A Documentary on Pilgrimage, Community & Creation

What does the Christian faith have to do with how we live in the natural world?

For decades we have been hearing news of climate change, environmental destruction and the ever diminishing window of opportunity that we have in which to act. For much of the time, the Church has been largely silent in this conversation, yet the Bible and the gospel of Jesus holds both the deepest truth about the purpose of creation and how we are meant to live in it; and the greatest hope for the future of the world as well.

'Re-Rooting: Pilgrimage, Community & Creation' is a documentary that explores the Christian's relationship with creation by following a 1000 mile cycle journey undertaken by two friends - Joel Chaney and Tze-Hung Seeto - from Holy Island in England to the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. 

Following ancient and new pilgrim routes, the journey connects the stories of individuals and groups whose faith has transformed how they live, from crofters and organic farmers in the Hebrides and Orkney, to outdoor churches, fellow pilgrims and the Community of Aiden & Hilda and many others across the country.

The documentary also explores the ancient Christian tradition of pilgrimage in it's many forms - as the way of devotion, the way of perseverance and, perhaps, even the way of wisdom - and how pilgrimage being by nature a mirror to our spiritual lives whilst remaining inextricably rooted in the very soil beneath our feet, can help heal the deeply ingrained dualism we create between our spiritual and material lives.

'Re-Rooting' presents these stories to encourage us not only to take better care of creation but also to partake in the abundant gift that creation is to us all when we live in right, restored relationship with it. The Christian should have the most to say about the redemption and restoration of the world, not the least.

Completing the Project:

The hardest part (the physical journey!) has already been completed and we have filmed the underlying narrative of the pilgrimage and the connections we made along the way!

We are now seeking £6500 to finish off this project which entails:

• Completion of Filming (~15 days filming: additional interviews/segments and returning to key stories to document them more fully than we were able during the initial trip)
• Post-Production (40+ days of editing, sound editing, colour grading etc)
• Travel Costs
• Distribution (working to get this film out there by building connections and networks with different groups involved with creation care)

Sponsorship: if you are a company, organization or individual interested in sponsoring this project please contact us directly at [email protected]

The Team:

Tze-Hung Seeto (Documentary Photographer & Filmmaker)

Joel Chaney (Director of CREATIVenergie)

CREATIVenergie is a charity committed to unlocking access to sustainable energy for abundant life. As followers of Jesus we partner with churches and other organisations across the world to collaboratively develop and disseminate innovative solutions that enable sustainable stewardship of creation, catalyse change and unlock sustainable energy for abundant life. CREATIVenergie also works to engage the church the UK and abroad in the conversation around creation care.

Special thanks:

Scottish Pilgrim Routes Forum (SPRF), International Community of Aiden and Hilda, Discovery Church Dunbar, A Rocha, Scripture Union, Mull Another Way, Bendoran Watersports, Camas Outdoor Centre of the Iona Community