What’s In a Name?
Our faith is rooted in paradox that transcends dualistic thinking, so our name holds that same tension and imagination. We also have been deeply formed by spending time in garden settings where cycles of life, death, and rebirth are vividly in motion, so our name is rooted in the language of Creation.
The name Wildrose is itself a form of paradox: wildness that pushes past the old and expected ways of doing things fused with the classic and long-respected rose. We value the beauty, wisdom, and thoughtfulness of our tradition, the ancient mystics, and the ways that rituals have persisted across time as embodied practices that connect us with God. The image of a rose is an offering of gratitude for the foremothers and forefathers of our faith and all the ways that we have been shaped by tradition. We also feel called to partner with God in making something new, something wildly different from what empire and the status quo have ingrained in us. Where empire has erased or suppressed the full expressions of God and humanity, we commit to make space to honor and restore what has been lost from those who came before us. We invoke the wild imagination of the Spirit so that we can be responsive to our current moment and God’s larger work in the body of Christ.
Wildrose is also a nod to where this work first took root, in the City of Roses. The Dena is a special place with a rich history and diverse community. The people here know what it means to hold joy and struggle. Their resilience and strength come from a sense of belonging both to this place and to one another. This is a home where people have enough imagination to rise together in the face of tragedy and loss. It is also historically a place where faithful innovations have begun before expanding their reach. Our prayer is that Wildrose grows beyond any singular region and plants seeds with the Spirit wherever people want more expansive, embodied, and collective ways to worship.
And, of course, at the core of the Christian faith is the belief that Jesus rose from the dead so that we could have life to the fullest. He did this not by pulling up his bootstraps, suppressing pain and grief, and dominating others with the tools of empire. He rose by surrendering fully to the human experience, by choosing love for enemy, by sinking down into the dirt. Empire tells us we must rise alone by our own strength, but Jesus shows a sacrificial way to both root down and rise together. Scripture tells this story time and again. The women who approached the tomb on Easter morning came with spices to face death head on. They rose together early that day to embrace grief, and in turn they were the first to encounter the risen Christ and preach the gospel. We feel their story in our bones. We know that to thrive in the midst of empire requires the power of the resurrection that Jesus embodied. Our intention is to nurture spaces where grief can be held with courage, joy is cultivated, and communities collectively rise to flourish as God intended.