A Wild Seminary to
Restore Kindred Relationship
with our Sacred Earth
In this liminal time of collapse and emergence, the call of the holy wild echoes within the souls of those who are listening.
Many of us feel an ache just beneath the surface of modern life, a persistent sense that we have been exiled from the very world that sustains us.
For generations, we've held onto a story that says the Earth is a backdrop and Spirit is elsewhere. But that story is fraying. Underneath the noise of a fracturing world, a more ancient conversation is rising up.
Seminary of the Wild Earth is an invitation to listen. It is a yearlong immersion into kinship, reciprocity, and the call of the sacred earth. Together with a cohort of fellow edge-walkers, we are invited to re-learn the language of the living world, and enter back into conversation with the holy in our own watersheds.
In times of great change, those who are called to co-create a new story are first called into the wilderness, like most of our spiritual ancestors. We are stepping in together.
a threshold crossing
The Emerging New Story
Needs a New Kind of Spiritual Leader
The time has come to lift that veil of fog and return to intimate relationship with the living world. More and more of us are taking our place, once again, as full participants in the web of life, which we remember is held together by love. — Victoria Loorz, Church of the Wild
At the core of our ecological and cultural challenges is a spiritual problem that organized religion or politics is not going to solve. A new kind of spiritual leader is needed.
This new kind of spiritual leadership is centered in the reality that life itself is sacred, and holiness is not contained in buildings or institutions. Likewise, leadership in the New Story is not a job, it is a way of being in relationship. And it begins with some kind of call of the wild that you may recognize as an ache in your soul.
There is a particular kind of longing that draws us toward the wild. It often begins as a quiet restlessness—a sense that the "indoor" story we’ve been told is no longer large enough to hold the truth of who we are.
Companions for this journey arrive at this threshold from the edges of traditional institutions, having felt the gap between our spiritual hunger and the structures meant to feed it. Others come from the front lines of healing and activism, seeking a source of resilience that isn't dependent on human systems alone.
Edgewalkers from both the inside and outside edges of the Christ tradition, other religious traditions and no tradition at all, we are bound together by a shared recognition: that our own flourishing is inseparable from the flourishing of the Earth. We are people who have felt the mystery stirring in our own backyards, in the silence of a forest, or in the rhythmic pulse of the tide. We are ready to listen, once again, to the wind and the stars.
We gather here to remember our place within the wild world. We know that a more kin-centric way of being human is possible, a way both ancient and emergent. And we are taking the first steps toward this world by going out to the wild edges around us, listening to what they have to say, and then returning to the container of the Cohort gatherings to speak these insights into the collective.
“We are talking only to ourselves. We are not talking to the rivers, we are not listening to the wind and stars. We have broken the great conversation.” — Thomas Berry
The Journey
A Year of Deep Remembering
Seminary of the Wild Earth is an immersion into the Great Conversation. It’s an invitation to see the world in a new way, as a living web of interbeing which includes us and nourishes us. Founded by Victoria Loorz, author of Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred, the wild seminary is a collaborative support system for those who recognize that our spirituality is not a private, indoor matter, but is intimately woven into the life of the wild world.
The Seminary of the Wild Earth is not a classroom; it is a "wild seed bed"—a sanctuary designed to nurture the vision of a "kin-dom of God" already growing inside you. This yearlong immersion is a container for transformation, shifting you from an observer of the world to a full participant in the sacred web of life.
Core Practice of Presence
At the heart of this journey is the practice of wandering. We go out to the land in our own watersheds, listening deeply to the voices of the more-than-human world. This dialogue often unfolds in a “language older than words,” where the simple act of attention becomes a form of reciprocity. We aren’t just observing the wild world; we are entering into a sacred exchange, offering our presence back into the conversation.
From the solitude of the land, we return to the “village” of our cohort. Gathering back together into small kindred councils, we share the experiences of our wanders, allowing the community to act as a mirror for our unfolding. It is in this movement—the pulse between the wild and the hearth—that a powerful transformation occurs. We tap back into an ancient sense of the Holy that predates the walls of empire, re-membering the “ligament” (religio/religion) that binds us to the Earth. What emerges is a sense of calling that is both deeply personal and in service to the whole.
The Container
The Seminary of the Wild Earth journey is held by a “sacred container”, a structured ecosystem of cohort gatherings, small group council sessions, land-based practices, and online spaces. The container is a collective architecture designed to hold the weight of our grief, the depth of our questions, and the emergence of our visions. It ensures that the rewilding process is not a solitary struggle, but a held and shared initiation.
Books and other resources are suggested along the way, but this is not an academic pursuit. Seminary of the Wild Earth is rooted in the heart. More mystical than theological. More grounded in experience than in theory.
