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Outdoor

Worship:

Learning from the

Forest Church Movement

Last week, I talked about several different initiatives that Mennonite Creation Care Network is encouraging right now. Today, I’d like to look at forest churches and see what we can learn from them in an era of COVID-19, when we may not be able to worship together indoors safely for a while yet. Today, I’ll explain what I mean by forest churches and we’ll look at several examples. Then, we’ll think together about what it might look like to create a forest church service at Berkey. On August 16, we are going to try it outdoors in person. I am using the terms, forest church and wild church interchangeably. Forest church first developed in England, which is in a forest biome. In the U.S., where not all areas are naturally forested, the term wild church is also used.

In bringing up forest churches, I am not trying to replace Zoom worship or any of the good work that the worship commission has been doing. Nor am I volunteering to start a forest church singlehandedly! But I am in touch with a lot of resources that some people might need I want to share them in case there is a small group at Berkey that would like to run with this and meet in the forest church manner.

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Introductory questions

What percentage of your average week do you spend outdoors versus indoors?

When have you sat or wandered outdoors on our church property, just observing your surroundings

Photo borrowed from the Wild Church Network

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Sea of Galilee

Resurrection appearance…John 21

Calling of disciples…Matthew 4

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On the road

Healing two blind men…..Matthew 20
Parable of the Good Soil…..Matthew 13
Parable of the fig tree

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Mount of Olives

Triumphal entry…Luke 19

Prayer before the crucifixion…Luke 22

The Ascension…Acts 1

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No. Not this.�

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A parallel movement: Kinderforest and nature preschools

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In this age of mass extinctions, we feel compelled by the love of Christ to invite people into intimate relationship with some of the most vulnerable victims of our destructive culture: the land, waters, and creatures with whom we share our homes.

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From the Holy Hikes website:

It has been said that “people will protect what they love.” The ultimate goal of this ministry is to help individuals be renewed in their love-relationship with the earth, the universal church, and with their Creator. The environmental crisis today is, at its core, a broken relationship between the human community and the earth.

Holy Hikes calls us to relate to all of creation in a communion-centered way. Change will come with legislation and cheaper green products, but we believe transformation will come as we reestablish our communion with all of life. Holy Hikes calls us beyond the walls of comfort, to take a step, perhaps even a hike, towards reunion with the earth and all its life and beauty. Join us in finding new ways to restore our communion with all of Creation.

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Why do people choose forest churches?

As I’ve alreWhy people go outside to worship:

· They are concerned about the ecological crisis and they are seeking healing for our broken relationship with nature.

· They sense the presence of God in the natural world in a way that they don’t other places.

· For one reason or another, indoor churches don’t work for them.

· Forest churches don’t cost much to implement.

What is the typical forest church like?

· There is no typical forest church. Just as indoor worship ranges from Mennonite to Muslim to Foursquare Baptist. Theologically diverse.

· However, the most significant common characteristic is a sensitivity to the outdoor surroundings that they have available and an understanding that they are part of the broader creation and worshipping with it. You can address a lot of different themes in a forest church, but acknowledgement of what’s around you would be part of every service.

· Some meet in a fixed location; others meet at a different park or wild area every time.

· Some meet every week; more often they meet once a month.

· Would be similar to a camp retreat.

· Most are not all sitting. They walk around to some extent. Some never sit down. They might gather for a period of liturgy with prayers and readings or a ritual and then scatter and walk on their own for a period of time, coming back to share their thoughts. Communion is one of our rituals that works well outdoors in smaller groups.

· Usually a period of contemplation, wandering alone.

Who comes to forest churches?

· Are a mix of people supplementing regular worship and people who are either done with regular church or never went.

· Forest churches are sometimes started by traditional churches as an outreach to people in the community that wouldn’t come to traditional indoor worship with walls. Wilmot example. Clientele does not overlap much.

· Tend to be ecologically minded.

· From babes in arms to a 75-year old person in a wheelchair.

· Person with post-concussion syndrome

Dogs

ady mentioned, most people who attend forest churches

are concerned about the ecological crisis and are seeking healing for our broken relationship with nature.�

Independent of that, others may come because they sense the presence of God in the natural world in a way that they don’t other places.�

Third, outdoor churches may appeal to people who would never set foot in a traditional church. Some have baggage of one sort or another, sometimes having to do with exclusion, hypocrisy, bad experiences in childhood, etc.. Traditional liturgical language may be foreign to them.

Forest churches tend to be a mix of people, some of whom are supplementing their traditional worship lives and some who are either done with church or never went. Sometimes they are started by traditional churches as an outreach to young people or others who wouldn’t attend traditional indoor worship.

A few people choose outdoor worship because an outdoor space with a small group works better for medical reasons such as allergies or post-concussion syndrome. �

Lastly, forest churches don’t cost much to implement. If you want to plant a church, this is an inexpensive way to do it!

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What is it like to attend a forest church?�

There is no typical forest church. Just as indoor worship ranges from Mennonite to Muslim to Foursquare Baptist, forest churches are theologically diverse.

However, the most significant common characteristic would be the emphasis on worshipping WITH the rest of creation. We talk about being intercultural; this is an interspecies form of worship, with the landscape as partner in that worship, as described in a number of the Psalms. The trees are not just wallpaper; they are part of the worshipping community. You can address many different themes in a forest church, but acknowledgement of what’s around you would be part of every service.

