Why Rewild the Church?

You may know the story of Jesus – he was a marginalized person from the rural areas beyond Jerusalem.  His ancestors were slaves in Egypt, and, in his day, he lived under the thumb of the Roman empire. His was a grassroots non-violent rebellion revealing the story of God and God’s people. But as the number of his followers grew in number, after 300 years, with the conversion of the emperor Constantine, Christianity moved into the seat of power itself. While we celebrate the great art, music, buildings, and many good traditions that arose from this nationalistic Christian experience, we also want to say that something gritty, earthy, and wild was lost in the process. We are in a season of church – and arguably the world – where we are trying to reclaim our connection to the earth.  We are laboring to decolonize and move Christianity into its place as a grassroots, non-violent rebellion revealing the Creator’s abundance. On this land – Turtle Island – later divided and imposed with the name North America, we are dealing with a European high-level systemic history of exploitation of the land and the land’s people.  We still refer often to the gifts of the land as simply ‘resources’ – resources for us to use and enjoy. A deeper tradition on this land is reciprocity and mutual gift giving.  The land always demands a gift.  If we are ‘taking’, what are we giving back?  More truly, the land is ‘giving’, and we are simply receiving.  May our gratitude for the land’s gifts be truly active.  Everything we need is given already if we care and keep the land-human relationship mutually beneficial. It is important for Christians to note that the word “dominion” used in Genesis 1:26 is not the same as “domination.” (Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” NRSV) Dominion is care, attention, stewardship, responsibility, obligation, and dare we say, Love, from a position of power.  Humans are in a place of power over nature while still being within nature.  We have an incredible ability to transform the land with our ideas, intellect, capacity, and collective strength – and that power can be used for ill or for good.  That is dominion and healthy dominion can be a blessing to the earth.  Science tells us that sweetgrass grows better when it is tended by humans, ecosystems thrive when they are healthfully maintained.  What would it look like for humans to be a blessing to the earth and to all our rooted and unrooted wild family? Rewilding the church is simply a smally move to help us as a people, as a religion, as a neighbourhood to reconnect intentionally to these eternal things.  We have always been within the web of nature, we simply are nature in our very being, but we have not always been intentionally connected to that reality.  “What we do to the web of life, we do to ourselves.” Caring for one small piece of land at 6110 Fulton Rd, Edmonton, AB and letting it grow in biodiversity – above ground and beneath – is a tiny but powerful action.  In attempting to do this the rewilding team has had to work through our own assumptions and attitudes towards the earth.  We have had to consider the effects of our actions on the natural community of our world and the human community of the neighbourhood around.  We have had to wrestle through how to rewild – an inherently ‘messy’ and long process, with our current human focus on highly-controlled landscapes.  How do we increase biodiversity, but still create an aesthetically attractive, comfortable, and safe space for our neighbours?  There is a lot to deal with in even a small project like this.  It is why it has taken nearly two years before we are ready to invite the community to join in. And yet, we are so excited to move forward.  So many times, people just ‘get’ this project.  Many seem to know innately what ‘rewilding’ is and are drawn from a deep heart place towards it. Rewilding reconnects us to the reality of God. Rewilding reconnects us to the land our who sustains us (literally) with all we need Rewilding reconnects us to our true community – rooted and unrooted. Rewilding reminds us that we are from the earth, that we are responsible to the earth, and that with the earth we will thrive.

www.staugustinesedmonton.com/ministries/rewilding