Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred

by Victoria Loorz

Once upon a time, humans lived in intimate relationship with nature.



Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirtuality. Victoria Loorz certainly did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world, eventually cofounding the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild.



With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it--and calling it church. Through mystical encounters with wild deer, whispers from a scrubby oak tree, wordless conversation with a cougar, and more, Loorz helps us connect to a love that literally holds the world together--a love that calls us into communion with all creatures.

Genres: Spirituality, Nature, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology, Environment, Ecology

262 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 5, 2021

Reviews

[Kimberly Smith-Stanley · Rating 5 out of 5]

7/1/22 update: Read this for the second time with the good people of Round Rock Presbyterian. We ended our five week study with our own Church of the Wild in the prayer garden at the church, set back in a wooded area. It may have been the highlight of my pastoral career. The emerging church is wild!!!


Nov 15, 2021 first read: This book speaks of the Church arising from the ashes of pandemic might look like, a church that could be a healing balm for all of Creation. So many have left church because of oppressive doctrines and belief that have harmed. Victoria Loorz offer us a way to invite the world back into the conversation, to broaden our understanding of the sacred and broaden our understanding of nature and how we are inexplicably connected. Readers should pay particular attention to chapter six and the conversation on the Logos. Read it several times through and let it sink in. This singular chapter is an invitation for the church to open ourselves to all nature and wildness, that includes ourselves. All are invited, welcome and included in the conversation that is God, the conversation that has been with us since the beginning. Wow! A revelation of magnificent, life changing proportions. As a pastor, in a traditional Presbyterian church, I’m left with the wondering, what comes next for us. If the church reforms every 500 years and we are in the midst of that reformation now, Church of the Wild feels like just the right place to turn for some answers of “what comes next.”

On another note, I can relate with so many of her stories. A childhood filled with trees that were friends, closeness to God in the wilderness of the forrest as a child and an adult. Communing with animals in the wild, feeling the very real presence of God within them. I am so grateful to have found this book. Through its pages I am hearing the words of my own faith journey, retold to me, as if hearing them for the first time. A true gift.

[Bob Henry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to start 2022 with a fresh new perspective on church, theology, and nature. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started, but each day I found myself engrossed in each chapter of this book. I was refreshed by the invitation to nature, to seeing church from a more holistic or raw perspective. But it was when I came to chapter 6, that I finally had to stop and take a deep breath. To me, I received my money’s worth from chapter 6, “In the Beginning was the Logos” alone. Actually, this chapter helped make sense of so many things.

Some may read this book thinking it is about the next church fad - but I beg to differ. I found it devotional, intriguing, offering something to wrestle with, sit with, and explore. Too many of the traditional faith expressions today are missing the ever-important connection to nature, to our rudimentary life, to our essence. Yet, Victoria Loorz invites us to tap into the greater conversation happening all around and within us. I am starting to believe more and more that nature is the entrance point into the deeper sacred mysteries we are missing, today.

I highly recommend this book.

[Aram Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve spent the past couple of decades exploring the confluence of wilderness and spirituality — guiding retreats, taking long walks by rivers, consorting with cottonwoods, sleeping through dark nights under pines, and scouring the earth for good writing that incarnates these elemental encounters.

Church of the Wild is some of that good writing.

Victoria Loorz takes the big ideas of existence — nature, religion, survival, relation — and refines them until they become approachable, conversational companions.

Every word she uses, it’s clear, is saturated with intention. She is an artisan, without succumbing to artifice. Her musings are somehow both wild and refined.

[Stephanie Barko · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the February 2023 selection of South Austin Spiritual Book Group.

Some of my favorite quotes and thoughts on each--

"We need to develop a language of connectedness."
I find this to be such a profound statement politically right now. If English valued language that conveyed and encouraged connnection, maybe we could begin to solve the opioid crisis.

"Spiritual practice begins with a sense of wonder."
If it does, then beginner's mind really means feeling like a kid again. So true that this is what happens when we're having fun and living in the moment.

"Wild animals choose to be seen by you." (and not the other way around)
This explains me running to Animal-Speak by the late Ted Andrews every time a deer or rabbit come into my circle.

"What part of the sacred wild is calling you to be ordained into service on her behalf?"
This is the crux of the question, the core of the book, and what could enable us to survive global climate change.

