Wild Church Leadership Course - Spring 2024

This seven-week course is for those who want to focus on their leadership skills to guide a wild church in their community.  This journey will guide you through a process of learning and unlearning, and perhaps perception shifting through deep listening and engagement with your most wild self, our sacred Earth, and the spiritual reality that interweaves all things together.

This program is a collaboration between the Wild Church Network and the Center for Wild Spirituality

Who is This For?

For existing wild church pastors as well as those considering starting one in your wildish Place.   The course offers training and tools to support you as you consider, plant and guide a growing wild church community.

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Sessions include:

Our journey together will guide you through a process of learning and unlearning. Each week, Victoria and Valerie invite a couple different wild church pastors to share their stories, answer questions and help to unfold the breadth and depth of wild church leadership.

Week One:  Introduction to the Wild Church Movement. Beginning with introductions to each other, this introductory session covers what wild church is and isn't. We are careful to avoid anything like dogma and institutionalization, but we can share our observations of what is emerging in this movement.

Week Two: Wild Theology/Spirituality. The foundational Place-based and contextual roots of a theology and spirituality that embraces the land and all beings as sacred: The shift from doctrines and mental constructs to embodiment and experience.

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Week Three: Wild Leadership. A new leadership is emerging that is based on calling forth the truest voice within each of us. This is about authenticity, empowering your unique voice for this time in history, and alignment with your soul and the earth. We’ll also explore ways to hold space for your gatherings, your role in the circle, and how to serve as guide into deeper relationship with the landscapes around and within.

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Week Four: Practices.  Opening to the voice of the sacred wild. We’ll discuss the ecosystem of a gathering with earth-based practices and ideas such as wandering invitations, communion liturgies, music, council, benedictions. This module will unpack a variety of eco-spiritual practices that include a wide spectrum of expression - from liturgical to interfaith, from conversational to Celtic, as well as rewilding sacraments such as baptism and weddings.

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Week Five: Logistics.  This session is focused on the logistics of starting and growing a wild church:  where to meet? what about weather? what about children and teens? liability issues? affiliation with denominations...or not? can I really make money doing this?

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Week Six: Wild Church Membership.  What does it mean to connect to an international movement of people drawing their communities into intimate relationship with the natural world?

Week Seven: Integration.  We’ll conclude our time together with ritual and ceremony to integrate what has unfolded as you enter into your distinct callings in service to the sacred earth and your community.

This course will be led by Victoria Loorz and Valerie Serrels. Learn more about them here!