Wonder: Journeys in Nature With God
Evelyn Mcdonald, Michael Frost (Fwd), Bob McdonaldHardback 2023-10-01
With a Foreword by Rev Dr Michael Frost, Wonder: Journeys in Nature with God is an edited book with contributions by 29 writers. The six sections of the book take the reader on a story journey to see God, nature and our place and role in it via the thoughtful reflections, brief prayers and accompanying photographs of nature: truly a journey of wonder!
Of the 44 reflections, 15 are the personal stories of as many contributors, ranging in age from 23 to 93, who share their unique experiences of God speaking and ministering to them through the natural world.
The combination of beautiful nature photographs with the story told through the reflections makes the book a rich feast for a broad readership and an excellent gift for those who love our wounded world and wish to be a positive presence in it.
About the Contributors
Professor John Attia. John is a clinical epidemiologist and medical specialist with a Diploma in Palliative Care. He served as the Assistant Dean of Research for the Faculty of Health (The University of Newcastle) from 2019 to 2022, has published over 750 scientific papers and is still active in clinical medicine in the area of palliative care. John enjoys spending time bushwalking and Bible teaching. He is currently studying part-time for his Graduate Diploma in Divinity at Ridley College.
Alaine Anderson. Alaine is a recently retired farmer and wildlife carer in northern New South Wales with nursing qualifications and experience in running a plant nursery. She is also a conservationist with a passion to see farming land restored and ecosystems thriving. Alaine and her husband desire to share their love for Jesus and God’s wonderful creation with their young grandchildren.
Prue Bell. Prue enjoys ‘deliberate wandering’, especially in and around nature and seeing where God’s Spirit leads her. She studied acting and the arts and now works as a proof-reader. She loves singing, hiking and dabbling in song writing and calligraphy. She is very passionate about cultivating healthy relationships with herself, God and others.
Dr Stuart Blanch. Stuart grew up in a farming family on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. He trained in ecology and environmental law and conducted his doctoral research into aquatic plant ecology in the River Murray. He has worked in the community environment sector for two decades. He works in environmental advocacy and volunteers in creation care by serving on the board of A Rocha Australia and is currently serving as its Chair.
Reverend Anthony Brammall. Anthony is Vice-Principal and a New Testament lecturer at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Croydon, New South Wales. He and his family previously served in Sulawesi, Indonesia. He is a keen bushwalker and cross-country skier.
Reverend Dr Bill Brown. Bill is a Pastoral Coach with the Baptist Union of Victoria and is helping to develop leadership tracks for emerging leaders and communities of practice for pastors. He also professionally supervises pastors. Bill is also Pastor Emeritus of the Syndal Baptist Church, where he previuosly served as a senior pastor for 33 years and as a youth pastor for 10 years before that.
Claire Harvey. Claire is a part of The Village Church community in Mount Eliza, Victoria. She serves on Frankston City Council and is the Uniting Church (Victoria/Tasmania) representative on the CoPower board and an Honorary Justice of the Peace. After a varied career, Claire’s latest vocational adventure involves training as a climate-conscious coach.
Pastor Sue Irwin. Sue is currently senior pastor of the Grainery Church, Newcastle, New South Wales. She was an English literature teacher and has been involved in Christian education with her husband, Graeme, for many years. Recently, Sue had her book, ‘The Gift of Prayer: Teaching Children to Pray’ published.
Dr Morna King. Morna loves spending time in the beauty of God’s creation, whether it be in the bush, the mountains or along the coast. She has a doctorate in French and was formerly a high-school French teacher. This year she has embarked on a new season of life and began studying at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.
Reverend Dr Wei-Han Kuan. Wei-Han is an Anglican minister serving with the Church Missionary Society, Victoria. He previously worked in local church ministry and is a member of A Rocha Australia. He enjoys growing things and trail running in beautiful mountain places.
Reverend Associate Professor Darrell Jackson. Darrell has been an ordained Baptist minister since 1989. In 2019 he was appointed to the role of Dean of Research at Whitley College and Interim Principal in 2023. He is a member of the Commission for Mission of the Baptist World Alliance, a missiological advisor to Baptist Mission Australia, and Vice-Chair of the Board of European Christian Mission International. In 2021, he co-designed and continues to co-teach a ‘Creation’ Unit within the University of Divinity. He is a member of A Rocha, Australia.
