Help Us Buy The Stone Chapel
Donation protected
Help us Buy The Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall
Since finding this beautiful space almost a year ago, The Church of Nature has taken root offering events and services around the Hudson Valley as well as globablly via on-line streaming. (Read below for our creation story and down a bit more for pictures and info about The Stone Chapel.)
Our programming has expanded and we are more than ready for our own home. But we really need your help.
We are eligible to apply for a matching historic acquisitions grant which means we are now looking for $187,500 rather than $300,000. We have included $30,000 in the total that will help us get the Meeting Hall up and running. The Stone Chapel will require separate renovations and will most likely take us around three years to complete. But $187,500 will get us the space and get us up and running in the amazing 2500 sq ft meeting hall.
We know in our hearts that The Stone Chapel is our home. The owners were kind enough to let us hold an Animal Blessing event at the site on October 4, 2015 and it was such an amazing experience.
This is Christine doing an energy healing on Pudge.
The Chapel loves it when we are there - this is a photo that Christine took one morning when she was there visiting. After walking the ledge behind The Chapel, Christine came down the hill to this amazing sight. That's sunlight hitting the back of The Chapel that makes it look like there is an open window there.
We have several ways that you can help us - please pick the one on our donate page that resonates.
You Can:
For $25
Purchase one or more 'I am NATURE' t-shirts. All profits from the sale of these t-shirts goes to the campaign. (at least $10, more depending on the quantity we end up ordering.) This is a pre-order so all orders will ship mid to late December. To order more than one - visit our website www.thechurchofnature.org We will add your support to this campaign page don't worry!
These shirts have a customed created image on the front and our I AM affirmation on the back.
Sponsor one of our programs. Make a donation of any size, not the project you want to support in the comment box for your donation - all moneis go to our operating budget which includes the purchase of the Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall. *For your contribution we will recognize you as a supporter of the program you choose, but your monies will not be restricted to that program. In this way, your donation remains tax-deductible.
We have several amazing programs we will be running. Some we are running already and others require a dedicated space, so we are holding off until we have The Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall and your support will help us tremendously. Here are just a few...
Nature's Focus Media Project -
Children 10-15 will work to explore different film techniques while creating film projects that focus on Nature. Animation, macro cinematography, documentary... Film will be screened at our Nature's Focus Film Festival
Sprouts -
Working in small age related groups as well as mixed aged groups (we think it's important for big kids to work with little kids) Sprouts introduces and instills in children a deep connection to Plants and their ability to support our health and wellness. Children will learn how to identfity plants that can help them, how to make teas, tinctures and salves. Children will also be taught how to ground and connect to the earth, which will give them an invaluable self-managment tool.
Young Women's Empowerment Program
With a focus on self-validation, this program offers young women both tools and a discussion space to help them navigate the world we live in. The program explores sterotypes in media, positive interaction, positive communication and most importantly the ability to and the value in learning to validate the self. Working in, with and through Nature, this program helps to ground young women in a positive, supportive way.
DIRT
There is nothing better than digging in the dirt. Studies have demonstrated that digging in the dirt creates a positive, healing experience. That aside, understanding and valuing Dirt is important to the well-being and future of our planet. DIRT is a one-a -year event that brings together experts and demonstrations to provide insight, knowledge and tools that support DIRT. From vermicluture (worms) to mud batteries, you're gonna love DIRT!
The Dandelion Festival
Dandelions are one of the first sources of food that our polinators find as they emerge from their wintering-over. Yet we have been taught to kill the Dandelion. In addition to being an important source of food for bees and other insects, Dandelions offer humanity powerful healing support through the roots, leaves and flowers. Our Dandelion Festival honors this amazing plant and brings awareness to the importance of leaving it be. The Festival explores everything from Dandelion Poetry to How-Tos - Dandelion Wine, Dandelion Oil, Cooking with Dandelion and Dandelion Crafts.
Neighbor2Neighbor: Growing Together (N2N)
Rooted in the principles of Permaculture - Honor Each Other, Honor The Earth, Share The Excess, N2N Growing Together encourages people to 'get growing' no matter how much time or space a person has. Each person committs to growing a single crop. The ability to focus on one type of food, tomoatoes, potatoes, cuccumber, lettuce is much easier then trying to figure out how to grow an entire garden. And then we share the excess. Depending on when and how food comes in we may hold a big open feast, we may donate the excess, we may give the excess away.
