Memory, Prayer, and Spirit

This talk was a keynote given during a conference on Spiritual Ecology and Peace Building at St. Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in July 2024. It explores an essence of spiritual ecology that connects memory, prayer, and spirit. We share a spiritual connection with the Earth which has been covered over by our collective forgetfulness. How might we rekindle this connection with the Earth and embrace a way of being that returns to ancient truths? Central to this exploration is prayer, which fosters a space of listening and reverence. As Emmanuel shares, “We cannot limit the ways that we praise the Earth.” In this time of ecological crisis, we must sweep the dust of forgetfulness, remember the Earth as a sacred divine being, and hold the Earth in our hearts with love.