Tracing the flow of Victoria Loorz's upcoming book, Wild Spirituality: How the Sacred Invites Us into Kinship with Earth, the yearlong tracks the pattern of change recognized in all of life: from original belonging into exile before returning home with a deeper capacity to love. From order to disorder to reorder, from death and grief into new life.
Elements of the Container
Communal Seedings
The full cohort gathers bi-weekly for live online sessions called "seedings," where participants become community. Designed to sprout new ways of connecting with the wild ones in your neighborhood, these gatherings—led by Victoria, the guides, and visiting "wild luminaries"—serve to orient the journey, offering invitations and practices of rewilding our spirituality. These sessions are experiential and rich, weaving together diverse modalities including embodiment practices and immersive imaginal journeys that are rooted in our ongoing wandering experiences on the land.
Guided Small Group Councils
Every other week, the journey moves into the intimacy of a "kinship group"—a circle of 6-8 fellow wanderers, creating an intimate community. Held by experienced guides who have walked this path themselves, these councils provide a safe, heart-centered space to process and integrate transformative experiences. This is where the threads of our individual stories are woven into a larger web of mutual support, creating a sanctuary for deep listening and collective witness.
Seasonal Intensives
To mark the turning points of the year, day-long intensives offer a chance to sink deeper into the land. Following a communal opening, the day centers on an extended period of solitary wandering in your own watershed before returning to the "village" to share what was experienced. These intensives act as a threshold, allowing the practices to take root more firmly and providing the space for the most profound shifts in your rewilding journey.
1:1 Integration
Personalized mentoring is a vital pillar of the year. Six individual sessions with a dedicated Guide who also leads your kinship council provide a private space to explore, unpack, and digest the rich invitations of the program. These Guides bring diverse gifts of companioning and deep experience to help integrate your unique discoveries and wonderings, ensuring that your personal calling is seen, heard, and nurtured.
Ceremony and Ritual
Included throughout the journey are guided rituals and ceremonies designed to anchor your transformation in the physical world. These are not merely symbolic gestures, but intentional ways of "speaking" with the more-than-human world—from seasonal thresholds to offerings of grief and gratitude. By engaging in these ancient forms of sacred conversation, you learn to move beyond theory and into a lived, rhythmic relationship with the Spirit and the land.
Readings and Resources
Recommended readings are penned by elders in the ancient and emerging eco-spirituality world including: Thomas Berry, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Randy Woodley, Bayo Akomolafe, Martin Shaw, Toko-pa Turner, David Whyte, John O'Donahue, Joanna Macy, J. Drew Lanham, Mary Oliver, John Philip Newell, Annie Dillard, Hildegarde of Bingen, Richard Rohr, Wendell Berry, Christina Cleveland, Mirabai Starr, Bill Plotkin, Tielhard de Chardin, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Meister Eckhart, Matthew Fox, Andreas Weber, Monica Gagliano, Vanessa Andriotti, Tyson Yunkaporta, Barry Lopez, Robert Macfarlane, Brian McLaren, Belden Lane, Asia Suler, Leah Penniman...and so many more!
Ecosystem Community
The Ecosystem is an active and dynamic online community to engage with peers, find resources, explore prompts and invitations, and share your journey and insights alongside a community of like-hearted friends. Hosted on the Mighty Networks platform, The Ecosystem is an accessible and connective space. You will have access to the larger cohort, as well as a more intimate space with your council group.
Weekly Invitations
The core of the work happens on the land through weekly invitations. These curated resources—including readings, poems, songs, spiritual practices and journaling prompts—are designed to support the primary practice: the wander. By consistently entering into conversation with the more-than-human others who share your Place, your spirituality is able to ground in the actual soil of your home watershed.
EcoSpirituality Certificate
Upon completion of the yearlong program, you will receive an Eco-Spirituality Certificate marking the threshold you have crossed. This serves as a formal recognition of your immersion into the practices of wild spirituality and sacred reciprocity. It honors the deep inner and outer work you have undertaken, signaling your readiness to carry this rewilded presence back to your home watershed.
The Guides
Seminary of the Wild Earth grew from a yearning for community in the often solitary work of reconstructing a spirituality rooted in relationship with Earth. Victoria Loorz, MDiv—founder of the Center for Wild Spirituality and author of Church of the Wild—began to imagine a different kind of seminary: not built on books and doctrine, but a living seedbed of practice, grounded in relationship with both the land and one another. What emerged was a collaborative community where reverent attention to Place shapes how we live, serve, and belong.
The Wild Seminary experience is held by an experienced team of Guides who have each deeply engaged in the work of rewilding their own souls and those of others. They are eco-therapists, eco-spiritual directors, poets, and wild coaches, each bringing a unique modality to the container. By holding space in Councils and offering practices and experiences during the Seedings, the Guides bring in a diverse lineage of healing work and serve as an anchor for those moving through the journey.