Animal Blessings
Every 1st Sunday of the Month is our Animal Blessings Sunday Reflection. We take our usual Sunday Reflection and focus on our animal friends. After our Service we hold a free energy clearing clinic for any animal that is present. Energy clearings help animals release the energy that they carry for us, they can help animals have more energy, feel less stress and be generally more happy and content.
Nature's Garden
Nature's Garden engages children in creative nature play and exploration. From story reading to mandala making to seed balls, the constellation project and more. We bring these programs into schools and child-centric organizations as well as offer a monthly Sunday event prior to our Sunday Reflection. As this program grows it will include a summer camp and evenutally a pre-k program
These are just a few of the programs and project that we have planned. Please support our efforts to purchase The Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall so that we can create a dedicated home for all that we do and want to do.
Thank you
The Back Story
- A Calling To Manifest The Church of Nature
The Stone Chapel (Scroll down for this)
- How A Physical Space for The Church of Nature will support our mission.
- All of the amazing things we can do with this space!
The Stone Church is for sale for $299,000. We'd love to buy it outright; but if we can raise enough to put a sizeable downpayment, we can swing a monthly mortgage payment. Any amount you can contribute will help and please share with your friends.
The Back Story- Planting The Church of Nature
Have you ever been called to do something? It's an errie experience in many ways and also exciting and a little daunting too.
In December 2012, I received a call. I listened and here's what has happened.
Since 1999, I've been using a collection of unique skills to help people live their lives more fully, more honestly and more holistically. I always loved what I did and I thought I was doing what I was 'meant' to do.
I like to work with divination cards as a way to focus my own energy and efforts. I created a deck of Wisdom cards, so sometimes I use those; it's like talking to myself; but I also like to use Doreen Virtue's Angel Cards.
In December 2012 I began drawing, daily, sometimes several times a day Archangel Jophiel.
I listend. I went outside and walked and sat and looked an felt. And then one day, as I was headed out the door, I was inspired to take my camera. I began taking close-up photos of leaves, and buds, and blossoms, and snow and rain. As I looked at them, I wondered how I could share the energy of nature, the meditative quality of nature, with others. I turned them into beautiful Nature Mandalas, a Mandala being an ancient form used to help connect one more deeply with their inner and outer worlds. As I worked with Nature and the Nature Mandalas, Nature started sharing messages with me; of hope, of love, of change, of need, of inspiration. And in turn, I started passing these along to others. The more I shared, the more these messages seemed to be filling a need.
I continued to draw the Archangel Jophiel card throughout the beginning half of 2013. That July, I had what I call an awakening within my awakening. I was to stop teaching and presenting in the way that I had, and I was to become an emissary of Nature. I was to help people create deeper connections with Nature and I was to remind people that we are not separate from Nature, Nature is not a backdrop to our lives; rather we ARE Nature.
And so I was called, and the calling continued.
"Hold a Sunday Service," I was instructed.
So I created Nature's Sanctuary Sunday Service, which offers an opportunity for people to connect with Nature through peoms and stories; and then apply a reflection to their daily lives for the week ahead.
"Start The Church of Nature," I was instructed.
The calling to start The Church of Nature came one day as I was sitting at my computer, doing some work, and much like I heard my unborn son’s name whispered to me in 2003, on this day I heard ‘The Church of Nature.’
I got butterflies in my stomach, which is always a positive sign for me of being in alignment with my own Spirit.
I did the first thing I do when I have an idea; I checked to see if the domain was available. I went to my hosting provider and searched for ‘The Church of Nature.org’ It was not available. Usually I stop there.
But on this day, again I heard a whisper and it said ‘check GoDaddy.’ So I popped over to their site, typed in ‘The Church of Nature’ and there it was, available in an auction. The auction, interestingly had seven days remaining and no one had bid on the domain. The opening bid was $12. As I went to make a bid, I drew my hand back and was guided to wait. I put a reminder in my calendar to check again on the last day of the auction and then I put it out of my mind. When the calendar reminder popped-up, I went to GoDaddy’s auction site and there it was, still waiting. No one had bid on it. Fifteen minutes before the auction closed I entered my bid of $12 and then, I not so patiently refreshed every few minutes, watching the time tick down. The auction closed and the domain was divinely mine!
As I moved forward in this process of founding The Church of Nature, I’ve thought about so many things and about what this means for me. Ultimately I have come to realize how THIS, being the steward of The Church of Nature, makes sense.
