Dear friends,
We’re delighted to be hosting the second ever Spiritual Ecology Festival in June! This unique gathering will bring together scholars, faith leaders, community organisers, gardeners, and lovers of land, landscape and nature from all around the world. In this newsletter you can find out more about the speakers, themes and programme for this two-part festival, so please do scroll down to find out more!
A rich programme exploring the most urgent questions of our time
From mythologists to AI researchers, UK polling analysts to wilderness guides, culture-makers and peacemakers: this year’s programme is even fuller than last year’s, bringing together a truly diverse range of views on some of the most compelling questions of our time. Experience storytelling from renowned tellers Tommy Tiernan and Martin Shaw; keynotes from luminaries like Sharon Blackie, Sicelo Mbatha, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee and others; music from Simmy Singh and Anna Mudeka; workshops from More in Common, Dana Karout, Justine Huxley and Tanya Forgan; panel discussions with Joycelyn Longdon, Paula Boddington, Daze Aghaji, and others; workshops on depolarisation, interfaith dialogue, and more. Read on to view the full programme and buy your ticket now!
What is Spiritual Ecology (or Deep Ecology)?
There’s no one unifying worldview or singular definition of what ‘spiritual ecology' means underpinning this event. Different faith and non-faith traditions view the subject in profoundly different ways. For some, creation is alive, sentient, and imbued with spirit. For others, a heavenly God has created nature as a reflection of his beauty, and bestowed duties of custodianship upon humanity to care for his creation. Still others view this theme from a more scientific perspective. Agnostic deep ecologists take inspiration from the growing field of scientific research exploring inter-species communication, animal and plant languages, and the paradoxical mysteries about the nature of consciousness and the cosmos which are suggested by quantum physics.
Our purpose in hosting the festival is to invite all these perspectives into dialogue with one another, and to create a vibrant field of shared enquiry and inspiration. We live in tumultuous times, when many feel overwhelmed. There’s something wholesome and reparative about coming together across differences to discuss what deeply matters to us. As reconcilers, we know that when relationships fracture and conflict overwhelms, inviting people to remember their shared love of nature can offer a way forward. This isn’t just a platitude — it’s something we’ve seen in action in our own programmes and in the work of so many others. And that’s why we’re including our overnight planting pilgrimage again this year. You can watch a video from last year’s pilgrimage here. Do consider joining us for an unforgettable pilgrimage experience, linking faith and community growing sites across London! Or, if you prefer, you can join us for one or both days of the festival programme — full of keynotes, workshops, music, author book signings, community and networking spaces, delicious food — and so much more!
Read on to discover more of what’s on offer at this June’s festival. Tickets are selling fast so book yours today!
With warmest wishes,
Clare Martin
And the rest of St Ethelburga’s Team