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EVENT
"Speak With the Earth" Spirituality Weekend at First Parish Church with Rev. Daniel Cooperrider
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We are excited to host Rev. Daniel Cooperrider for a Spirituality Weekend full of awesome events to help us connect to our faith through the gifts of the natural world. All ages and spiritual traditions/orientations are welcome! These events could be especially appealing to those who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious,” and to those who’s spiritual practice comes in the form of birdwatching, hiking, cloud spotting and sunset viewing, and otherwise enjoying and celebrating nature.
Events:
- Saturday 10am – Wild Church (See below for details and to RSVP)
- Saturday 2pm – Workshop with Rev. Cooperrider: Speak with the Earth (See below for details and to RSVP)
- Sunday 10am – Sunday Worship with a sermon from Rev. Cooperrider (No RSVP needed)
Daniel Cooperrider is a writer, teacher, and pastor in the United Church of Christ (UCC). Daniel is Co-Pastor of Flicker Wild Church. He was Pastor of the Weybridge Congregational Church (VT) and has served as Pastoral Resident at the Wellesley Village Church (MA). Daniel is the author of Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You, and a study on the book of Job. Daniel lives on the edge of the driftless region in Madison, WI on ancestral Ho-Chunk land. For more information on the author – https://danielcooperrider.com/
Sat. 9/28 @ 10am - Wild Church, FPC Outdoor Labyrinth
Many people, whether they participate in organized religion or not, feel closest to God in nature. In this pop-up “Wild Church” gathering we will experiment and play with an emergent outdoor church model, where we join our worship with the wind in the trees, the birdsong, the clouds, and the many other partners in the sacred conversation between Creator and Creation. Based off the innovative model of the Wild Church Network (https://www.wildchurchnetwork.com), we will begin in a circle with words of welcome, introduction, and seasonal readings, before allowing time to wander and wonder, experiencing the “sermon” as a time to be in contemplative openness and conversation with the more-than-human world. We will return to circle with sharing insights, hopes, prayers, blessings, and sending forth. Led by Rev. Daniel Cooperrider – author of Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible. Dress appropriately to be outside & bring a blanket or chair to sit on.
9/28, 2pm - Speak with the Earth: Author Talk & Workshop, First Parish Church, Brunswick
First Parish Brunswick is excited to offer Speak with the Earth, an afternoon with author and UCC pastor, Rev. Daniel Cooperrider. During this book talk and workshop, we’ll explore the beauty of earth-based spirituality and how it can help us be in connection and conversation with the sacred in all things.
Daniel will speak about his book, Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the Bible (Pilgrim Press), winner of the Gold Medal in the 2023 Nautilus Book Awards – Religion and Spirituality of the West. Daniel will share why he wrote the book, read a few passages, and explore how it might be useful to us in the context of the ecological and climate call of our times. Daniel will guide spiritual practice to move us from head to heart, and allow time to reflect together about where and how we attend to the expressions of God in nature.
All ages and spiritual traditions/orientations welcome! These events could be especially appealing to those who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious,” and to those who’s spiritual practice comes in the form of birdwatching, hiking, cloud spotting and sunset viewing, and otherwise enjoying and celebrating nature.
