June 10, 2024 - What if heaven is not the final destination we have made it out to be? What if we have been investing our hope in the wrong place and living our lives in the wrong direction? What if the ultimate destination for life is right under our feet? By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
August 21, 2025 - Darkness, a friend to many creatures, is often banished by the ever-shining light bulbs of human habitation. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
August 15, 2025 - A few weeks ago, Circlewood hosted 26 middle school and high school students from four churches based in McMinnville, OR. Here is a brief summary of what we did together, along with what I learned. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
April 18, 2022 - As I entered the forest for the first time, I was keenly aware of its beauty - and my ignorance. I had no idea how to care for a forest. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
March 17, 2022 - Sometimes facts and statistics just aren't enough to change us. Music can help us imagine a different, more just way of living and move us from apathy to action. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
August 19, 2023. Household actions can have a big impact. By Abigail Welborn.| The Ecological Disciple
April 26, 2021 - To welcome a new world, we need to leave the old one behind. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
July 31, 2025 - The art of Phaedra Taylor is delicate—and yet strong enough to elicit strong emotions about place and home. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
July 17, 2025 - The film, Every Little Thing, pays tribute both to a woman who rehabilitates hummingbirds and to the hummingbirds themselves. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
July 10, 2025 - The loss of hope that many are experiencing is accompanied by the loss of the most powerful force of change we humans have at our disposal - our imagination. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
June 26,2025 - This prayer from the Episcopal Church recognizes that God's mercy is over all of the creation. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
June 19, 2025 - Circlewood friend and guest writer, Rev. Elaine Breckenridge, shares insight into the significance of summer solstice as well as her personal experiences and rituals as she celebrate the day. By Elaine Breckenridge| The Ecological Disciple
Jun 14, 2025 - Ecological disciples seek to follow the path that leads us deeper into creation and the life of the Creator. This is the journey of rewilding; here is what it looks like. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
June 5, 2025 - Today's poem, Every Riven Thing, was written by Christian Wiman. It sees God's presence in everything God has made—all that is riven (broken, sundered, torn apart). By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
April 29, 2021 - We are all old enough to know that we aren't the center of the universe....right? By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
May 29, 2025 - I've been teaching the Journey of Ecological Discipleship to some fellow travelers at Circlewood's new ecological learning center on Camano Island. Here's what I've learned. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
May 22, 2025 - Though they go by many names, allotment gardens are popular throughout the world, with Denmark the place where the idea first sprouted. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
May 2, 2022 - A perfect lawn invites us to sit, lay, or play in its soft, green blanket. It presents us with an image of ecological health and connection. But this carefully constructed image masks multiple problems. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
May 8, 2025 - The textiles and wallpaper created by Newton Paisley of Whitstable, England, can be appreciated and enjoyed on a purely aesthetic level, but knowing the story (or more accurately, the stories) behind the designs, makes the art even more compelling. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
May 2, 2025 - Many Christians think of repentance as remorse coupled with a promise not to repeat whatever wrong has been done. But true repentance is much more than this; it involves three distinct turns that require compassion, conversion, and courage. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
Jan. 15, 2023 - As this new year begins, I am convinced, more than ever, that the majority of Christian denominations, churches, and individual disciples need major reform, and that ecological disciples like you can help lead the way. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
April 24, 2025 - In light of Pope Francis' strong advocacy on behalf of the planet and all of its creatures, we share a prayer and video through which we hear his voice encouraging us to listen and respond to the cries that come from the earth and its creatures. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
April 22, 2025 - Five of The Ecological Disciple's Most-Read Pieces| The Ecological Disciple
Fri, April 18 - As questions piled up, I found that I could no longer accept the status quo. I found myself resisting the dominant theologies, cultural values, politics, and everyday practices that have brought us to this point. I started wondering if there was another way. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
April 14, 2025 - How can we cultivate the kind of awe, wonder, and love that leads us to action? By Noah Guthrie| The Ecological Disciple
April 10, 2025 - Readers share what wonders they have found outside their doors in recent weeks. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
