Stephen Blackmer is a forest ecologist and former Episcopal priest turned holder of sacred space. In 2014, he founded Church of the Woods to love, heal, and bless the Earth and one another, and was a co-founder of the Wild Church Network. Before being ordained, Steve served as organizer, coalition-builder, and advocate with the Northern Forest Center, Northern Forest Alliance, Appalachian Mountain Club, Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests, and Five Rivers Conservation Trust. Steve holds master’s degrees in forest ecology and in religion and ecology from Yale University, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Dartmouth College. He lives in an off-grid chapel/monk’s cell on 106 acres of woods and wetlands in Canterbury, NH, where he welcomes visitors and serves as chaplain to all creatures small and great (including humans). Follow Steve’s emerging writing on Substack at Becoming Sacred Space.