Julia Jardine. Julia lives in Melbourne and works for A Rocha Australia and Cassinia Environmental. She grew up in the United Kingdom, and after reading geography at university, she found that a career in town planning integrated her concern for people and the environment, as it shapes the places in which we live. Over recent years, she has had a growing appreciation of the ‘bigness’ of the gospel as being good news and providing hope for all God has made and has also gained an understanding of the place of caring for creation in our discipleship and mission.
Jane Kelly. Jane lives on the lands of the Darug people, in Western Sydney, with her husband and children. She is Common Grace’s Creation and Climate Justice Co-Ordinator. Her studies include theology, ministry, ethics, and legal studies. Jane loves connecting with people, hearing their stories and joining together with others to seek Jesus and a better future for all God’s good creation, both within local communities and across the globe.
Reverend Dr Phill Marshall. Phill is passionate about nurturing new generations in global leadership. He currently works in mentoring and professional supervision, particularly in the area of intercultural ministry, drawing on life lessons from living in South America, Africa and Asia, which enable him to relate to a wide range of cross-cultural challenges. He originally trained in medicine and then in theology and missions.
Aunty Donna Meehan. Aunty Donna is a Gamilaroi woman, international author, radio broadcaster and chaplain. She holds an Associate Diploma in Social Welfare, an Advanced Diploma in Community Management, a Bachelor of Community Management and a Diploma in Chaplaincy. Her story was used by the Bible Society for their 200th Birthday in 2017, and she received The Prime Minister’s Community Award for her Contribution to Aboriginal Education and The Arts. Donna is the author of ‘It Is No Secret, The Story of a Stolen Child’, a powerful autobiography. All her paths lead to peace.
Deb Mostert. Deb’s contemporary art practice is 35 years young and involves drawing, painting, sculpture and public art. She lives and works on Yuggera land in Bellbird Park, Ipswich. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Queensland College of Art, has had 20 solo shows and been involved in more than 70 group shows in both regional and commercial galleries. She has won several awards and been a finalist in many National art prizes including the KAAF Art Prize, Redland Art Awards, Archibald Salon de Refuses, Jacaranda Drawing Prize and Marie Ellis Prize for Drawing.
Bev Murrill. Bev lives on the lands of the Awabakal people and is a speaker and writer who works as a leadership consultant in a Christian context. She is passionate about the Church’s role to advocate for social justice in a world increasingly challenged by trauma, tragedy and climate uncertainty and has commenced a Doctorate of Ministry that seeks to examine how the Church can embrace the future rather than cling to the past.
Dr Mick Pope. Mick heads up the Ethos Environment think tank. He completed his undergraduate theological studies and a doctorate in meteorology at Monash University. He is a Professor of Environmental Mission at Missional University and speaks regularly at churches and other groups on theology and its interaction with environmental ethics, science and mission. He has a number of published book chapters and journal articles in this area, including ‘A Climate of Hope: Church and Mission in a Warming World’, with Claire Dawson (2014) and ‘Climate of Justice’ (2017).
Margaret and David Ritchie. Margaret and David moved from Sydney to Warabrook in Newcastle, New South Wales, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Margaret is a retired occupational therapist and David is a retired church minister and a semi-retired builder. Both are keen gardeners. They have lived and served in Bangladesh and Kenya.
Dr Alice Schroers. Alice is a General Practitioner who has a heart for rural and remote communities. She has worked in north-western NSW and Central Australia where she fell in love with the people, the rugged landscape and the wide, open spaces. In her spare time she enjoys marvelling at the splendour of God's creation and the reminder of His overflowing abundance and creativity while out bushwalking.
Abbey Sim. Abbey lives on the lands of the Toongagal Clan of the Darug Nation, where she studies and writes about God, love and the creative beauty of humans and animals. She currently works in administration and communications for Leichhardt Uniting Church and Common Grace.
Dr Byron Smith. Byron is a Christian ecological ethicist living on unceded Gadigal land. Byron has 15 years’ experience in pastoral ministry with local churches, and received honours degrees in theology, philosophy and literature. His doctorate in theological ethics (University of Edinburgh) focused on emotional responses to climate change in the context of Christian identity. Byron is the author of a number of scholarly articles and book chapters, is a climate consultant for Common Grace, writes for a variety of online platforms and has joined non-violent direct actions against new coal projects and the institutions that finance and profit from them.