For my first marriage, we wanted to get married outside, in my parent’s backyard. I was raised Roman Catholic, but by this point in my life, I had long since moved away from ‘The Church.’ My Mom wanted us to get married by a priest, so I said, ‘sure, if he’ll do the service outside.’ The reply from the priest was ‘that is not the house of God.’ I couldn’t understand, nor did I agree, with the belief that Nature as a whole could not be a house of God.
Later in my life as I developed a strong Spiritual understanding of both life and the world and my metaphysic insight increased, I released the learned information of religion and God. My second husband, who has his own connection to his higher senses would often say to me ‘Nature is your Church,’ and I would laugh.
So on that day, when I heard ‘The Church of Nature’ whispered to me, there was something so clear and certain, so divinely called in me to do THIS, to create, The Church of Nature.
I’ve learned that starting a Church is often referred to as ‘planting a church’ or ‘seeding a church.’ What a lovely concept that is, to plant or seed a Church.
When I am out taking photographs for the Nature Mandalas time and time again I connect with aspects of Nature that speak of Nature being a Cathedral. A Cathedral in Christian terms is the principle Church of a diocese. That would make Nature the principle Church of The Church of Nature. Are you seeing where I’m going with this?
What are the parameters of this particular Cathedral, of the Nature Cathedral? There are none, the boundaries of Nature as a Cathedral are none. Nature is Nature.
To give you a better idea, here are a few messages Nature has shared with me around this idea of ‘Nature as a Cathedral’.
The Spring Magnolia Bud shared this message:
‘There is a divine flow to all of life. Nature is a cathedral and the answers you seek are here.’
In the Fall of 2013 , we were offered a rich message of respect and awe. The Chokeberry Leaf asked us to take a breath and reflect on our abundance and ‘harvest,
and shared this message: ‘Nature is a cathedral and her leaves are portals to the deeper meaning of life and living.’
The Rose of Sharon Leaf speaks of learning to see Nature as a source of the Divine as well as a reflection for living in alignment with our own Spirit.
In 2013 this is a message from The Rose of Sharon Leaf:
'Look through me and into the wonder of creation.
As I continue with the process of making The Church of Nature an officially recognized Church; I see great things that planting this Church can do and offer.
As we say in Sunday Service, ‘this is a place to focus our intention, but not where our intention ends.’ The Church of Nature is honoring Nature as a Cathedral – as a source of power, insight, and guidance and as a connection to our own source of Self.
Although we stem from the same source of life, humanity has taken a divergent path from Nature. In our need to claim, conquer and control, we have lost ourselves. Nature, on the other hand, has not.
So it is time for us to return to nature. It is in Nature’s Cathedral that we will find the what, the why and the how, in the way that makes sense for each of us individually.
It is where we will find our answers. It is where we will find ourselves. It is where we will become whole and return to living as Spirit, just as Nature does.
The Stone Chapel
As like everything in this story, I stumbled upon The Stone Chapel in a most interesting way. In November 2012, a month before I started to get messages to go outside, a dear friend of ours suffered a series of strokes that left her left side paralized. She was only in her fifites. Her recovery has been slow and she has been moved to several different facilities, until finally she found a wonderful place outside of Kingston, NY.
A friend who lives out of town wanted to visit with her, so we offered that he stay at our house and then I would drive him up to visit. We live about 45 minutes away.
After the visit, instead of taking my usual route back, I was inspired to go over the Rhinebeck bridge. It's a beautiful drive and I thought it might be a healing drive.
As I came down Route 9, I whizzed past a church and I was almost certain there was a 'For Sale' sign out front, but I didn't want to turn around. Our friend needed to get to the train station. So I just kept going.
But when I got home, I started googling: 'church for sale Route 9; church for sale rhinebeck.' I found it, but it was an old listing that was inactive. Maybe it wasn't for sale anymore?
I tried to put it out of my mind but it kept coming back. I decided to drive back out there and see for myself. I drove past it, parked on a side road and then walked back. It was for sale! I wrote down the realtor's information and then looked around.
As I looked in the windows of the church, I had visions of weddings and ceremonies; of blessings and healings. I saw love and light and joy.
As I walked around the property, I saw visions of gardens and a circle path and an infinity path for meditation. I saw children playing and animals coming for healings and blessings.
As I looked in the windows of the Meeting Hall, I saw visions of talks, and workshops, and film screenings. I saw a monthly Red Tent for women and I saw a place for people to come and connect, to love, to heal, to share all through a deeper awareness of Nature, all through the experience of recongizing that we ARE Nature.
