It might be a little patch of earth you work on; a quiet spot where you spend time in thought; a view that stops you in your tracks.

From 1st to 30th September the Diocese of Oxford is running Inspired by Creation, a competition to find out how people encounter God through creation. People are invited to send in original photographs, poems or prayers that capture the place that inspires them.

The Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd John Pritchard, has chosen a spot in the Lake District, Tony Baldry, MP for north Oxfordshire and the Second Church Estates Commissioner, has nominated the churchyard where his childhood mentor is buried. The Sub-Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Canon Ed Newell, says he is inspired by the sea.

The competition is being run through earthingfaith.org, a website set up by the Diocese of Oxford to encourage people to connect their spirituality with the earth. It is supported by the Church of England's Shrinking the Footprint environmental campaign.

David Shreeve, the Church of England's national environment adviser, said: "So often taken for granted, there are many special places where we can find inspiration and by entering this competition you can say 'thank you'  which is part of the Shrinking the Footprint ethos, reminding us just how inspiring our world is and how we need to conserve it."

Bishop John said:  "Many people have a favourite piece of holy ground, somewhere where the veil between heaven and earth seems very thin, whether or not they are fully paid up Christians.

"Mine is in the Lake District where you look down Wastwater to the great mountains of Scafell Pike, Yewbarrow and Pillar. This is where time stands still for me and I am put gently but firmly in my place before the beauty and scale of God. I could look at that view for weeks and never exhaust it."

Tony Baldry chose St Peter's Church, Burnham, in Buckinghamshire, the final resting place of his childhood mentor.

"You wouldn't now know that she is buried there - it's a plain piece of grass in a churchyard. Those whom she could have married were killed in the Great War. A broken crucifix in memory of her nephew Bryan lies next to her.

"Every day for thirty years Miss Winch would walk from Burnham to Dropmore and back to teach in the church school. Ten miles every day, in all weathers. It was a time when every child knew their catechism, the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. And with the Festivals and the seasons she would change the Altar cloths.

"I think Miss Winch's grave is a good place for the Second Church Estates Commissioner to give an account of himself to God."

Canon Edmund Newell, Sub-Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Oxford, says: "It's hard not to be inspired by creation. For me, it's the sea that does it. It's where I go to think, reflect, write and pray."

Matt Freer, Environment Officer for Oxford Diocese, says: "To mark the season of Creation Tide we are inviting people to share the place where they find inspiration and a connection with God. People are asked to enter the competition by submitting their original photographs, and/or poems and prayers that capture their special place. The competition is being run through the Earthing Faith website, a resource hosted by the Diocese of Oxford to support people as they connect spirituality and faith with the earth around us."

The winning photos and words will be available through packs of postcards and other resources. Prizes include a selection of books and energy saving devices.

Notes

• Find out how to enter at www.earthingfaith.org/inspired.

• Creation Tide runs from 1 September to 10 October 2010

• The Diocese of Oxford is the Church of England in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire and has more parishes and churches than any other diocese in the Church of England.

• Find out more about Shrinking the Footprint.