Sally Smith. Sally has a long involvement with education in the home, church and school. A curriculum designer, lesson planner and trainer of those teaching faith in schools, her greatest joy is helping children open up to the possibility of a loving God who is ‘for’ them.
Naomi Stackhouse. Naomi graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation major) in July 2023. She works full-time as an ecologist at Anderson Environment and Planning in Newcastle, New South Wales and has a growing passion for science communication in Christian spaces.
Wade Tilsely. Wade was born into a family of faithful individuals for whom he has great admiration. He was raised in a home by the ocean with gardens in the yard. He is an aspiring builder and carpenter and husband to the loving and inspirational Kaylea Ona.
Betty Urquhart. Betty was born 93 years ago in the farming community of Warral, New South Wales. She spent her first 50 years there, including to help run a mixed farm with her husband. In the 1980s, she moved to South Tamworth where she settled into a new life. Betty now lives in a residential aged-care facility in Tamworth. Betty has been an avid and skilled knitter and enjoys nature, a range of craft activities and various outings with family and friends.
Stevie Wills. Stevie is a performance poet, public speaker and writer. She is passionate about the intersection of the creative power of words and social justice. For over a decade she has worked for CBM Australia as the Community Education Officer, advocating for the inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities, both in Australian churches and in low- to middle-income countries.
Editors
Evelyn McDonald. Evelyn lives on Awabakal land in Newcastle. She loves the never-ending learning as a disciple of Jesus. She is trained in literacy, languages, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and theology and mission. She has lived and worked in South-East Asia and been involved in cross-cultural education here in Australia as a TESOL teacher to migrants, refugees and international university students. Evelyn volunteers as a literacy teacher to refugee children and in her church’s mission and justice and gardening teams.
Dr Bob McDonald. Bob lives on the lands of the Awabakal people and holds a science degree in geology and philosophy and a doctorate in biology. After studies at Bible college, Bob served in full-time ministry in Australia and overseas. He has a deep love of nature and its Creator, which he enjoys sharing with others through his photography, bushwalking and writing. He also works with public and not-for-profit organisations in Australia and overseas in the development of strategy, program evaluation and training.
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With a Foreword by Rev Dr Michael Frost, Wonder: Journeys in Nature with God is an edited book with contributions by 29 writers. The six sections of the book take the reader on a story journey to see God, nature and our place and role in it via the thoughtful reflections, brief prayers and accompanying photographs of nature: truly a journey of wonder!
Of the 44 reflections, 15 are the personal stories of as many contributors, ranging in age from 23 to 93, who share their unique experiences of God speaking and ministering to them through the natural world.
The combination of beautiful nature photographs with the story told through the reflections makes the book a rich feast for a broad readership and an excellent gift for those who love our wounded world and wish to be a positive presence in it.
About the Contributors
Professor John Attia. John is a clinical epidemiologist and medical specialist with a Diploma in Palliative Care. He served as the Assistant Dean of Research for the Faculty of Health (The University of Newcastle) from 2019 to 2022, has published over 750 scientific papers and is still active in clinical medicine in the area of palliative care. John enjoys spending time bushwalking and Bible teaching. He is currently studying part-time for his Graduate Diploma in Divinity at Ridley College.
Alaine Anderson. Alaine is a recently retired farmer and wildlife carer in northern New South Wales with nursing qualifications and experience in running a plant nursery. She is also a conservationist with a passion to see farming land restored and ecosystems thriving. Alaine and her husband desire to share their love for Jesus and God’s wonderful creation with their young grandchildren.
Prue Bell. Prue enjoys ‘deliberate wandering’, especially in and around nature and seeing where God’s Spirit leads her. She studied acting and the arts and now works as a proof-reader. She loves singing, hiking and dabbling in song writing and calligraphy. She is very passionate about cultivating healthy relationships with herself, God and others.
Dr Stuart Blanch. Stuart grew up in a farming family on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, Australia. He trained in ecology and environmental law and conducted his doctoral research into aquatic plant ecology in the River Murray. He has worked in the community environment sector for two decades. He works in environmental advocacy and volunteers in creation care by serving on the board of A Rocha Australia and is currently serving as its Chair.
Reverend Anthony Brammall. Anthony is Vice-Principal and a New Testament lecturer at Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Croydon, New South Wales. He and his family previously served in Sulawesi, Indonesia. He is a keen bushwalker and cross-country skier.
