Dear Friends ~
One of my dearest teachers and elders once told me, “Everything is either Love or Fear. There is nothing else. . . Wherever there is great Love, Fear must show itself, in order for Love to shine Its Light and heal the Fear.”
Some of you know I’m a minister, currently living on Maui. Our non-profit organization is called Church of the Earth. We’re a multi-denominational community dedicated to stewarding Mother Earth in a way that will help us to reduce global warming; return to true family and community values; live in harmony with our fellow brothers, sisters and All Our Relations; raise healthy children; serve mankind and all beings that live on our planet.
My personal dream, and the dream of many in our community for the last several years, has been to create a Sanctuary ~ a Center, if you will, where we can share the teachings of the Masters, all the great teachers over the centuries. I envision a place where we can offer Retreats, Workshops, Conferences that will make a difference in the world as we know it. I can see a community where people can live, laugh, love, pray, play, work and share together in ways that create ever more balance, health and harmony on the earth.
We already have members who know how to create beautiful, life-sustaining organic community gardens that will feed many, many people. We have friends who teach Compassionate Communication skills that can change the way we negotiate the challenges in our lives; we have connections who know how to assist latch-key and under-privileged children to make life-affirming choices as they grow. We know how to show people green building techniques; ways to manage financial and ecological resources; alternative energy resources and how to use them; cost-effective ways to cut the carbon footprint of a family, a neighborhood, a municipality.
The people, the technology, the skills exist within the community we already have. What we don’t have – yet – is the land to support our vision and mission.
And, I’ve found it!! Last month, in Arkansas, I looked at a gorgeous, fully operational Retreat Center on 80 lovely acres – half in cedar forest, half in pasture and good growing land. There are two ponds (one stocked
with catfish and bass) and a creek. The Retreat Center is 8,000 square feet and will bunk 80 or more people at one time. And . . . it’s run on alternative energy! The Center is heated with a low-energy geothermal system (coils at the bottom of the pond absorb heat and pipe it into the Center – it’s the most even heating system I’ve ever experienced). While there are three wells on property, the retreats are served with a purified rain water catchment system, and the wells are hardly ever tapped. There’s a 2,000 square foot pool house with a fabulous heated swimming pool.
If I could find anything remotely similar in Maui, I’d be looking at ten million dollars or more. And there isn’t anything like it here. In Arkansas, it’s a little over $500,000.
This land would support our Dream of Love and Sharing: EarthWays Eco-Academy. The land is already being used as an active Retreat Center, and it’s nearly self-supporting. It would be easy to expand it to teach all the methods I’ve described above. And, we can build homes for our teachers, families and elders – those who are already a part of Church of the Earth, and some of those who may want to join us as we grow.
So what’s the catch? Money, of course. We simply don’t have what we need to purchase this terrific, one-of-a-kind property.
Now, I could go into Fear here, and say, “Ah, well. Guess it’s not meant to be. Our dream will have to wait.”
I don’t choose to do that. This is a Dream whose time is NOW. People need what we have to share – and many need it desperately. The only way to get out of Fear is to shine the Light of Love into the fear and heal it. If we can teach others how to become more self-sufficient; how to resolve family and community conflicts without stress and violence; how to reduce their dependence on oil (at $4 per gallon!), and feed themselves directly from the earth . . .well, wouldn’t people be less fearful and more open to loving their neighbors if they knew they could cooperate to create an easier, less stressful lifestyle?
So now we get to the part about how you can help create this reality. We’re looking for a team of healers/teachers who want to invest in community. People who want to live on the land all or some of the time; people who have teachings and healing modalities to offer, who would like to present workshops, etc. and share their gifts at the Center. When we give from the gratitude in our hearts for all that we already have, we know it opens the door for the Great Mysterious Universe to give us even more!
We at Church of the Earth want to give of ourselves, in the ways we know best, to help change the direction of the world. If you want to join us, you can sign up as a member at www.churchoftheearth.org Here are some simple ways you can help – perhaps you can think of others.
You can send a donation. . . or you can have some fun with this . . . have a party with friends who might be interested! As we all know, when ‘any two or three are gathered together’, the energy, excitement and response grow in leaps and bounds. (That’s why all our politicians are so busy having neighborhood parties right now!) If you choose to have a gathering, let me know, and I’ll be available for a conference call to share more about this Dream with you and your friends. I can also send you more photos, and a prospectus sharing our vision, mission and guidelines.
And, as our way of saying thanks, for donations of $10 or more from you and your friends, we’ll send you a Certificate of Life-time Membership in Church of the Earth and a subscription to our quarterly newsletter which will keep you updated on our progress.
If you’d like to invest, here are some of the ways we can work together:
We need 25-50 teachers, healers, presenters who would like to make an investment of $1,000 or more, in exchange for which we’d like to invite you to present at one of EarthWays Eco-Academy’s week-long workshops for free each year for up to five years (once we’ve purchased the land). You’ll also become a Life-time Member of Church of the Earth.
For an investment of $5,000 or more, you receive Life-time Membership and you can come and attend or present at any workshop of your choice free one week per year for the next ten years!
2) You can become a Member of the Council of Elders. With your investment of $25,000 or more, you become a Member of Church of the Earth, and a part of our decision-making Council, with the right to participate and vote on matters that determine the directions we will take as we co-create this vision together. This is an important and life-enhancing position; a place where you can truly watch the vision unfolding!
And, 3) there’s also a place for several Members who want to buy or (long-term) lease a lot on the community land, to build your own eco-friendly home, in order to grow and learn together as we continue to build EarthWays Eco-Academy and share these teachings with good-hearted people everywhere. If you’re interested in this option, please write or call and I’ll send you more information.


Please mail your check or money order to:


PO Box 468
Haiku, HI 96708

Or send your donation to Church of the Earth at www.paypal.com , by entering account whitewolfclanmother@yahoo.com (my personal email address).
Thank you in advance for your loving support. Whether you donate or not, please hold our vision in your prayers. And please feel free to pass this on to others you think might be interested in joining us or donating. The Guidance is strong. I believe that we can and must fulfill this dream.