Since finding this beautiful space almost a year ago, The Church of Nature has taken root offering events and services around the Hudson Valley as well as globablly via on-line streaming. (Read below for our creation story and down a bit more for pictures and info about The Stone Chapel.)
Our programming has expanded and we are more than ready for our own home. But we really need your help.
We are eligible to apply for a matching historic acquisitions grant which means we are now looking for $187,500 rather than $300,000. We have included $30,000 in the total that will help us get the Meeting Hall up and running. The Stone Chapel will require separate renovations and will most likely take us around three years to complete. But $187,500 will get us the space and get us up and running in the amazing 2500 sq ft meeting hall.
We know in our hearts that The Stone Chapel is our home. The owners were kind enough to let us hold an Animal Blessing event at the site on October 4, 2015 and it was such an amazing experience.
This is Christine doing an energy healing on Pudge.
The Chapel loves it when we are there - this is a photo that Christine took one morning when she was there visiting. After walking the ledge behind The Chapel, Christine came down the hill to this amazing sight. That's sunlight hitting the back of The Chapel that makes it look like there is an open window there.
We have several ways that you can help us - please pick the one on our donate page that resonates.
You Can:
For $25
Purchase one or more 'I am NATURE' t-shirts. All profits from the sale of these t-shirts goes to the campaign. (at least $10, more depending on the quantity we end up ordering.) This is a pre-order so all orders will ship mid to late December. To order more than one - visit our website www.thechurchofnature.org We will add your support to this campaign page don't worry!
These shirts have a customed created image on the front and our I AM affirmation on the back.
Sponsor one of our programs. Make a donation of any size, not the project you want to support in the comment box for your donation - all moneis go to our operating budget which includes the purchase of the Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall. *For your contribution we will recognize you as a supporter of the program you choose, but your monies will not be restricted to that program. In this way, your donation remains tax-deductible.
We have several amazing programs we will be running. Some we are running already and others require a dedicated space, so we are holding off until we have The Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall and your support will help us tremendously. Here are just a few...
Nature's Focus Media Project -
Children 10-15 will work to explore different film techniques while creating film projects that focus on Nature. Animation, macro cinematography, documentary... Film will be screened at our Nature's Focus Film Festival
Sprouts -
Working in small age related groups as well as mixed aged groups (we think it's important for big kids to work with little kids) Sprouts introduces and instills in children a deep connection to Plants and their ability to support our health and wellness. Children will learn how to identfity plants that can help them, how to make teas, tinctures and salves. Children will also be taught how to ground and connect to the earth, which will give them an invaluable self-managment tool.
Young Women's Empowerment Program
With a focus on self-validation, this program offers young women both tools and a discussion space to help them navigate the world we live in. The program explores sterotypes in media, positive interaction, positive communication and most importantly the ability to and the value in learning to validate the self. Working in, with and through Nature, this program helps to ground young women in a positive, supportive way.
DIRT
There is nothing better than digging in the dirt. Studies have demonstrated that digging in the dirt creates a positive, healing experience. That aside, understanding and valuing Dirt is important to the well-being and future of our planet. DIRT is a one-a -year event that brings together experts and demonstrations to provide insight, knowledge and tools that support DIRT. From vermicluture (worms) to mud batteries, you're gonna love DIRT!
The Dandelion Festival
Dandelions are one of the first sources of food that our polinators find as they emerge from their wintering-over. Yet we have been taught to kill the Dandelion. In addition to being an important source of food for bees and other insects, Dandelions offer humanity powerful healing support through the roots, leaves and flowers. Our Dandelion Festival honors this amazing plant and brings awareness to the importance of leaving it be. The Festival explores everything from Dandelion Poetry to How-Tos - Dandelion Wine, Dandelion Oil, Cooking with Dandelion and Dandelion Crafts.
Neighbor2Neighbor: Growing Together (N2N)
Rooted in the principles of Permaculture - Honor Each Other, Honor The Earth, Share The Excess, N2N Growing Together encourages people to 'get growing' no matter how much time or space a person has. Each person committs to growing a single crop. The ability to focus on one type of food, tomoatoes, potatoes, cuccumber, lettuce is much easier then trying to figure out how to grow an entire garden. And then we share the excess. Depending on when and how food comes in we may hold a big open feast, we may donate the excess, we may give the excess away.