April 22, 2022 - In the 60th anniversary year of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, the 52nd anniversary of Earth Day, and the first anniversary of The Ecological Disciple, we look at a piece of writing that can help us take on even our current environmental crises. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
April 3, 2025 - While everyone's journey is unique, there are eight common stages, or terrains, that ecological disciples travel through. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
March 27, 2025 - Fifty-five years ago, the newly established EPA created a massive collection of images showing the harm we were doing to the earth (and ourselves). There is still much these images can teach us. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
March 13, 2025 - In looking for more healthy ways to respond to accumulating concerns, I am trying to make prayer my first response. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
March 3, 2025 - The journey of ecological discipleship follows a pattern with common characteristics and stages that everyone on the journey must go through. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
Feb. 3, 2024 - What do you do when you begin to question the world we live in? Can you leave it behind? By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
October 28, 2021 - In 1942, when Japanese Americans were removed from the West Coast to internment camps inland, the new environs were harsh and barren, intentionally isolated and surrounded by barbed wire. Growing green things was a way to grow hope in a desolate time and place. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
Jan. 8, 2024 - We are not experts - we are on the journey as well - but we have learned a lot along the way and are ready to guide others as they set out on this exciting and important adventure. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
January 2, 2024 - At the beginning of a new year, Louise shares an invitation to explore the "book" just outside your door at least a little bit each day. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
December 19, 2024 - This prayer for Advent reminds me of how the Incarnation demonstrates honor and love for all of the created world, human and non-human. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
December 7, 2024 - By insisting on action, we push back on the temptation to just add “sustainability” to the list of issues we discuss at Bible studies, and by insisting on spiritual formation, we affirm that effective environmental action begins with inner transformation. By Noah Guthrie| The Ecological Disciple
December 5, 2024 - If we need motivation to make changes in our use of plastic, the work of Chris Jordan, a photographer from Seattle, Washington may provide impetus to change. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
November 21, 2024 - Among the official and unofficial art exhibits at COP29 was a piece that combined realistic art with a type of playacting that taught about reality by use of what wasn't real. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
November 14, 2024 - An installation that spans places, times, and mediums aims to bring to the forefront "what is missing" and how humankind can avert further losses on our plant. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
November 7, 2024 - In April 2021, we launched The Ecological Disciple. Today, I share an update of the first post of this column, as a spark of light against the fear and despair that many are currently experiencing. I pray that these words will be a comfort and an encouragement. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
November 2, 2024 - Today we welcome back Rev. Elaine Breckenridge as our guest writer. Elaine shares her journey of change in the food she eats, where she purchases that food, and the difference these changes are making in her life. By Rev. Elaine Breckenridge| The Ecological Disciple
October 31, 2024 - This prayer from Archbishop Desmond Tuto recognizes the destruction we have caused and prays for wisdom to follow a better path. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
October 24, 2024 - Shapes, colors, patterns textures are what go into the making of Charley Harper's art—not a particular number of feathers. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
October 17, 2024 - Palau's approach to the problem has been a friendly, educational ad campaign called the Palau Pledge. By Lousie Conner| The Ecological Disciple
October 3, 2024 - Since 1993, the UN has published a series of stamps that highlights endangered plant and animal species across the world. This puts international cooperation on these issues in the spotlight. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
September 26, 2024 - In a world where noise is pushing into all the corners of the world, Gordon Hempton, an acoustical ecologist, advocates for the preservation and protection of listening and silence. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
September 19, 2024 - Artist Kay Sekimachi transforms the fragility of leaves into bowls of beauty. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
September 5, 2024 - The poem, Set the Garden on Fire, by Chen Chen gives a poignant picture of the contrast between welcome and exclusion. While exclusion keeps out the other, welcome is generous space where the different is made to feel familiar. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
August 29, 2024 - Artists Daniel McCormick and Mary O'Brien create sculptures that are aesthetic remedies to ways in which a particular landscape has been degraded. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
