Earthkeepers: A Circlewood Podcast on Creation Care and Spirituality · Forrest Inslee

Edgewalking: Finding New Vision in Wilderness (part 2) with Victoria Loorz | Ep. 120

·43 min·3 clips

Victoria describes how calling a spider 'her' instead of 'it' shifted her entire perspective on nature's sacredness.

This episode features host Forrest Inslee continuing his conversation with Victoria Louris, co-founder of the Wild Church Movement and director of the Center for Wild Spirituality. They explore practical ways to integrate ecological awareness into spiritual life, moving from theoretical discussion to actionable practices. Louris shares her personal journey of reconciling spiritual experiences in nature with traditional church contexts, where she once faced criticism for describing feeling God's presence while sitting in a tree. The conversation addresses the fear of terms like animism within conventional faith settings and the burnout from keeping ecological and spiritual lives separate. Louris describes the foundational practice of a "saunter," a solo, reverent walk in nature central to Wild Church gatherings, citing a John O'Donohue quote about reverence inviting the holy. She references theologian John Philip Newell's book "The Great Search," which critiques limiting divine encounter to scripture alone. The discussion highlights "remembering" childhood wonder as a gateway to these practices and frames intentional engagement with nature as a decolonizing act that challenges human-centric worldviews. A surprising insight involves reframing a mosquito bite as a form of "wild communion," acknowledging the necessary consumption of life for survival. Louris recounts a shift in perspective from wanting to kill a spider to seeing it as a "mama" and relocating it with care. She explains that simple acts like watching a spider build a web for half an hour can fundamentally alter one's perception of other beings. Inslee shares his personal practice of "storm chasing," deliberately seeking out severe weather to experience awe and a visceral sense of sacred presence, which often moves him to tears. They discuss how these practices can occur anywhere, with Inslee sharing his method of talking aloud to God or nature in urban settings using discreet headphones. Louris mentions an upcoming "Field Guide to Church of the Wild," co-authored with her sister, which compiles practical ideas from numerous wild church leaders. The dialogue frames spiritual practice as "practicing the presence of God" in all things, drawing a parallel to Robin Wall Kimmerer's concept of reciprocal relationship with the earth in "Braiding Sweetgrass." The tone is conversational, reflective, and encouraging, blending personal storytelling with theological exploration. The style is educational yet intimate, focusing on experiential learning and shared discovery rather than prescribing rigid doctrines. Listeners interested in eco-spirituality, contemplative practices, or reforming their faith traditions outside institutional walls would find this episode deeply resonant. Those strictly committed to conventional, indoor-only worship or skeptical of nature-based spirituality might find its core premises less engaging.

As heard by us

A patient, practical conversation about faith becoming more attentive to the living world.

The conversation returns to a practical question: what does an ecologically informed faith look like once it is lived, not just named? It is most persuasive in the concrete, moving from edgewalking to small acts of attention, like sitting with a spider as it builds a web, or…

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Why you'd press play

If you want faith practice that starts with a spider web and ends in worldview change, press play.

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