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Church of the Wild by Jane Pittman.​​ Now available for purchase.
We come together as participants in the web of creation, remembering our sacred interconnection and interdependence with the land, the Divine, with each other and with the first peoples who lived within the watershed. We are a diverse community that lives primarily in and around the Metro DC area and within the Potomac River Watershed. As participants in the web of creation, we seek to be attentive to the Holy in our midst and invite one another to come home to the sacred ecological ground in which we live.
All are welcome and respected at the Wild Earth Spiritual Community gatherings. We are fellow seekers from many faith traditions, recognizing the deep Oneness with the Earth that is foundational to all religions and indigenous spiritualities. We strive to be intergenerational and accessible to all. We welcome children and can offer age-appropriate programming. Please contact us when you'll be attending with children or when accessibility is a concern so that we can be as accommodating as possible.
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We strive for participant centered leadership.
~ Wild Guides: Kenzie, Alison, Amy, Laurie, Jim, Hank
Gather via zoom or in person every three months to plan next three months.
~ Advisors: Wild Guides plus Ginge, Jon, Pauline, Ray,Jane
Once/year gathering for review of WE including finances
~ Vision Keepers: Hank, Jim, Sarah
Monthly review and thoughts on gatherings and themes
~ Apprentice: Alison
~ Nature Guide: Marney
Review after one year.
Our Mission
We gather as a community to honor the Oneness of Divine Mystery, Earth and all Beings. We encourage one another's spiritual path and attentively nurture our own while challenging each other to live and act responsibly on behalf of Earth.
Our community is grounded in the sacred landscape in which it is located. This groundedness guides us to live from a place of deeper compassion, care and gratitude. We understand the enormity of the environmental crisis and it impact on both current and future generations as well as the inordinate burden borne by the marginalized. We challenge members to live lightly on Earth and engage in actions that advocate for Her well-being.
How We Began
In Sarah Anders’s role as a UCC pastor, and in Beth Norcross’s work at Wesley Theological Seminary and The Center for Spirituality in Nature, we were moved by the many people – often young adults – who told us that they were yearning for spiritual deepening and a direct experience of the Divine, but did not find it in a traditional religious setting.
We heard, too, of the deep spiritual connection many have in nature as well as the anxiety and grief they were experiencing in response to the impacts of climate change and other worrisome environmental concerns.
How We Gather
We approach our gatherings from an inter-spiritual perspective. We honor the common thread of Oneness with Earth’s Divine Mystery found in most ancient religions and spiritual practices.
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Wild Earth Spiritual Community gathers twice monthly. We gather in person twice a month on the first and third Sunday afternoons, typically from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm. In the winter, we gather at 2:30. Make sure to double check the time for the particular gathering you’re attending! Our location moves across the Potomac River Watershed, around the Washington, DC area.
To center us before each gathering, we offer spiritual nature walks and drumming circles, after which we begin a quiet time of nature-based sharing through contemplative individual and group spiritual practices, silence, music and wanderings. People stay afterwards for a time of fellowship and food
Sister Organizations
We are thrilled to be part of a rich spiritual community beyond that within Wild Earth.
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Here are program details for our sister organizations.
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Center for Spirituality in Nature​​​​