Rewilding Christianity
by Jane, in our January FRoGR members newsletter
It’s been a while since I cleaned outside the front door. There are many shoes, and odd bits and pieces that are covered in dust and old cobwebs. As I bend down to start the cleaning I see a beautiful stick insect with its wings open. I don’t think I even realised they had wings. They are a stunning purple against their thin brown body.
This time of year, we get to see a lot from nature. So far in this Christmas/New Year period we have spotted a white headed pigeon (first time seeing this bird, rare in our area), a low flying wedge-tailed eagle, two snakes and now this stick insect. As humans, we can very easily ‘observe’ these creatures and look at them with curiosity. While we may feel a sense of awe and wonder, we generally have a sense of disconnection: ‘That is nature, we are not’.
Rewilding practices help us to no longer be the ‘observer’ but move towards connection. I have learnt from the rewilding community to stop, slow down and take in this moment with these creatures. Imagine they are just as interested in you as you are in them. And then, ask the question: ‘What is life like for you?’ To get an answer to this question, we must be still and observe. And then, is this creature mirroring back to me something about my life?
These rewilding practices are deep within the Christian tradition but we have predominantly lost them. ‘Be still and know that I am God.’ Being still in nature, which is God’s creation, can lead us to a deeper understanding of God. A deeper connection to how God works in this world. The wild animals know how to live fully in the world that God has given them. They do not ask for anything more. They constantly teach me how to be still, how to live at God’s pace and to know the work of God.
Jesus was constantly going out to the mountains to pray. I think as a child, hearing these stories inside a building meant that I pictured him kneeling with head down, eyes, closed, saying his prayers to God. Maybe he did do that some of the time. But now that I have sat out in nature/God’s creation for extended periods of time, I realise how much my head is up, eyes wide open and being shown the mystery I call God, through my experiences of the flora and fauna.