Animal Blessings
Every 1st Sunday of the Month is our Animal Blessings Sunday Reflection. We take our usual Sunday Reflection and focus on our animal friends. After our Service we hold a free energy clearing clinic for any animal that is present. Energy clearings help animals release the energy that they carry for us, they can help animals have more energy, feel less stress and be generally more happy and content.
Nature's Garden
Nature's Garden engages children in creative nature play and exploration. From story reading to mandala making to seed balls, the constellation project and more. We bring these programs into schools and child-centric organizations as well as offer a monthly Sunday event prior to our Sunday Reflection. As this program grows it will include a summer camp and evenutally a pre-k program
These are just a few of the programs and project that we have planned. Please support our efforts to purchase The Stone Chapel and Meeting Hall so that we can create a dedicated home for all that we do and want to do.
Thank you
The Back Story
- A Calling To Manifest The Church of Nature
The Stone Chapel (Scroll down for this)
- How A Physical Space for The Church of Nature will support our mission.
- All of the amazing things we can do with this space!
The Stone Church is for sale for $299,000. We'd love to buy it outright; but if we can raise enough to put a sizeable downpayment, we can swing a monthly mortgage payment. Any amount you can contribute will help and please share with your friends.
The Back Story- Planting The Church of Nature
Have you ever been called to do something? It's an errie experience in many ways and also exciting and a little daunting too.
In December 2012, I received a call. I listened and here's what has happened.
Since 1999, I've been using a collection of unique skills to help people live their lives more fully, more honestly and more holistically. I always loved what I did and I thought I was doing what I was 'meant' to do.
I like to work with divination cards as a way to focus my own energy and efforts. I created a deck of Wisdom cards, so sometimes I use those; it's like talking to myself; but I also like to use Doreen Virtue's Angel Cards.
In December 2012 I began drawing, daily, sometimes several times a day Archangel Jophiel.
I listend. I went outside and walked and sat and looked an felt. And then one day, as I was headed out the door, I was inspired to take my camera. I began taking close-up photos of leaves, and buds, and blossoms, and snow and rain. As I looked at them, I wondered how I could share the energy of nature, the meditative quality of nature, with others. I turned them into beautiful Nature Mandalas, a Mandala being an ancient form used to help connect one more deeply with their inner and outer worlds. As I worked with Nature and the Nature Mandalas, Nature started sharing messages with me; of hope, of love, of change, of need, of inspiration. And in turn, I started passing these along to others. The more I shared, the more these messages seemed to be filling a need.
I continued to draw the Archangel Jophiel card throughout the beginning half of 2013. That July, I had what I call an awakening within my awakening. I was to stop teaching and presenting in the way that I had, and I was to become an emissary of Nature. I was to help people create deeper connections with Nature and I was to remind people that we are not separate from Nature, Nature is not a backdrop to our lives; rather we ARE Nature.
And so I was called, and the calling continued.
"Hold a Sunday Service," I was instructed.
So I created Nature's Sanctuary Sunday Service, which offers an opportunity for people to connect with Nature through peoms and stories; and then apply a reflection to their daily lives for the week ahead.
"Start The Church of Nature," I was instructed.
The calling to start The Church of Nature came one day as I was sitting at my computer, doing some work, and much like I heard my unborn son’s name whispered to me in 2003, on this day I heard ‘The Church of Nature.’
I got butterflies in my stomach, which is always a positive sign for me of being in alignment with my own Spirit.
I did the first thing I do when I have an idea; I checked to see if the domain was available. I went to my hosting provider and searched for ‘The Church of Nature.org’ It was not available. Usually I stop there.
But on this day, again I heard a whisper and it said ‘check GoDaddy.’ So I popped over to their site, typed in ‘The Church of Nature’ and there it was, available in an auction. The auction, interestingly had seven days remaining and no one had bid on the domain. The opening bid was $12. As I went to make a bid, I drew my hand back and was guided to wait. I put a reminder in my calendar to check again on the last day of the auction and then I put it out of my mind. When the calendar reminder popped-up, I went to GoDaddy’s auction site and there it was, still waiting. No one had bid on it. Fifteen minutes before the auction closed I entered my bid of $12 and then, I not so patiently refreshed every few minutes, watching the time tick down. The auction closed and the domain was divinely mine!
As I moved forward in this process of founding The Church of Nature, I’ve thought about so many things and about what this means for me. Ultimately I have come to realize how THIS, being the steward of The Church of Nature, makes sense.