Thought provoking book, even if you're already in progress with its manifesto.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting with a little history as to how she got where she is it is a comforting walk and even though she is a pastor, it is as far from preachy as it can be. Often making fun of her self and talking to us as if we’re sitting with her having coffee, we are taken on her own revelation as to what has been taken away from religion and how to put it back.

Pulling translations of biblical texts out for validity, one takes note of how they have been rendered to another’s own benefit. A contention I’ve had for decades! It’s a “version”!!! Written by a man!!! - but Victoria shows us how this has been skewed by greed (for power and wealth) and misogyny. She shows us the meaning of Christ, the difference between a noun and verb dogma, and where we got lost on our way to the caging of church.

Every word resonated. I’ve been found and can finally put away my Ruby slippers!

Plenty of resources are found at the end, as well as suggested practices to start (or further) you know your path. Enjoy the saunter!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book, excellent in parts. Didn't engage with everything in it, and it maybe wasn't quite was I was expecting, but still I'm glad books like this one exist in the world.

[Hailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have ever felt a sense of the divine or spirituality in the natural world, this book is for you. Every few pages I felt like standing up and yelling “YES! EXACTLY!”. The author did a truly beautiful job of connecting a multitude of concepts (religion, language, translation, politics, philosophy…) into a concise and actionable message. I intend to revisit this many times in the future.

[Craig D.B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lost me when she started feeding apple slices to the wild deer. Too much anthropomorphizing of wildlife. Imagines too much intimacy in relationship between humans and other species. Let the wild be the wild. Respect, cherish, and love it for its differences and give it the space it should have. We are interconnected and interdependent. That's all we need to understand. And because we do more damage to the planet than any of the other species, we own responsibility for changing our ways. That's how to show care, respect, love, and understanding of our relationship with them.

[Olivia Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most life-changing, mindset-altering, and heart-shifting books I have read in a long time. I’m my break from church, I have been easing back into reading Christian texts and thinkers, and Victoria Loorz felt like a long lost friend I was always supposed to connect with. I expect the words of this book to stick with me for a long time, and if it turns me into some tree-hugging nature hippie, so be it. So thankful for this read

[Susan Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. Hopeful. Uplifting. You won't regret picking this book up and soaking up the wonderful writing, filled with beautiful evocative imagery, and prompting thinky thoughts!

[Cara Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical, holy, lovely.

[Dea]

The book’s description is somewhat misleading - this is billed as a blend of spirituality and ecology but is in fact focused on religion (specifically Christianity) with an emphasis on nature.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some philosophies I couldn’t quite get behind but overall, a beautiful theology of ecology and a reflection about how experiences of the divine are interwoven in the whole natural world.

[Ron at Rockhaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

there is or should be no real dichotomy between institutional church and the habitat of nature. Both can, but often don't, intertwine and lead from one to the other. both church and the wild can be healing places where we face ourselves in a wider community. church should become wilder, and we should treat nature around us, even or especially in urban and suburban areas, as sacred space.

[Clayton Summers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chapter 8, Love Is As Strong As Death, is extraordinarily profound. The entire book is a love letter and it is worth reading.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Church of the Wild twenty years ago would have saved me much heartache. I spent far too many years struggling to reconcile the view of God I received from the church with my love and connection with God that I only rarely felt at church, but nearly always felt in nature. Church of the Wild was like a permission slip reminding me that the two should never have been separated and that my intuition was right all along.

Loorz weaves in history and theology that in less capable hands would have come across as boring or bossy or both. But she takes complicated and seemingly disparate context and draws connections that I would never have arrived at on my own.

Even though I wish the younger me would have had this book, I'm so grateful that it's here now. I'll be passing it out to anyone who is deconstructing their faith or questioning how to reconstruct a new one.

[Lily Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would! As some who is not of Christian Faith, I was not sure what I would think of this book, although as a former colleague of Victoria's I knew I would enjoy it. I found it to be one of the most inspiring and refreshing pieces of lyrical calls to humanity to rebuild our relationships with Mother Earth. This book is a part of the remedy to the crises we face on this planet and in our homes. We need to see the magic in the wonders of earth mother, and truly fall in love with the world around us of which we are a part. Thank you so much Victoria for sharing your stories, experiences, and visions through this incredible piece of work, I will definitely reread this book for years to come.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots to love in this book, like the focus on connecting with God through nature and the idea of separating what God and Jesus say and do in the Bible from what right wing political parties say and do. The downsides of this book were that it was very scattered and didn't stick with a structure, some parts felt like stream of consciousness journaling, and when the author talked about connecting with God in nature, it sounded more like self exploration than worshipping God.