Year Two: Answering the Call
Choosing to enter Seminary of the Wild Earth is often just the first threshold. For many, the year of rewilding awakens a persistent nudge to bring this work deeper into their vocation and community. To support this deepening, the path continues into a second year—a focused container designed to move from inner transformation into an embodied calling. This is the space where the "Great Conversation" becomes a delivery system for one's unique gifts, offering a grounded way to serve place, people, and the Holy Wild in a time of ecological and cultural unraveling.
Wild Call Fellowship
The Wild Call program is a sacred invitation to listen for how the longings of the soul want to take shape in the world. It is designed for the "edgewalkers" who feel called to midwife a "living offering" into the world. Through mentorship, communal council, and creative exploration, this fellowship provides the scaffolding needed to clarify a wild calling and shape it into form. This path culminates in a communal Wild Ordination—a formal confirmation of one’s commitment to serve the Earth in a particular, rooted way.
Eco-Spiritual Direction
For those drawn to the art of sacred presence, this pathway offers training in the emerging vocation of Eco-Spiritual Direction. In partnership with Stillpoint, this training expands the lineage of spiritual companionship through the lens of deep ecology and wild listening. It is a journey into the "art of listening-with," where the more-than-human world is recognized not just as a setting, but as the true Guide. Participants acquire the tools to companion others through their own rewilding, learning to hold a safe container as people weave their spiritual journeys back into the water, wind, and soil of their home places.
The first step toward either of these pathways is participation in the first year of Seminary of the Wild Earth. Apply Now.
Full program details and alumni registration for Year Two programs will open March 21, 2026.
Onland Gatherings
The full Seminary of the Wild Earth journey includes three optional in-person gatherings:
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The Sacred Conversations retreat - recommended before starting the program
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The Wilderness Vigil - for those who have completed Year 1 of the program
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The Wild Ordination ceremony - for graduates of Year 2 programs
Graduate Stories
“(The program) was like this deep inhale — such a gift of time and space and community to learn and to grow. It was such a safe and sacred space. It's nice and cozy to just sit and read and learn, but there comes a point where you feel that now you've been given this gift. I feel like I've been given this gift to give to others.”
– Ash Rodriguez, chef and author
"I walk an earth based Jewish path that is both rooted in tradition and yet heterodox to normative Judaism. I was drawn to the program because I’m an Animist and I wanted a container that would help me deepen my practice. The program has absolutely provided that, with a chance to do some deep inner work. I have found that though our paths are different, the fact that we are all committed to deepening our connection to the holy wild lets us all speak a common enough language, from the Christian ministers to the druid to the not really sure, to the solitary Jew."
— Jared Gellert, educator
"For me, an identity shift happened. It has to do with being a woman who is in touch with the wisdom of the Earth, who is intuitive and wildly indigenous, who is whole, who sees the enchantment and the sacredness all around and wants to share that with the world. I am glad that I am confident in who I am and what I have to bring and give to the world. … Thank you again for giving the space to deepen into this journey."
— Wendy Janzen, wild church pastor
"This program has made me think so much about how the call of the wild is really a call to the deepest authentic self. It is about being and belonging rather than competing or strategizing. I’ve come to think of freedom as, really, the courage to live from your deepest, most authentic self. The self that is wild. That’s what Seminary of the Wild has been immensely helpful for me and I feel so much gratitude for it."
— Quentin Dunne, therapist
Announcing the 2026 Crow Cohort
Since 2019, this program has served as a crucible for over 300 "edge-walkers" seeking a deeper integration of spirit and soil. Each cohort journeys with an accompanying species—walking with the murmuration of the Starlings, the trickster wisdom of the Coyote, the persistence of the Dandelion, and the observant depth of the Barred Owl. What these wild ones have in common is that they are all liminal beings. They are edge-dwellers who have learned how to thrive in the cracks between the wild and the human-tamed world. They are resilient, adaptive, and they refuse to be exiled.
In 2026 the Crow, a master of the Great Conversation, guides us. Crows are keen watchers of the threshold and keepers of a complex, vocal community. To join the Crow Cohort is to commit to a year of sharp-eyed observation and radical reciprocity. Like the crow, we are learning to live with intelligence and heart in a fracturing world, recognizing that our survival—and our joy—is found in the strength of the community.
The 2026 Crow Cohort is forming now. This is an invitation to step out of the fog and into a year of radical reconnection. The Crows are waiting for you at the edge of the woods.
"What is your role in this love story of reconnection, restoration, and compassion?What part of the sacred wild is calling you to be ordained into service on her behalf?"
— Victoria Loorz, Church of the Wild
