunday pursuit is beyond question more admirable than playing video games, watching reality tv, shopping, or visiting a casino, which the DC suburbs now tragically have.

Church of the Wild is very American, in sync with 19th century transcendentalism and especially with Henry David Thoreau. We can wish them well in their pursuit of harmony and beauty in nature. This video of their first worship gathering earlier this year, with the pastor urging fellowship with “human, fern and hawk,” is quite hypnotic.

Church of the Wild Begins from Jane Pittman on Vimeo.

But for Christians and other believers in personal deity the Church of the Wild’s theology is incomplete. Rev. Sarah Anders “doesn’t preach a sermon — instead, attendees wander through their surroundings in total silence for about half an hour,” the article reports.

“We don’t say the G-o-d word a lot,” Anders told The Post. “The emphasis is on God as a universal force. . . . Our mission is to help people come more into their spirits and their hearts.” She founded the church with Beth Norcross,  founding director of the Center for Spirituality in Nature and an adjunct faculty member at United Methodist Wesley Theological Seminary. Church of the Wild doesn’t sound very Methodist.

Church of the Wild does identify as Christian but not with any denomination. Anderson pastored a United Church of Christ congregation but quit because “she couldn’t bear ‘tripping over’ typical church language one minute longer. ‘God as a ‘He,’ people as ‘sinners’ — I couldn’t sit and hear it anymore,'” she explained.

So there’s beating of drums, Native American music, deep breathing, guided meditation into the subconscious, staring intently at trees, and singing Alicia Keys’ song “We Are Here,” stressing: “We are here for all of us.” One congregant explained: “To me, it’s like the woods and God are the same thing.”

Is Church of the Wild extolling Druidism? Pantheism? Church of the Wild is a national movement. A California congregation on its website explains they are:

A new expression of church that participates in the evolving story of God told through sacred narratives, wilderness and our lives. Church is not a building or a set of beliefs, it is a Conversation.

This website also says:

In the beginning was the Conversation. And the Conversation was with God. And the Conversation was God. — John 1:1-3

Well, no, the Gospel of John doesn’t reference “Conversation,” it cites the eternal Word, which is Christ. There is indeed conversation, but it begins with Him, who invites response.

With whom does Church of the Wild seek to converse? The trees are peaceful and beautiful but they will not converse. They can only by their existence point to One Who does speak, and Who offers more peace and solace than all forests together, which are mere fragments of His footstool. Maybe some worshippers of Church of the Wild, in the silence of the woods, will hear His voice, and listen.

  1. Comment by Dan on August 17, 2018 at 11:06 am

    May the force be with you! Sorry, couldn’t resist 🙂

  2. Comment by mork from orc on August 17, 2018 at 7:11 pm

    Nanu nanu

  3. Comment by Paul W. on August 18, 2018 at 2:25 pm

    I think you are being too kind, Mark. A church led by non-Christians and seeking spirituality within nature is only going to push people further away from Christ. Anyone content with the concept that everything is part of God is not going to be open to the message of the Cross.

  4. Comment by Penny on August 23, 2018 at 3:39 pm

    I am so sorry that Anderson’s little feelings are hurt because God’s Word tells us we are sinners. Jesus called us sinners. “I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Luke 5:32 Today Jesus still calls sinners. He would gather us all as chicks but … we would not.

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