Reverend Dr Bill Brown. Bill is a Pastoral Coach with the Baptist Union of Victoria and is helping to develop leadership tracks for emerging leaders and communities of practice for pastors. He also professionally supervises pastors. Bill is also Pastor Emeritus of the Syndal Baptist Church, where he previuosly served as a senior pastor for 33 years and as a youth pastor for 10 years before that.
Claire Harvey. Claire is a part of The Village Church community in Mount Eliza, Victoria. She serves on Frankston City Council and is the Uniting Church (Victoria/Tasmania) representative on the CoPower board and an Honorary Justice of the Peace. After a varied career, Claire’s latest vocational adventure involves training as a climate-conscious coach.
Pastor Sue Irwin. Sue is currently senior pastor of the Grainery Church, Newcastle, New South Wales. She was an English literature teacher and has been involved in Christian education with her husband, Graeme, for many years. Recently, Sue had her book, ‘The Gift of Prayer: Teaching Children to Pray’ published.
Dr Morna King. Morna loves spending time in the beauty of God’s creation, whether it be in the bush, the mountains or along the coast. She has a doctorate in French and was formerly a high-school French teacher. This year she has embarked on a new season of life and began studying at Sydney Missionary and Bible College.
Reverend Dr Wei-Han Kuan. Wei-Han is an Anglican minister serving with the Church Missionary Society, Victoria. He previously worked in local church ministry and is a member of A Rocha Australia. He enjoys growing things and trail running in beautiful mountain places.
Reverend Associate Professor Darrell Jackson. Darrell has been an ordained Baptist minister since 1989. In 2019 he was appointed to the role of Dean of Research at Whitley College and Interim Principal in 2023. He is a member of the Commission for Mission of the Baptist World Alliance, a missiological advisor to Baptist Mission Australia, and Vice-Chair of the Board of European Christian Mission International. In 2021, he co-designed and continues to co-teach a ‘Creation’ Unit within the University of Divinity. He is a member of A Rocha, Australia.
Julia Jardine. Julia lives in Melbourne and works for A Rocha Australia and Cassinia Environmental. She grew up in the United Kingdom, and after reading geography at university, she found that a career in town planning integrated her concern for people and the environment, as it shapes the places in which we live. Over recent years, she has had a growing appreciation of the ‘bigness’ of the gospel as being good news and providing hope for all God has made and has also gained an understanding of the place of caring for creation in our discipleship and mission.
Jane Kelly. Jane lives on the lands of the Darug people, in Western Sydney, with her husband and children. She is Common Grace’s Creation and Climate Justice Co-Ordinator. Her studies include theology, ministry, ethics, and legal studies. Jane loves connecting with people, hearing their stories and joining together with others to seek Jesus and a better future for all God’s good creation, both within local communities and across the globe.
Reverend Dr Phill Marshall. Phill is passionate about nurturing new generations in global leadership. He currently works in mentoring and professional supervision, particularly in the area of intercultural ministry, drawing on life lessons from living in South America, Africa and Asia, which enable him to relate to a wide range of cross-cultural challenges. He originally trained in medicine and then in theology and missions.
Aunty Donna Meehan. Aunty Donna is a Gamilaroi woman, international author, radio broadcaster and chaplain. She holds an Associate Diploma in Social Welfare, an Advanced Diploma in Community Management, a Bachelor of Community Management and a Diploma in Chaplaincy. Her story was used by the Bible Society for their 200th Birthday in 2017, and she received The Prime Minister’s Community Award for her Contribution to Aboriginal Education and The Arts. Donna is the author of ‘It Is No Secret, The Story of a Stolen Child’, a powerful autobiography. All her paths lead to peace.
Deb Mostert. Deb’s contemporary art practice is 35 years young and involves drawing, painting, sculpture and public art. She lives and works on Yuggera land in Bellbird Park, Ipswich. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art from the Queensland College of Art, has had 20 solo shows and been involved in more than 70 group shows in both regional and commercial galleries. She has won several awards and been a finalist in many National art prizes including the KAAF Art Prize, Redland Art Awards, Archibald Salon de Refuses, Jacaranda Drawing Prize and Marie Ellis Prize for Drawing.
