On Saturday 7 September, around 100 people came together at Launde Abbey in the diocese for an outdoor worship gathering, organised by the OWL Network (Outdoor Worship Leicestershire) and Peterborough Outdoor Worship.
Attendees were invited to ‘go for a walk’ and talk about a wide range of topics, all connected to worshipping our creator God within the created world.
The day offered a series of workshops and included a conversation with Steve Hollinghurst, an experienced Forest Church leader, who talked about the way Christian celebrations are linked to the natural seasons of the year and how the created world can help tell stories of faith.
Jane Butler from the Messy Church team explored Messy Church Goes Wild and shared some excellent ideas about taking children’s curiosity about faith and the world into the outdoors.
A session on Growing Faith and Food took place within the walled garden, while other sessions involved walking around the wider Launde gardens and the local area, stopping periodically to discuss and observe.
Alongside soul-filled meanderings, discussions took place about pilgrimage, and how the outdoors can be used to support young people.
The day ended with a gathering around an accessible fire-pit to celebrate communion together – with the option of going barefoot.
Within the peaceful and welcoming atmosphere, people were able to worship, network, share stories of their own outdoor worship journeys and reflect together on all that they had heard.
Anne Scott, who helped organise the event, said: “Our aims were to celebrate, support and inspire outdoor worship within the church, and we are so pleased that people left feeling energised and more equipped.
“We continue to pray that God will lead each person to be creative and brave in discovering what outdoor worship looks for their context, and that God will use all that has been seen and heard to draw people closer to who he is.”
The day also received positive feedback from those who attended, with comments including:
“Thank you for a wonderful conference. I really felt God’s presence as he guided our footsteps.”
“A perfect location and inspired ideas for new ways of working and worshipping God outside.”
“It was great to be a part of all that went on. The two workshops I was part of were really lovely and I had a really unexpected encounter with God in a very special way at one of them.”
“It has been great celebrating God’s creation and learning how we can do that as a church.”
“It’s so good to feel connected to God, creation and one another.”
Following the success of the day, the OWL Network and Peterborough Outdoor Worship have started planning an exciting and diverse programme for 2025.
If you would like to keep in touch with all that the OWL Network is doing, you can follow them on Facebook.