I’ve been thinking a lot about this WildWood community. Daydreaming, brainstorming, scheming, along with reflecting and reminiscing. It’s been over EIGHT years! HOW? The community has grown and changed so much. Like a parent I love all the stages and versions of us. Our Sunday gatherings have been a pretty steady constant but we’ve gathered in lots of other ways too. WildWood on Tap at the brewery, WildWood Walk monthly nature walks, Wild Playdate playground meet up, and the coffee shop. There was that stint on Zoom too. Our Sunday gatherings have varied a lot as well; art, collective creating, conversation, poetry, check-ins, music, sacred stories, prayer and blessings, picture books, labyrinth walk, prayer stations, gardening, sidewalk chalk (we need to do that again soon!), and of course theological reflections (ie. sermons) and biblical exegesis (deconstructing and reinterpreting texts).
We have been a lot of things. It’s got me thinking about who we are now and who we want to be. What do we want to be when we "grow up?" One of the really wonderful things about WildWood is that we can become whatever we want. We aren’t held to “that’s what we’ve always done,” in the same way other traditional churches can be.
For the rest of September and into the fall I’d like to try changing up our Gatherings a bit.
Sunday, September 8 - Spirituality + Nature Eco Grief
Sunday, September 15 - Sidewalk Chalk (Tentative)
Sunday, September 29 - Sunday Gathering + Wild Dinner (Picnic?)
Sunday, October 13 - Nature + Spirituality at a park
Tuesday, October 22 - Interfaith Blessing of the Ballots, Location TBD
Sunday, November 3 - Sunday Gathering: Dia de los Muertos
Sunday, November 17 - Sunday Gathering: Trans Day of Remembrance
Sunday, December 1 - Advent I Sunday Gathering
Sunday December 8 - Advent II Sunday Gathering
Sunday December 15 - Very Queer Christmas Pageant
I want to meet up to talk about poetry, beginning with Amanda Gorman’s Call Us What We Carry. Maybe on Wednesday October 17 at 7:30 pm? If you’re interested let me know, we’ll get details nailed down and order books.
I’d love to re-launch InQueery, a gathering to explore Biblical text from a Queer Theology lens. You don’t have to be queer! More to come.
What about an art meet up on a Saturday or Sunday morning? Anyone want to come and teach or lead us in a form of art or creating?
In short, I want to explore what it could mean to be a collective of gatherings and new ways of being community together. Thoughts? Questions? Ideas? Let me know!
I love being in community with you all.
All that we are, all that we can be, all that we create together.
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