Prompts for Reflection

These prompts were used during Weird Church in the Woods in October 2025. We encourage you to use one or more during some intentional time in the forest.

These prompts are inspired by the book “Church of the Wild” by Victoria Loorz

Attune to one sense at a time to the presence of beings nearby — in succession, smell, hearing, sight and touch:

Hear a tree? Keep listening…who else do you hear? 

See a spider? Who else…?

Smell something wafting? Keep smelling… 

Feel a rock? Who else…?

Make note of the company you have in your Spot today.



Choose a tree (or, allow yourself to be chosen by a tree) near or at your Sit Spot. As you approach Tree, ask permission to draw near and lean against Tree's trunk so that you're looking at the world from Tree's perspective. Linger in that posture. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you notice? What do you feel?



“The living world is where we can be opened up in receptivity to a divine encounter. There is an invitation here, offered to all of us: in order to listen for the holy, to engage in intimate conversation with the sacred, one goes into the wilderness. (Church of the Wild p. 65) Take a few minutes to reflect on this quote. How does it sit with you? Are you willing to accept the invitation today? Imagine the Sacred is calling you into relationship with the wilderness for a reason.  Can you sense the reason?


Standing or sitting, reach down and touch the ground, or as near to the ground as you’re able. Splay your fingers and press them into the earth. Then turn your palms to the sky and slowly begin to raise your hands above the earth, pausing every few inches to balance that patch of sky on your palms. Reach up as high as you’re able. Look up at your hands and beyond your hands. What do you see? And what do you feel? Where does the sky begin? And where does the sky end?




“Robin Wall Kimmerer, in Braiding Sweetgrass, writes ‘Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”

Consider a place or being you love; name one you’ve fallen in love with; and name one who loves you back. What are your hopes for the future of that place? Your fears?“







Then the Lord God formed a human from the dust of the ground and breathed into the human’s nostrils the breath of life, and the human became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7). 

Sitting in your spot, take some breaths.

Inhale. Then hold, pause and think: “I am animated by the divine.”

Exhale. Then hold, pause and think: “I contribute to the earth.”

Repeat this pattern* for as long as you like, knowing that you are one of the many inspired expressions of our animate earth. (*You may recognize this as a variation of Box Breathing.)




In many faiths and cultures throughout history, in many places around the world, the ritual of offering libations to Earth has been a sacred practice. If you have water with you, in a bottle, try engaging in this practice.

Pour out this libation — this water, which connects us with the origins of Life, with the vast oceans, with our own tears — onto the ground, making it holy ground, blessed with your attention, intention, care — and perhaps your sorrow and sadness as well.

Notice how you feel before you begin, as you pour, and allow yourself to rest in the sensation afterwards.


What metaphors for God resonate for you in this time, and in your place?


As you rest in place, look for signs of wounds, damage, or violence done to your surroundings, and allow yourself to feel whatever arises — grief, sorrow, anger, sadness, shame? Look, too, for signs of healing — scars, or new growth, and allow yourself to feel whatever arises — wonder, hope, possibility?

What role does grief play in your relationship with the natural world?


Think of a time you followed the promptings of your heart.

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? Or rather, how might you follow the promptings of your heart in service of the earth?


Star Words

On the first Sunday in January we have a tradition that is now a few years old (does it get to be a tradition if it is only a few years old?) of selecting a star word to guide us through the year. We don’t get to choose the word exactly, they are face down and we allow for the one with the right “stuff” to call to us. These are available throughout the rest of the month for those who missed the January 5 Sunday Gathering, but if you are an online only person, or would rather not do this in front of others, please check out this online star word generator to have one selected for you .

The idea is to put the word somewhere you will see it throughout the year, and be in relationship with the word as the meaning grows and changes for you. For some, the word will chafe at certain times, or reveal some deeper truths. For some it will affirm a core value and for others it will float along like a pesky gnat all year, winding it’s way into view at inconvenient times.

If you want a deeper dive, check out our 2025 Star Words Guide which gives reflective prompts for each month of the year.

If you are looking for a more fulsome description of the practice of Star Words, check out A Sanctified Art

Helpful things for Advent (2024)

Hello!

Thanks for coming! Here is where I will put resources that I used in December 2024 - please click and download as you desire :)

Advent I: Hope

Hope Quotes: the invitation is to print out this page and cut the quotes into slips and pop them in a jar. Pull a quote when you need a boost of HOPE!

Psalm 62 was the reflective reading. You can have a look at the translation from Nan Merrill by clicking here: Psalms for Praying (62)

Advent II: Peace

Peace Quotes: perhaps you might like to add these to your peace quotes, or make a jar of peace for when you need it.

“Christ in the Rubble” by Kelly Latimore referenced in the service.

Advent III: Joy

Joy Quotes: will you add these to your jar of hope and peace? I sure hope so!

“Mary and Elizabeth” by Lauren Wright Pittman referenced in the service.

Advent IV: Love

Love Quotes: perhaps with these you will have a very interesting jar to pull from indeed :)

If you are looking for an audio version of reflections, or meditations, please visit Weird Church in Your Ears and for a video version, check out our YouTube Channel

Earth, Air, Fire, Water Spiritual Practice Stations

SUNDAY June 23, 2024

At our Sunday Gathering we made time to visit various spiritual practice stations, some with ritual, some with invitation.

The graphics from each station are below: please use them! They are for you :)