St. Savior’s Anglican Church held an event called Wild Church at the Vermilion Provincial Park on August 16, with people having a different experience both walking and kayaking. People from Vermilion, Wainwright, Fort Saskatchewan, and British Columbia attended with enthusiasm. The idea began after member Darlene Crawford introduced her interest in kayaking. “When I began looking into nature spirituality, one of the comments I heard repeatedly was, ‘I would rather sit on a mountain and think about God than sit in a cathedral and think about a mountain.’ With everyone I talked to in agreement, I read ancient texts from the early church dating back to the 3rd – 9th centuries and found that there were huge traditions of people connecting with God through nature; in fact, some people called nature the second gospel. It isn’t so much about taking church outside as it is about worshiping in nature and allowing nature to reveal God to us. We are trying to say that people’s experiences are valid and create a community where they can experience that kind of worship,” said Reverend Elizabeth Metcalfe. St. Savior’s Anglican Church will continue hosting more Wild Church events. “There’s nothing like being on the water by yourself in a boat and the spiritual sense that it brings because you don’t think about anything else but the beauty around you, where it came from, and how you feel at that moment. It’s very calming,” concluded participant, Joann Mones.