For my first marriage, we wanted to get married outside, in my parent’s backyard. I was raised Roman Catholic, but by this point in my life, I had long since moved away from ‘The Church.’ My Mom wanted us to get married by a priest, so I said, ‘sure, if he’ll do the service outside.’ The reply from the priest was ‘that is not the house of God.’ I couldn’t understand, nor did I agree, with the belief that Nature as a whole could not be a house of God.
Later in my life as I developed a strong Spiritual understanding of both life and the world and my metaphysic insight increased, I released the learned information of religion and God. My second husband, who has his own connection to his higher senses would often say to me ‘Nature is your Church,’ and I would laugh.
So on that day, when I heard ‘The Church of Nature’ whispered to me, there was something so clear and certain, so divinely called in me to do THIS, to create, The Church of Nature.
I’ve learned that starting a Church is often referred to as ‘planting a church’ or ‘seeding a church.’ What a lovely concept that is, to plant or seed a Church.
When I am out taking photographs for the Nature Mandalas time and time again I connect with aspects of Nature that speak of Nature being a Cathedral. A Cathedral in Christian terms is the principle Church of a diocese. That would make Nature the principle Church of The Church of Nature. Are you seeing where I’m going with this?
What are the parameters of this particular Cathedral, of the Nature Cathedral? There are none, the boundaries of Nature as a Cathedral are none. Nature is Nature.
To give you a better idea, here are a few messages Nature has shared with me around this idea of ‘Nature as a Cathedral’.
The Spring Magnolia Bud shared this message:
‘There is a divine flow to all of life. Nature is a cathedral and the answers you seek are here.’
In the Fall of 2013 , we were offered a rich message of respect and awe. The Chokeberry Leaf asked us to take a breath and reflect on our abundance and ‘harvest,
and shared this message: ‘Nature is a cathedral and her leaves are portals to the deeper meaning of life and living.’
The Rose of Sharon Leaf speaks of learning to see Nature as a source of the Divine as well as a reflection for living in alignment with our own Spirit.
In 2013 this is a message from The Rose of Sharon Leaf:
'Look through me and into the wonder of creation.
As I continue with the process of making The Church of Nature an officially recognized Church; I see great things that planting this Church can do and offer.
As we say in Sunday Service, ‘this is a place to focus our intention, but not where our intention ends.’ The Church of Nature is honoring Nature as a Cathedral – as a source of power, insight, and guidance and as a connection to our own source of Self.
Although we stem from the same source of life, humanity has taken a divergent path from Nature. In our need to claim, conquer and control, we have lost ourselves. Nature, on the other hand, has not.
So it is time for us to return to nature. It is in Nature’s Cathedral that we will find the what, the why and the how, in the way that makes sense for each of us individually.
It is where we will find our answers. It is where we will find ourselves. It is where we will become whole and return to living as Spirit, just as Nature does.
The Stone Chapel
As like everything in this story, I stumbled upon The Stone Chapel in a most interesting way. In November 2012, a month before I started to get messages to go outside, a dear friend of ours suffered a series of strokes that left her left side paralized. She was only in her fifites. Her recovery has been slow and she has been moved to several different facilities, until finally she found a wonderful place outside of Kingston, NY.
A friend who lives out of town wanted to visit with her, so we offered that he stay at our house and then I would drive him up to visit. We live about 45 minutes away.
After the visit, instead of taking my usual route back, I was inspired to go over the Rhinebeck bridge. It's a beautiful drive and I thought it might be a healing drive.
As I came down Route 9, I whizzed past a church and I was almost certain there was a 'For Sale' sign out front, but I didn't want to turn around. Our friend needed to get to the train station. So I just kept going.
But when I got home, I started googling: 'church for sale Route 9; church for sale rhinebeck.' I found it, but it was an old listing that was inactive. Maybe it wasn't for sale anymore?
I tried to put it out of my mind but it kept coming back. I decided to drive back out there and see for myself. I drove past it, parked on a side road and then walked back. It was for sale! I wrote down the realtor's information and then looked around.
As I looked in the windows of the church, I had visions of weddings and ceremonies; of blessings and healings. I saw love and light and joy.
As I walked around the property, I saw visions of gardens and a circle path and an infinity path for meditation. I saw children playing and animals coming for healings and blessings.
As I looked in the windows of the Meeting Hall, I saw visions of talks, and workshops, and film screenings. I saw a monthly Red Tent for women and I saw a place for people to come and connect, to love, to heal, to share all through a deeper awareness of Nature, all through the experience of recongizing that we ARE Nature.
Organizer
Christine Agro
Organizer
Poughkeepsie, NY
