Wild Worship is an outdoor service across the neighbouring Anna Benefice and Portway and Danebury Benefice which embrace nine rural villages close to Andover.
Many people who join Wild Worship find it a time of peace and retreat. The informal service started in 2023 and takes place every other month, comprising of Bible readings, prayers and a short talk. There are activities for children who attend.
Rector of the Anna Benefice, Revd Teresa Townsend explained, “Wild Worship initially came from my home church back in the Bristol Diocese. We used to do something called Mossy Church and it was all about being outdoors, worshipping God’s creation and being able to see the wonder of His world around us. When I moved here, I felt this was a good place for it to be. I didn’t want it to be called church because some people find the word church hard to cope with, so I wanted it to be called Worship and Wild because we’re outdoors in all weather. We’ve even done Wild Worship in the pouring rain!”
Services have been held in different places across the two benefices, building links between the villages. Revd Teresa works alongside Revd Phili Good from Portway and Danebury.
This year Wild Worship is focusing on prayer walks. Revd Teresa is building up prayer maps of each of the nine villages with photos and prayer points in key areas to prompt people in their thoughts and prayers.
She added, “One of my focuses this year is on our prayer life and building on our prayer life in a different way, so I’ve done prayer mornings and I thought Wild Worship as prayer walks across this benefice and the Portway and Danbury Benefice would be helpful for us all to do. It’s good to be able to walk our parishes and to pray for the people and the communities and to be visibly present in the villages and to awaken the awareness of what prayer can be like.
“The walks have been really helpful to people, to connect with the communities and to feel, particularly if they’re from a different village, that they’re also offering prayer to others. The whole point of Wild Worship is about that sense of retreat. It’s very liturgy light, but it’s very prayer heavy and it’s about focusing our minds on just what God can create.”
The Anna Benefice includes the churches of St Mary’s, Abbotts Ann, All Saints in Upper Clatford and St Peter’s in Goodworth Clatford. The Portway and Danebury Benefice has six churches in Amport, Grateley, Monxton, Nether Wallop, Over Wallop and Quarley.
The most recent walk took place in Goodworth Clatford. It started with a short service outside St Peter’s Church. Those present then followed the route map around the village, taking moments to reflect by the river and pray at different stops along the route, whether aloud or in the stillness of their hearts. They were encouraged to see, smell, hear and touch and listen to what God was saying as they walked.
Revd Teresa added, “I wanted there to be specific things to pray about, whether it might be the local church if you’ve gone past it, whether it might be the village shop, because in our rural places the shop can be the heart of where we are. There are the village halls or the school, so we wanted to really be able to have pointers. It’s being able to be present and other people might wonder what we’re about. It’s recognising that we are a praying community. We don’t just attend church on a Sunday morning and then we go about the rest of our lives, God is present in all our areas of life and while we’re out and about walking, we’re bringing that to life”.
Revd Nicky Judd is a self-supporting minister in the Anna Benefice. She said, “I’ve lived here all my life because I was born in Upper Clatford, so it’s very special to be able to take part in these outdoor services. I think it’s a brilliant idea because it makes everyone more aware of their surroundings and gives an opportunity to worship God in a much freer way than we would do within the walls of the church where we can be restricted to orders of service. They are important but having the freedom of this is great and we’re holding the community in our hearts as we’re walking”.
Katherine Fitzgerald is a PCC member of Upper Clatford Church. She said, “I know that people often worry about how to pray and that we probably all need help in a way, so when we all pray together it’s easier sometimes than doing it on your own, when your mind might wander, or you might forget. I’m ex-army so I like a bit of team bonding, and this is nice because we get to know people who are from different churches.”
Christopher and Ronwen Walker from Quarley have attended almost every Wild Worship. Ronwen commented, “I think it’s important to be out and not shut ourselves away. It opens our eyes to what is happening in the different villages and it’s a time of quiet reflection and meeting people who are like minded too, who feel that it’s a good opportunity to pray for the community and just to be more aware of the community. I certainly come home refreshed and closer to God. I find it lovely to be out in nature to worship him.”
The prayer maps will soon be available in the churches for people to use, follow and pray. The service sheet also includes thoughts to ponder in the following week. The walk finished with refreshments and a prayer lifting the community to God.
