Slideshow image

Now is the cool of the day
Now is the cool of the day
Oh this earth it is a garden, the garden of my Lord
And He walks in His garden
In the cool of the day…

The Toronto island-based folk trio Kith and Kin sing this Jean Ritchie classic as we watch a video montage, strolling through an organic garden. Images of the ocean just north of Sombrio Beach accompany poetry and song.  Two friends stand and lead embodied prayers. A priest kneels in an organic garden and gives the Eucharist.These are just some of the ways we have adapted the vision and goals of Wild Church to fit these strange times of Covid-19.

Launched with a Vision grant in July 2019, we had about 6 months of gathering face to face to explore Creation, share meals, and read/reflect together before the lockdown hit.  

We have continued to ‘gather,’ albeit digitally, during this time.To watch one of our digital gatherings, in partnership with Abbey Church, and detailed above, click here. And we have hosted several online Zoom workshops and retreats, the most recent of which featured local artist and member of the diocese, Cornelia van Voorst. This is part of an ongoing series called The Art of Paying Attention, and together we are exploring on the role art plays in opening our eyes and as a tool to refocus and retrain our vision of God at work in the world. We have had broad mix of people from across Canada and Europe participating in these workshops, which we co-hosted in partnership with the Emmaus Community and A Rocha Canada.T

Our facebook group and page are both active and we continue to provide online worship opportunities and workshops, while looking forward to the time we can more freely meet outdoors and over shared meals.

Matt Humphrey is an Anglican priest, writer and educator who lives, works, and plays on Songhees territory in the Cecilia Creek watershed, (Victoria, BC). He serves as a community life minister of the Abbey Church in Victoria, the curator of Wild Church Victoria and associate curate in the Parish of Central Saanich.