[KA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I've needed for a long time, and I can't believe the whole church isn't talking about it. Longer review to come, hopefully this weekend.

[Edward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is in a long romantic tradition of finding spiritual meaning in nature. For Loorz, it is a search for “the kingdom of God,” a kingdom that includes all species of life, animal and plant as as well as human. The world of nature is intrinsically good. deserving of much more respect than humanity has given it. Viewing other forms of life as here to serve humanity has had disastrous results, even resulting in the extinction of species.

Loorz expands the notion of the sacred to the wilderness. There are speculation about why Jesus periodically went into the wilderness of Judea by himself. Was it more than Jesus just getting a rest from the crowds who followed him? Was he finding his identify in a kind of "vision quest" that made him more of a complete human being? Did he come to recognize that his work of salvation included all living beings as well as humans? “Christ is that sacred Conversation that brings all things into being and links all things together,” she writes. As a result, our collective identity is revealed in the wilderness, it is “made flesh” there.

Loorz borrows from different religions and traditions and points out that while she is rooted in the Christian tradition, she does not call herself a “Christian.” She sees herself as an “edge walker” who avoids what she considers the patriarchal and controlling formulations of Christianity.

Conversation, a give and take, is essential for Loorz. Animals and plants, for example, have much to give us, not through exploitation, but through a sense of awe and wonder. Everyone, she points out, when asked about places in the land they remember, can respond in detail. This relationship with nature can be developed and nurtured as an awareness of our interconnection with the universe beyond ourselves. We become “sacred” when we fully realize that every single creature we encounter is unique.

As a point of departure she discusses the beginning of John’s gospel, “In the beginning was the word . . .” “Word” does not adequately convey what is happening, neither does “logos”. She would substitute “conversation” – “In the beginning was the Conversation,” made up of light and darkness, creator and created , a concept she thinks would better suggest a living world where there is constant exchange between different aspects of being.

Loorz is not opposed to organized religion, but she would “rewild” the church, and add complementary meanings to its practices. People would become “ baptized” into the wild, they would be in “communion” with it, they would be “ordained” into service of the wild. At the end of her book she gives specific examples of “services” that would begin to connect people with the wilderness. Like any practices, to be successful it would require commitment and effort. As an expansion of traditional Christian concepts, Loorz makes considerable sense.

[Lauren Wicker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book challenges my traditional thoughts and experiences but simultaneously speaks to my soul. It is so interesting to dive into the connection between nature and the spiritual. I appreciate the author’s boldness to share her journey of stepping out of the conventional and into something counter cultural yet anciently wise. One of the most thought provoking sections was when she speaks of God calling others into the wilderness- how maybe the call into the wilderness is a call to heal in a sacred place and not just a metaphor for a barren place. I really love this book!!!

[Jonathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

[Sigh]

There are some interesting thoughts and themes in this book—the connection between nature and the divine, and the idea that communing with nature can facilitate powerful spiritual feelings. After all, the author is surely not alone in experiencing a sense of awe and grandeur while immersed in a natural environment, feelings that can help reinforce the idea that we are part of something greater.

Unfortunately, those insights or often buried under layers of new-age, religious jargon. The book is bogged down with passage after passage that is little more than a word salad of meaningless nonsense. Plus, there are a number of factual errors (the beach is not more bio-diverse than the ocean; Mehrabian’s theories dealt only with a specific kind of communication, not all communication). And many of the arguments she tries to build are simply unpersuasive (often because she simply ignores obvious fallacies in order to construct her favored narratives).

Oh yeah—she also spends way too much time talking about deer. Those sections are just stupid.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Fascinating book. Can't decide if I love it or find it banal. Or something else. It sort of amounts to a diary of a person involved in the Wild Church movement. Ecological spirituality.

The Logos as Conversation? It's appealing, but I will need to look into it exegetically and reflect more.

[Tami Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was the perfect companion to my hours of trail running in preparation for a 14 mile through trail. I fell at mile 5.5 and sprained my ankle. I was able to keep going because of listening to the wisdom of this book and the nurturing of the Wild.

I love the message of this book and it felt like someone was putting words to ideas, feelings, and connections that I have felt my whole life. Raised in a conservative Christian church, the idea of being connected to nature or even to God in a felt way was very much frowned upon. Yet I still felt it, so then felt like an outsider in my church. This book brought me home!

The writing style sounded a bit disjointed, but I loved the content, so I bought a print copy and now will try it again. It’s worth reading a second time.