Some forest churches meet in a fixed location; others meet at a different park or wild area every time.

Some meet every week; more often they meet once a month.

Most are not all sitting. Some never sit down. They might gather for a period of liturgy with prayers and readings or a ritual and then scatter and walk on their own for a period of time, coming back to share their thoughts. Communion is one Christian rituals that works well outdoors in smaller groups. Both of the Mennonite-related wild churches I’m acquainted with celebrate communion each time they meet.

Usually, there is a contemplative period for wandering alone.

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What about the weather?

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Strengthes and weaknesses of forest churches

Strengths� Special strengths of forest churches

Certain metaphors are baked into the model: God’s presence everywhere. Not confined by walls.

Situates our individual spiritual pilgrimages within a broader human and non-human community.

Novelty from most of our work weeks.

Downsides of forest churches:

· Less stable communities. Really worshipping communities rather than churches. Attendance fluctuates; people come and go. Hard to build community.

· Music is often not a big part of forest church. Problem of shared music heritage, hymn books, paper. More often, music is provided by the birds.

· Accessibility can be a problem. Depending what everyone else wants to do, it can exclude older people.

· Size tops out around 35.

Certain metaphors are baked into the model: God’s presence everywhere. Not confined by walls.

A period of walking alone within a worship service situates our individual spiritual pilgrimages within a broader human community.�

Provides novelty from many of our work weeks based on screens.

Downsides of forest churches:

Less stable communities. Really worshipping communities rather than churches. Attendance fluctuates; people come and go. Hard to build community.

Human music is often not a big part of forest church. More often, music is provided by the birds and insects. Problems include the lack of a shared music heritage, no hymn books, it can be intimidating to sing in a small group.

Accessibility can be a problem. It is possible to design a forest church experience that never leaves asphalt. 75-year-olds in wheelchairs have attended some services. But depending what everyone else wants to do, it can exclude older people.

Size tops out around 35.

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��Burning Bush Forest Church� �St. Jacobs, Ontario�

Here are examples of a variety of forest churches.

The woman on the left is Wendy Janzen, a Mennonite pastor from St. Jacobs, ON. Much of what I know about forest church, I’ve learned from Wendy, who started the Burning Bush Forest Church several years ago.

�Burning Bush meets once a month and is about half people who are supplementing traditional worship and half people who are not churchgoers. Wendy also leads another forest church in a different community at the request of an elderly traditional church that wanted to do something for their community.

Wendy began Burning Bush when several things came together for her:

A neighbor said to her, “I’m done with church! I get more out of going on a hike.”�
Her child was enrolled in a forest school, and she asked herself why church couldn’t happen outdoors like that.�
She had a sabbatical during which she could focus on learning about 21^st century emerging church models.�

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Wild Church Fresno

Some of you may know Katerina Friesen, who attended AMBS and lived in this area some years back. She is the leader of Wild Church Fresno . You may have seen her article about it on the MCUSA site. Wild Church Fresno meets outdoors once a month, usually on the banks of the San Joaquin River under a wide oak tree. This site is marked with graffiti and often littered with beer cans and trash.

Katerina describes their worship as follows: “About 15-20 people join our worship, and our gatherings include song, prayer, Scripture reading, group reflection, and a time for contemplative wandering before ending with communion.”

“We praise God together with the river, the salmon making their way upstream despite a series of dams, and the fertile earth beneath us; we also seek to pay attention to the pains of creation in lament: rising summer temperatures, one in four children who suffer from asthma from polluted Central Valley air, fewer and fewer insects and birds, and forests burning in fires not far from us.”

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The Garden Church of San Pedro, CA

Meets in an urban garden. Worships in a green house when it rains. An outdoor communion table is surrounded by vegetable beds. �
Bought an abused piece of land in a poor neighborhood instead of a building. �
They begin by working the soil together before worship.�
Addressing hunger is one of their key ministries.�

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The Land

Aurora, CA

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TEST CASE:

What elements of worship might work well in a cave?
What spiritual themes lend themselves to this setting?

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Berkey Outdoors August 16�Health and Safety Parameters

All outdoors. Enter the building only for essential bathroom visits.
No more than 15 people and/or 5 families per service.
Follow social distancing guidelines. Everyone over the age of 2 wears a mask. Self-screen for illness before coming. �
Format:

Gathered together for about 15 minutes
Followed by a 20-minute period of walking on our own or within our bubbles.
Return for another 15 minutes.�

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What might a forest church that is authentic to Berkey Avenue look like?��Qu: What assets do we have in terms of our setting?��

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What worship themes or elements lend themselves to our setting?

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How might we offer worship that connects with children and youth?

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More resources

Wild Church Network

https://www.wildchurchnetwork.com/�

Mennonite Creation Care Network’s post on worshipping outdoors https://mennocreationcare.org/worshipping-outdoors/

Podcast: A Conversation with Wendy Janzen

https://seedschurch.ca/wild-church-a-conversation-with-wendy-janzen-episode-5/

Video: Healing the earth through awe and wonder (7 min.) �https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJazk0v3_LI&feature=youtu.be