I was dumbfounded at the perspective that it's normal to keep nature and spirituality separated. Even growing up on the conservative side, it never occurred to me that you couldn't talk in church about experiencing God in nature, through nature. Of course, you have to be careful in how you phrase it so that you aren't saying nature *is* The Divine, but I can't fathom feeling like you have to keep the two loves separate. At the same time, I did write in my seminary application that I think caring for nature is a form of ministry. I wanted to get rejected by any place where that would be a problem.
I was dumbfounded at the perspective that it's normal to keep nature and spirituality separated. Even growing up on the conservative side, it never occurred to me that you couldn't talk in church about experiencing God in nature, through nature. Of course, you have to be careful in how you phrase it so that you aren't saying nature *is* The Divine, but I can't fathom feeling like you have to keep the two loves separate. At the same time, I did write in my seminary application that I think caring for nature is a form of ministry. I wanted to get rejected by any place where that would be a problem.
I am thankful my seminary offered Celtic spirituality. I have never been in a church that thought of nature as the first book of God.