Churchshed

I've been thinking a lot about local - the whole peak oil, locavore thing - and how that relates to faith and spirituality.

Part of this is stimulated by periodic news bulletins about religious leaders who cannot resist flying around the country (and world) to speak about global warming. What do they think they are doing? I mean, we know what celebrities are doing when they use a private jet to get to an eco-benefit - but religious leaders ought to know better.

But mostly it's a positive impulse to consider local spirituality.

It takes work in a culture that is so mobile, lots of work to put down roots and pay attention to the weather and the landscape and the living things around us, as well as the history of human habitation and the folks who represent generations of life in the places where we live.

And it takes a conscious effort to bring the awareness of our surroundings in dialogue with the traditions of our faith.

Historically, Christianity took root in Britain - it went local, or became indigenous. And so we end up with mock English gothic church buildings around the world, and vestments suited to cool damp climes. Nevermind a fascination with things English.

Contrast that with efforts, not just in the tropics, not just in the southern hemisphere, but in urban north temperate dioceses, to find a sense of place. I recall when someone told me the Diocese of Massachusetts had become conscious of its congregations in relationship to its watersheds. The nine generations of Anglo-Americans who preceded me gave me a grounding in that place, so I will always understand what it means to have a sense of place, and of that place in particular. But what a boon it must be for the many who move to greater Boston, to be able to locate themselves, not just economically and politically, but geographically, ecologically.

Identifying one's watershed is one way to take root; another is gardening, with the attention it requires to weather, terrain, soil, wildlife, invasives. The concept of terroir applied to wine might also be applied to prayer - how are our prayers shaped by the totality of factors in the places where we are growing?

I am wondering what others do to live their faith in place, to become indigenous Christians.