Bev Murrill. Bev lives on the lands of the Awabakal people and is a speaker and writer who works as a leadership consultant in a Christian context. She is passionate about the Church’s role to advocate for social justice in a world increasingly challenged by trauma, tragedy and climate uncertainty and has commenced a Doctorate of Ministry that seeks to examine how the Church can embrace the future rather than cling to the past.
Dr Mick Pope. Mick heads up the Ethos Environment think tank. He completed his undergraduate theological studies and a doctorate in meteorology at Monash University. He is a Professor of Environmental Mission at Missional University and speaks regularly at churches and other groups on theology and its interaction with environmental ethics, science and mission. He has a number of published book chapters and journal articles in this area, including ‘A Climate of Hope: Church and Mission in a Warming World’, with Claire Dawson (2014) and ‘Climate of Justice’ (2017).
Margaret and David Ritchie. Margaret and David moved from Sydney to Warabrook in Newcastle, New South Wales, at the height of the COVID pandemic. Margaret is a retired occupational therapist and David is a retired church minister and a semi-retired builder. Both are keen gardeners. They have lived and served in Bangladesh and Kenya.
Dr Alice Schroers. Alice is a General Practitioner who has a heart for rural and remote communities. She has worked in north-western NSW and Central Australia where she fell in love with the people, the rugged landscape and the wide, open spaces. In her spare time she enjoys marvelling at the splendour of God's creation and the reminder of His overflowing abundance and creativity while out bushwalking.
Abbey Sim. Abbey lives on the lands of the Toongagal Clan of the Darug Nation, where she studies and writes about God, love and the creative beauty of humans and animals. She currently works in administration and communications for Leichhardt Uniting Church and Common Grace.
Dr Byron Smith. Byron is a Christian ecological ethicist living on unceded Gadigal land. Byron has 15 years’ experience in pastoral ministry with local churches, and received honours degrees in theology, philosophy and literature. His doctorate in theological ethics (University of Edinburgh) focused on emotional responses to climate change in the context of Christian identity. Byron is the author of a number of scholarly articles and book chapters, is a climate consultant for Common Grace, writes for a variety of online platforms and has joined non-violent direct actions against new coal projects and the institutions that finance and profit from them.
Sally Smith. Sally has a long involvement with education in the home, church and school. A curriculum designer, lesson planner and trainer of those teaching faith in schools, her greatest joy is helping children open up to the possibility of a loving God who is ‘for’ them.
Naomi Stackhouse. Naomi graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation major) in July 2023. She works full-time as an ecologist at Anderson Environment and Planning in Newcastle, New South Wales and has a growing passion for science communication in Christian spaces.
Wade Tilsely. Wade was born into a family of faithful individuals for whom he has great admiration. He was raised in a home by the ocean with gardens in the yard. He is an aspiring builder and carpenter and husband to the loving and inspirational Kaylea Ona.
Betty Urquhart. Betty was born 93 years ago in the farming community of Warral, New South Wales. She spent her first 50 years there, including to help run a mixed farm with her husband. In the 1980s, she moved to South Tamworth where she settled into a new life. Betty now lives in a residential aged-care facility in Tamworth. Betty has been an avid and skilled knitter and enjoys nature, a range of craft activities and various outings with family and friends.
Stevie Wills. Stevie is a performance poet, public speaker and writer. She is passionate about the intersection of the creative power of words and social justice. For over a decade she has worked for CBM Australia as the Community Education Officer, advocating for the inclusion and empowerment of people with disabilities, both in Australian churches and in low- to middle-income countries.
Editors
Evelyn McDonald. Evelyn lives on Awabakal land in Newcastle. She loves the never-ending learning as a disciple of Jesus. She is trained in literacy, languages, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and theology and mission. She has lived and worked in South-East Asia and been involved in cross-cultural education here in Australia as a TESOL teacher to migrants, refugees and international university students. Evelyn volunteers as a literacy teacher to refugee children and in her church’s mission and justice and gardening teams.
Dr Bob McDonald. Bob lives on the lands of the Awabakal people and holds a science degree in geology and philosophy and a doctorate in biology. After studies at Bible college, Bob served in full-time ministry in Australia and overseas. He has a deep love of nature and its Creator, which he enjoys sharing with others through his photography, bushwalking and writing. He also works with public and not-for-profit organisations in Australia and overseas in the development of strategy, program evaluation and training.