Guides for Lectio Terra
When we re-open our sacred texts, we discover that they are filled with non-human beings who are startlingly alive. Trees clap their hands. Animals speak. The earth cries out. Where our western eyes have been taught to read two characters, God and the people, there is in fact a third — the land. In our climate-changed world, the Bible invites us back into communion both with God and the more-than-human community, by re-engaging with our stories through the lens of the very real geographies where we make our homes.
The practice of Lectio Terra begins with a scripture passage and the opportunity to enter into conversation with God and the non-human community through the fourfold rhythm of Lectio Divina, an ancient form of spiritual reading. This exercise is not primarily mind, but about heart and body: opening ourselves anew to an encounter with Spirit found both in scripture and in creation. These guides, created by Ben Yosua-Davis, Director of Applied Research at The BTS Center, offer both facilitators of groups and participants a step-by-step guide for engaging in this practice — one that we at The BTS Center have experienced as quite profound. We invite you to explore Lectio Terra in your own contexts using these resources to guide you.
Meet Ben Yosua-Davis
Ben Yosua-Davis serves on The BTS Center staff team as Director of Applied Research, where he shapes the organization’s posture of “rigorous and reverent curiosity,” focused on research that supports and shares the wisdom of on-the-ground practitioners working in a climate-changed world. He is a graduate of Drew Theological Seminary and Colby College.
Previously, he lived in Haverhill, MA, where he co-planted a new church called The Vine, one of the earliest mainline missional church expressions in the country, and hosted a podcast entitled, “Reports From the Spiritual Frontier,” which chronicled the day-to-day lives of leaders innovating new forms of spiritual community.
He is also worship leader for the Academy for Spiritual Formation, a formation process in the foundations of Christian spirituality, which welcomes leading spiritual thinkers from across the ecumenical spectrum.
Ben is a Maine native and now lives on Chebeague Island, Maine with his wife, Melissa, his son Michael, and his daughter, Genevieve; where he directs the community chorus and delivers tins of cookies to unsuspecting neighbors. When not wearing one of his myriad hats or hanging out with his children, you’ll probably find him playing Dungeons and Dragons, watching basketball, or renovating his old island farmhouse.
