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?