[Sharon Landis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Breath of Fresh Air

I loved this book. I have always felt closest to God when outside surrounded by meadows and forests, trees and birds. In church and in school I always looked out of windows desperate for connection or more accurately, permission to expand the connection to nature I already experienced. I always felt cut off by natural things that gave me the most life, the most spiritual connection. God was supposed to be found in holy places, and even though the Bible describes the desert, the wilderness, and the wind as holy places, mainline "church" is always conducted in buildings sequestered away from the wildness of the outdoors. Except for annual church retreats where recreation was expected, token nature talks were given, and never did one expect to be asked to wander off in solitude and be met by an untamed God. God in the raw, God in the wild, God in your deepest soul. That's why this book is a breath of fresh air, literally and theologically. I appreciate Loorz's theological roots as they reassure those who are afraid of any teaching that challenges our fundamental beliefs. They also validate cultivating a deep, spiritual connection to the very earth that sustains us.

I'm a spiritual director and a master naturalist volunteer. In working with people, I see so many who are deficient in "vitamin nature." It shows up in countless ways: soul restlessness, a deep hunger for meaning beyond collecting stuff or religious dogma, environmental and ecological angst, and in some, complete ignorance of just how interconnected we are all in the web of life - plant, animal, bird, insect, etc. If insects can't thrive, neither can we humans. This book shows how we can begin reconnecting our longing for God with being in the natural world. It wrestles with the question, how can we thrive spiritually without dwelling consciously and respectfully in the beauty and wildness of nature?

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been religious (and still am not) but I do consider myself connected with nature and do consider the natural world a deeply spiritual and soul-restoring place to be. I've been on a kick lately, reading a lot about nature, spiritualism, unplugging, slowing down, reconnecting with your wild roots, etc, and this one is my favorite so far. At times it focuses a little more on "Church" than "Wild" than I might consider ideal, but the author is Christian and the book is primarily based on her own experiences with nature and the sacred, so it makes sense and doesn't feel preachy or pushy. She's a Christian, but she doesn't care if I am, she just wants me to connect with nature and love and respect all life. In most sections where Christianity is explicitly mentioned it's very easy to just mentally insert whatever religion or philosophy you feel most attached to and the sentiment stays the same. It's a compelling, earnest entreaty to connect with something bigger than yourself, humbly and approachably presented, and I really loved the sentiment at the heart of it, which is pure love for the world at large.

[Ernie Tamminga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've gone all the way through a PhD in Cross-cultural Religious Studies, and I'm deeply immersed in the challenges and possibilities of dialogue across religious "boundaries", thanks to my teacher Raimon Panikkar. But Victoria Loorz is the first guide I've discovered who brings us a totally accessible, clear-eyed and theologically sophisticated spirituality of dialogue across ALL boundaries, including those between species. I know that my beloved Planet Earth is grateful to her for having created this wonderful book. She helps us see that Relationality, not "Dominion", is our sacred way of being in (and of) this world.

[Kirsten Schlewitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victoria Loorz cofounded both the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild, so when I began reading her 2021 book, Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us into the Sacred, I expected it would explain how a “church of the wild” functions, or how others might plant similar churches. While a resource list expands on these questions, the book itself is much more: a meditation on constantly encountering the Great Mystery in the form of nature, whether in the isolated mountains of Colorado or a suburban neighborhood in Washington State. Loorz’s goal is to invite her readers into an intimate relationship with the living world, recognizing they are members of an interconnected network made of all participants of the planet, held together by love—and to convince them that they, too, should fall in love with the wild. As this was a path I was already on, I was easy enough to persuade . . . but it was her unique perspective on Christian theology that really drew me in.

Loorz describes “church of the wild” not simply as a way of taking traditional church outdoors, nor as a means for people to gain the health benefits of hanging out in nature, but rather “a movement of people who are taking seriously the call from Spirit to Earth to restore a dangerous fissure. Spirituality and nature are not separate” (p.5). Naturally, this means spending time in nature, experiencing the wild to remind yourself that you are already connected to it, that you can reclaim a dynamic, sacred, wild relationship with the Divine.

Throughout the book, Loorz is careful to not direct her ideas only to those who believe in the Christian God—or even any god at all. The book is, at its core, about falling in love with the earth and committing ourselves to being in relationship with it. But because her roots are in the Christian faith, she often draws comparisons to its theology, while at the same time trying to revamp that theology to disengage it from harmful hierarchical, patriarchal, and colonialist mindsets.

