Seeking God in creation.

Our day has been characterised as a ‘meta-crisis’, a time characterised by multiple overlapping and interrelated crises: climate breakdown, poor mental health, loss of meaning … the list goes on. If our understanding of mission is primarily about responding to needs around us, we will be confused, overwhelmed and destined for burn out.

Fortunately, our call is not to frenetic activity. Rather, as former Archbishop Rowan Williams explained, mission is ‘finding out what God is doing and joining in’. I love that. Simple. Almost childlike. Inspiring. And encouraging, because we are not just sent, but ‘sent with’. It is more than following the example of Jesus; it is walking in step with what he is doing now. It therefore requires a posture of attentive, prayerful listening and discernment … and, of course, the commitment and courage to respond to what is heard.

In recent years, one of the things I have become convinced that ‘God is doing’ is drawing people’s attention back to nature. And I’m not alone. Two years ago, when I asked the Pioneering Scotland network what their mission activity looked like, 15% said that they were doing something outside: Forest Church, Muddy Church and ‘Messy Church Gone Wild’ and many other nature-based initiatives, exploring Christian faith and growing church outdoors.

‘At such a time as this’, as we face shocking statistics around mental health and environmental challenges related in part to our disconnection from nature, God is drawing people into nature. As younger generations in particular are struggling to find meaning and purpose, opportunities are emerging for people to discover their belovedness and God-given purpose through accessible Christian communities in the outdoors.

Last month people from around the UK gathered at Kilmalieu, the retreat centre on the west coast of Scotland. Most had never met before, but were drawn together by a shared passion to help people explore and practice the Christian faith outdoors. Those people are now part of a growing ‘Faith in Nature learning community’, supported by RM, that seeks to foster mission in and through nature.

During those days in and around (mainly outside of course) Kilmalieu, we took Psalm 19 as a pattern for our gathering. That ancient Hebrew hymn starts with those stirring words, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God’. The first few verses then leave us in no doubt that God reveals his character through creation. Then the psalm’s focus changes and, with the same passion, the writer draws our attention to the scriptures and highlights their unique capacity to reveal God. And finally, the psalm moves to a response: ‘May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you, O LORD, my refuge and my redeemer.’

As with many of the Psalms, the author takes us on a journey that leads us ‘Further Up and Further In’ as C.S. Lewis put it. The word used for ‘God’ in that opening verse is the generic word, ‘El’. As we read on, we move to the name we often capitalise in our English bibles, ‘LORD’, the name we sometimes pronounce Yahweh, the holy, covenant-keeping, almighty God. Then, in that closing verse, it gets personal, as the psalmist dares to call the LORD, ‘my refuge and my redeemer’,

So that was the shape of our weekend: seeking God in creation, in scripture and discerning our own response – through lots of conversations, learning from one another, praying in the woods, up the hills, along the coast …supporting, inspiring and affirming one another in our shared sense that this is something ‘God is doing’ and we want to join in. And through it all seeking a deeper personal encounter with our Creator.

As you engage in prayerful listening, may you recognise what God is doing. And as you join in, may you find others with whom to share the journey. Through one of the RM’s Rural Mission Hubs perhaps? As another psalm reminds us, our God delights in connection and unity, and it is in that context ‘the LORD has promised his blessing’ (Psalm 133).

Steve Aisthorpe

Guest contributor

Steve Aisthorpe is the Director of Abernethy Kilmalieu and a consultant for RM.