After 19 months of an unexpected fallow time, our Wild Church finally re-gathered for a Dartington based pilgrimage on the first Sunday in September 2020. An open welcome has always been central to River Dart Wild Church and usually we simply spread the word widely about where we are starting and anyone is welcome to pitch up and join us on a donation basis. In this new Covid sensitive time of ‘track & trace’ and limited numbers at gatherings, in order to take care of each other our previous approach is no longer possible. It did feel like a loss and a sadness to now have to ask pilgrims to book their place and limit numbers, such that some were disappointed. Yet for the first time ever, I actually knew who and how many to expect, which was a novel experience! Also, asking folks to donate to confirm their place resulted in a wonderful response, such that £105 could be sent to Devon Wildlife Fund for their ‘Devon Seven’ Bat Conservation campaign, which with National Lottery pledging is worth £300 for Devon’s bats.
So 12 pilgrims gathered in the churchyard at St. Mary’s church in Dartington and after time to greet each other, we set off in silence in a long ‘socially distanced crocodile’ along the local lanes to Week Community Orchard. Forming a circle at the top of their 3 acres, we had the most beautiful views over the young fruit trees and the thatched cottages of Week, all the way to Yarner Beacon and the vast expanse of sky above. The first contemplative ‘invitation’ of the afternoon was a short meditation to settle into body, feelings and mind and open up to a sense of wider awareness or deeper connection, followed by the opportunity to share a word for this or a sacred name, along with our own names. As ever, it was good to hear the diversity of language as each of us grappled to express our sense of the sacred, in this moment and in our own way.
Having come into community, we moved into the main body of our time together as I shared some reflections on our core practice of ‘wandering and wondering’ inspired by the Celtic tradition of ‘peregrinatio’. In my next post, I give a brief outline of this here. We had some quiet time to practice our own individual peregrinations around the orchard, each person allowing themselves to be drawn wherever and encounter whatever and then come back together to share reflections with a companion. The theme of ‘trust’ emerged strongly in the conversation I was blessed to share in, a sense of being part of a wider web even during times of challenge and how quiet moments help us to become more aware of this.
We then wandered on together, crossing the Bidwell Brook and walking the old drovers’ road to reach a lovely, quiet meadow surrounded by woodland, that is held by the Dartington Trust. Here we had a longer time in silence to explore the practice of ‘lectio divina’ or sacred reading, in this case of the ‘big book’ of the natural world around us. (More details again here). As pairs came together for a final time of shared reflection, there was a tangible sense of warmth, a real buzz of fellow feeling and thoughtful sharing… and a great sense of appreciation for all the beauties and blessings that had been met among the community of plants, trees and creatures that had graciously welcomed us into their midst. We closed with giving thanks.
As we circled back to our starting point, now in lively conversation I was struck by how people who had only just met, were now chatting like old friends and how, once again, the simplicity of wild church, of coming together quietly in relation to the church of the wild, never fails to be deeply inspiring.
Photos & text by Sam Wernham, except ‘Sam contemplates wild church’ by Fiona Law