Many readers will be captivated by her descriptions of her repeated encounters with wild deer—how they show up at pivotal moments in her life, and how she is able to establish a relationship with a pair who frequent her yard. But I liked when she took her connections to the natural world and expanded them to reflect on the need to restore authentic conversation . . . something that will require “intentional unlearning,” something that is “necessarily countercultural.” Certainly speaking of ravens guiding you along a specific path, or the feeling that an oak tree is listening as you pour out your thoughts, goes against the rationality we are taught in Western society. It’s not something that people will be comfortable with—but then again, how comfortable was society when Jesus showed up? Jesus, too, shared a deep union with the natural world, being baptized into the river Jordan, being sent into the wilderness, going into the mountains to pray. Loorz (who loves “big secrets hidden in small worlds”) shows the use of “into,” rather than “in,” reveals the relationship Jesus has with the water, the sands, the trees, the sense of belonging, the experience of love.

Loorz expands on her love of words and geeking out on academic puzzles when she dives deep into the true meaning of “logos,” a chapter that blew my own nerdy brain. To summarize, she discovered that “logos,” long translated as “word” in English, is better understood as “conversation.” Essentially, this means Christ, which is who “logos” refers to in the Gospel of John, is conversation: a discourse, a back-and-forth, an intimacy and a familiarity, “an interconnected relationship underlying and holding together the whole universe” (p.109). And because “the Conversation became flesh and dwelt among us,” we all carry the spark of the divine—yes, the deer and the oak as well. Staying true to Christian belief, she reminds us this does not mean we, or any of the created, are God, but that acknowledging we are all actively connected to the divine can increase our compassion and help us treat the non-humans of our world as kin, rather than attempting to dominate them, or to view them only as a resource we can extract for our own purposes.

Church of the Wild concludes with a call to action, a call in the truest sense of the word: not only to step into nature to encounter the Divine Mystery, but to allow ourselves to be “ordained by the wild.” This is not an advertisement to attend Seminary of the Wild, but a plea for us to listen for how our own particular gifts and talents can play a role in renewing and restoring our sacred creation. What the individual reader’s calling is is not explained—it cannot be explained, because only the reader can discern it. Loorz does offer guidance on this discernment, though: we must first step into relationship with this interconnected web of life, into conversation with other species, other habitats. The call, she says, will be both unexpected and familiar, and most likely ridiculous, even implausible. But when it comes, we must say yes, adopting a “holy arrogance,” fully acknowledging that our uniqueness means we have a role to play in this world—and we must say yes now, even if we do not know all the steps, do not know what is to come, trusting that God will guide us. So much of this world is on the verge of collapse, and while it may seem that one person cannot do much, with this book Loorz proves that wrong. I encourage you to read it and see what sparks a call in you to enter into the Great Conversation.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Church of the Wild is a call to rewild one's spirituality, religious life, and the church. Overall the book provides a compelling and engaging call to go back to the "wild" sacred space from which will all came. In this call, Loorz aligns with the psychology of nature deficit disorder and the beginning of a focus on specific creation theology in the Christian church (beginning at least by the 1950s) but she does not connect directly with these or a host of other similar initiatives within or outside the Christian church.

Loorz is (or was) an ordained pastor in a Christian denomination and demonstrates knowledge of the Bible, biblical languages, etc. She presents an intriguing exegetical puzzle concerning the Greek word logos (usually translated as “word” in English) in place of a word that means conversion. She also makes much of the "name" given for God in the Hebrew Bible as I am (or I am becoming) who I am (revealed to Moses). Thus, she refocuses spirituality and interaction with the Divine primarily through verbs, action, and becoming. (It should be noted that this is typical of the Hebrew language.)

On the basis of these two exegetical points, she builds her case that all Christian churches and male clergy, from their position of patriarchy, have built a dead institution that has destroyed the "wild" sacred by exclusion, control, exploitation, devaluing -- including the human relationship with Creation/nature.

Despite her many good points, here, her presentation is flawed in presenting Christian churches and clergy, especially male clergy, as monolithic, all patriarchal, fighting for worldly power, etc. Such a read is too narrow. Loorz neglects the broader contexts of history, language, culture, and cultural interactions as well as failing to call forth the diversity within, at least, the monotheistic faiths -- for an obvious instance Francis and Clare of Assisi and Anthony of Padua; Hildegard of Bingen and Theresa of Avila who are Doctors of the Church. And to this point, she presents Thomas Berry, without recognizing that he was a priest and Jesuit. She also neglects Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, another Jesuit priest, who ran into some trouble with his vow of obedience and his ideas (Might be good to check into these...)

