Forest Chapel

A Sanctuary of Restoration, Training, and Living Devotion

Forest Chapel is the flagship site of WHOLEFAM’s Third Space Rescue initiative—a once-abandoned rural church now reborn as a self-sustaining sanctuary. Here, old architecture and sacred stained glass meet solar panels, vegetable gardens, and practical community training.

This is not just a site—it’s a living symbol of what’s possible when we commit to healing both land and spirit through service.

A Working Model of Regenerative Community Architecture

We are currently:

• Converting the property into a fully self-sufficient site with its own food, water, and renewable energy systems.
• Preserving the original beauty—including historical stained glass, woodwork, and sacred symmetry—that would have otherwise been lost.
• Opening the space to serve the wider community as a place of music, wellness training, community-based food-production, gathering space, and sacred refuge.

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Weekend Trainings

Forest Chapel hosts hands-on, in-person trainings for those interested in:

• Restoring churches or historic structures with “good bones”
• Launching their own Third Space Rescue projects
• Integrating permaculture, architectural preservation, and communal living principles
• Understanding sacred stewardship rooted in matriarchal ecology, Indigenous principles, and real-world repair

Each training weekend is offered by donation includes:

• Property mission, templates, & planning process
• Cyclical, quiet living experience: peaceful routines, community meals, council circles
• Guidance from our restoration advisory team relevant to your stage of project
• Time in silence, reflection, and shared ritual

Restoration Advisory Team

Participants benefit from the wisdom of seasoned builders, land stewards, artisans, permaculture educators, and self-healing resources.

Our advisory team provides:

• Personalized project input
• Legal templates for ethical land use
• Skilled administrative navigation
• Architectural evaluation & design support
• Community-building frameworks & training

Interested in joining the advisory circle or contributing expertise in Ohio? Connect with Forest Chapel.

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Project Incubator: Find Your Sanctuary

Forest Chapel also serves as a matchmaking hub for those seeking a restoration project to join.

We maintain a growing list of churches and buildings across the world that have structural potential and need council members, anchor staff, and seasonal stewards. These projects are shared so interested groups can:

• Connect with others who share the vision
• Apply for support and guidance
• Bring new life to underutilized sacred spaces

Contact Us to Nominate or Browse Nominated Properties

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Why This Matters

All across the world, beautiful old buildings are falling into decay—abandoned by shrinking congregations, isolated communities, and underfunded institutions. But these buildings still have something to offer.

Forest Chapel is proof that:

• Beauty doesn’t have to be lost.
• Sacredness can be restored through use, not just reverence.
• Regeneration can be practical, reverent, and community-based.

We don’t worship the past—we repurpose its foundations for the world that needs us now.

Land & Legacy

Forest Chapel was made possible through a personal donation—a sacred offering of trust, vision, and long-term care.

All properties held or stewarded through WHOLEFAM are either:

• Deeded to a local WHOLEFAM trust govered by a board of Indigenous land protectors and community members, or
• Held in long-term (10–100 year) ethical leases, with full alignment to regenerative land use values

This ensures that no project becomes extractive, exploitative, or privately owned for profit. Every space is held as a commons of care. Forest Chapel is a fully-donated flagship model for WHOLEFAM community restoration efforts in the United States.

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Visit, Train, or Stay

Whether you’re a builder, musician, chaplain-in-training, or simply someone seeking a different kind of life rhythm, Forest Chapel welcomes:

• Volunteers
• Resident stewards
• Weekend trainees
• Musicians & healers in service

Visit our working sanctuary, and experience a way of living in practical, peaceful, cyclical effort rooted in good for goodness’ sake.

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Closing Invitation

“The chapel is not the building. The chapel is what happens when we give something sacred a place to land.”

Forest Chapel is the home base in the “Heart of it All.” It stands as a seed site—a prototype and prayer—for what communities around the world can return to, together.