Outdoor activities such as sports, gardening, and hiking are increasing in popularity. Are these also experiences of the Divine? Can acknowledging and nurturing such experiences of the Divine help bring healing to humanitys destructive relationship with the Earth? Christianity has long acknowledged nature as the primary revelation of the God of Creation. Yet the God of Creation is seldom celebrated in our present-day churches. The God that many worship is a God-within-buildings. This is a symptom of a wider spiritual disconnection from the natural world, a disconnection that has led to the ecological crisis. Jim Profit will share his own spiritual journey towards the God of the Outdoors, which for him is an ongoing discovery of the mystery of God.
Rev. Jim Profit, S.J.
Fr. Jim Profit, S.J. is the director and superior of Ignatius Jesuit Centre of Guelph. He also co-ordinates the Ecology Project of the Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice. Ordained in 1991, Fr. Profit has academic training in agriculture, rural sociology, and theology. Before returning to Guelph five years ago, he was pastor at Holy Cross Parish in Wikwemikong, an Aboriginal community on Manitoulin Island. Previously, he worked with peasant hillside farmers with the St. Mary Rural Development Project in Annotto Bay, Jamaica.