I also find her characterization of the process of ordination in many Christian churches flawed. She presents this process as spirit- and God-less, as though the only presence here is a patriarchal institution. I acknowledge that this may be how she experienced her ordination but that was not my, nor that of my fellow seminary students, experience nor the experience of other clergy I know. Again her brush strokes are too broad.

My final concern is her treatment of Jesus' call of Peter, as a dead-ended call. She makes much of Jesus' call being Peter's affirmation that Peter loves Jesus and then, Peter is sent to "feed my sheep." But she ends it there. Who is Jesus? He is the incarnation of God, part of the trinity, the first-born of Creation, through whom (that is through God) all things were made (Of course, I am intertwining Jesus and Christ here). He is the spark of Divine we detect in the world. She is setting up straw men to make her points -- there is more diversity in theology, spirituality and expression, and church than she present. (I suggest a close reading of St. Bonaventure's Itinerarium mentis in deum (The Journey of the Mind to God).)

My critique is not to devalue the book, but to raise some questions and call for balance. I recognize that many have different experiences with organized religion. I hope this initiative of the Wild Church does not continue like some departures from the "majority" many heresies which have locked us into extremes of orthodoxy as opposed to the embrace of diversity and the sacred.

It is interesting that it is in her final section of Resources, she does address some of my concerns about her narrow view of the church. In this Resources section, Loorz also introduces the reader to how her Church of the Wild engages in worship. Part of this process is for participants to gather items from the wild to bring to the “altar” – I wonder if she has thought about the removal of natural objects from their place and if they return them? I am a myrmecologist, an ant ecologist. We can be some of the most destructive field biologist in our search for ant colonies. We overturn and dislodge rocks and logs; we dig into the Earth; we may dig up and remove vegetation in order to capture the ants. However, it is stressed in our work to put things back. This is a question worth considering – if we have a relationship with nature, we value it for its own sake and life, how, then, are we to use it for our own needs for living including communing and worship. Afterall, the Carolina Parakeet went extinct because people so valued their feathers…

The book contains a Prologue, nine chapters divided into subsections, a section of Acknowledgments, a section of Resources, and a section of Notes.

Despite my criticism, the book is very well written and composed. Loorz has a clear and compelling argument and concern and has taken action. The book is quite engaging, thought-provoking, and inspiring. I recommend the book to all seeking a deeper understanding of themselves as spiritual beings in relationship to all of Nature, especially to those who are nature-lovers, ecologists, and conservationists who do not feel at home in churches or other religious institutions.

[Jeffrey L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recently gave me a copy of this book which I highly recommend to anyone in love with the natural world. Victoria is a Fuller Seminary grad (mid-1990s, I think), then went on to work at World Vision in Seattle. She then pastored a couple of independent evangelical churches--but eventually left evangelicalism behind when she was accused of being a pantheist(!). She now lives in Bellingham, WA. Here is a lovely quote from near the end of the book. I love it because she incorporates John 21 into a "wild ordination." I have written a number of poems about a stream in my former back yard that resonate with this "call." Here is what Victoria wrote: " In a wild ordination, the questions you might be asked are more along the lines of the first ordination, issued by Jesus to Peter at the shore [John 21], beside his boat where he was fishing. Using the language of deep relationality, Jesus asked him, "Peter, do you love me?" And Peter said something like, "Oh my God, yes, I love you." Three times Peter affirmed his love. Three times Jesus said to him, "Okay, then, go feed my sheep."
"Do you love me?" Earth asks, the deer asks, the remaining oak tree in the park asks. And you say yes.
"Will you speak for those whose voices have not not been heard?" And you say yes. . . .
As a scholar who spent his career writing about the Gospel of John, my only quibble is with Victoria's reading of John 1 (Chapter 6) where she misses the powerful feminine image of "word/logos" as a marker for the feminine "hokmah/sophia" ("Wisdom in Hebrew and Greek). In both languages the words are feminine in gender and recall Genesis 1:1 and Proverbs 8:22 ff. I would love to see what Victoria would do with that image--(feminine) wisdom being co-creator with Yahweh ("Hebrew--God"). Victoria has had some powerful experiences with deer over the years--which are her invitation into the wild. Amazing stories!