August 22, 2024 - A prayer from the Laudato Si' Movement asks God to help us stop and listen better to the voices around us. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
July 27, 2024 - Guest writer Noah Guthrie shares his personal journey of sustainability and food. By Noah Guthrie| The Ecological Disciple
July 4, 2024 - A pathway of 55 stepping stones at a rest area in Norway invites travelers to not just stop for minute on their way to somewhere else, but to take some time to really look and be in this particular place. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
June 17, 2024 - In the United States, municipal recycling services vary widely. For those in areas where such services are limited or non-existent, specialty recycling services are trying to fill the gaps. By Jessalyn Megerle| The Ecological Disciple
May 30, 2024 - In 1982, Joseph Beuys heaped 7,000 stone markers in the middle of a German city to prompt the planting of that same number of trees around the city. Over 40 years later, the effects of that project continue. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
May 20, 2024 - The ecological crisis we are in presents us with an opportunity to shift us from from splintered sects to creative collaborators. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
May 16, 2024 - Guest writer Rev. Elaine Breckenridge shares a recent experience with an art exhibit that helped her see trash on the beach in entirely new ways. By Rev. Elaine Breckenridge| The Ecological Disciple
May 2, 2024 - In Turin, Italy, a 63-unit apartment is designed to house trees as well as people (and to end up looking and feeling like a tree house in the process). By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
April 18, 2024 - In anticipation of the upcoming Earth Day, Louise shares a song of praise, written from the perspective of Earth. By Louise Conner.| The Ecological Disciple
April 13, 2024 - We welcome back guest writer, Noah Guthrie, who describes his experience of shoveling oyster shells, among other things, to restore habitat along the coast or Florida. By Noah Guthrie| The Ecological Disciple
April 11, 2024 - Toronto, Canada-based artist Ava Roth works with tens of thousands of worker bees living within beehives which she places the creative work she has begun, expecting and hoping that they will complete the work. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
April 4, 2024 - This second article on the work of Makoto Fujimura looks at how putting objects back together again can result in something more beautiful than the original object. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
March 28, 2024 -As an advocate and practitioner of “slow art,” Makoto Fujimura believes that art should be made slowly and deliberately and viewed with this same respect, not just as a background but as a focal point we can immerse ourselves into. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
March 23, 2024 - When my family first moved to Florida (the Sunshine State!), one of the ways to “go green” that I was most excited about was getting solar panels. I thought it would be easy. By Abigail Welborn| The Ecological Disciple
March 18, 2024 - What does it mean to follow Jesus in this place, at this time, with these people? By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
March 14, 2024 - The poem, Moving the Woodpile, reveals a perspective into the relationship we, as humans have with the rest of creation as the narrator literally and figuratively, moves the woodpile and reveals to us what is underneath. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
February 29, 2024 - You can find photographs of this well-known artist's work in art galleries, but viewing the original pieces which the photographs capture would often require some tramping and some very lucky timing to see in person. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
February 24, 2024 - In this post, we welcome guest writer, Noah Guthrie. In this piece, Noah traces his path into the realm of environmental activism. By Noah Guthrie| The Ecological Disciple
February 22, 2024 - A Sand County Alamanac, published 75 years ago, still has much to teach us about the land and our place upon it. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
Feb. 19, 2024 - As a species, we have assumed a place in this world that is not ours to take; we are, collectively, out of place. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
Feb. 6, 2024 - When I was 15, I was called out by a traveling preacher in the shabby conference room of the only motel in Lancaster, NH. She declared, in front of the small crowd that had gathered for revival, “There’s an evangelist!” By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
January 29, 2024 - In this series of seven shifts Christians need to make to develop a more ecologically conscious discipleship, James looks at the need to shift our cosmology. By James Amadon| The Ecological Disciple
January 20, 2024 - We welcome guest writer, Carolina Franca, an undergraduate student, who shares about her recent experience at COP28 in Dubai. By Carolina Franca| The Ecological Disciple
January 25, 2024 - First up in a short series, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, by Annie Dillard, is a work that has significantly shaped how I, and many others, see the natural world and our relationship to it. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
January 11, 2024 - On December 23, 2023, a community celebrated the inauguration of a new artistic resource in their midst. What made this particularly noteworthy is that The Music & Art Centre is located within and for the most populous refugee settlement in Africa. By Louise Conner| The Ecological Disciple
