Wild Seasonal Rituals of Aliveness with Daniel Cooperrider

In this conversation, Victoria Loorz speaks with Daniel Cooperrider, writer, ecotheologian, and pastor of Flicker Wild Church in Madison, Wisconsin, and author of Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You and the forthcoming Live Each Season as It Passes. Daniel reflects on what he calls his lifelong “ecological conversion” and on the growing Wild Church movement, which is reimagining wild spiritual with community through outdoor gatherings rooted in the land, the seasons, and relationship with the more than human world.Together, they explore what it means to practice a “liturgy of the land” through outdoor spiritual community, seasonal ritual, and what Daniel calls “campsite thinking,” a way of gathering that embraces impermanence and presence rather than institutional permanence. The dialogue also reflects on earth empathy, mortality, and how sacred practices like communion and baptism might be reimagined through deeper relationship with water, landscape, and place, inviting us to rediscover our place within a living Earth.Connect with Daniel:Personal Website: danielcooperrider.comFlicker WC Website: flickerwildchurch.orgInstagram: @greatlakeswanderersFirst book: Speak with the Earth and It Will Teach You: A Field Guide to the BibleNext book (Pre-Order, 1 May 2026 Release): Live Each Season as It PassesMentioned in the episode:Holy Wisdom Monastery Website: holywisdommonastery.orgBook: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter WohllebenBook: Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne SimardBook: The Overstory by Richard PowersBook: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall KimmererConnect with the Center:Website: wildspirituality.earthVictoria's Website: victorialoorz.comEmail: hello@wildspirituality.earthLinktree: linktr.ee/ctrforwildspiritualityInstagram: @center_for_wild_spiritualityTimestamps:00:00 — Introduction05:09 — Interview Begins06:37 — Daniel’s Ecological Conversion08:58 — Inviting In Daniel’s Neighbors10:14 — Hearing the Call of Seasonality14:06 — Welcoming Victoria’s Neighbors14:46 — Flicker Wild Church15:51 — Cathedral and Campsite Thinking19:39 — Holding Space with Mortality23:32 — Availing and Allying27:10 — Kinship All the Way Up and All the Way Down27:47 — Midroll: Wild Church Network28:41 — The Waves of Possibility31:52 — Ancient Wisdoms Integrating with Technology35:14 — Finding and Becoming Indigenous38:28 — Re-Story-ing Our Place42:45 — Engaging the Rituals of Aliveness46:01 — A Sabbatical of Water Spirituality49:02 — Closing50:48 — Wild Invitation52:58 — Credits