Wayfarers Chapel

05/22/2026

Join our friends at St Francis Palos Verdes next week for their annual antiques show!

The Annual Antiques and Sale is almost here!

The St. Francis Antiques Show and Sale is just around the corner — May 28–30 — and we’re getting ready for one of our favorite events of the year!

Don’t miss the always festive Opening Night Party: Fiesta de Antigüedades on May 27 from 6–9 pm — it’s a night full of fun, food, and celebration!

We’ll also be looking for lots of helping hands, and Joyce Alley will be reaching out soon with opportunities to jump in—everything from ticket sales to the lunch tent and more

Come lend a hand and be part of the fun!

Print this flyer and get $2 off show admission!

05/13/2026

On this day, Wayfarers Chapel held its first worship service 75 years ago on Mother’s Day in 1951! Today we honor the two women who made the vision of Wayfarers Chapel a reality – Elizabeth Schellenberg and Narcissa Cox Vanderlip.

Elizabeth dreamed of a little chapel on a hillside above the Pacific Ocean where wayfarers could stop to rest, meditate and give thanks to God for the wonder and beauty of creation. Narcissa, a fellow Swedenborgian, responded to the dream and agreed to contribute land for the chapel site. ⠀

We look forward to rebuilding and serving the community for another 75+ years.

Photo Left to Right: Elizabeth Schellenberg, Narcissa Cox Vanderlip, Kelvin Vanderlip, Charles Laughton

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day from Wayfarers Chapel! Wayfarers Chapel opened on Mother's Day in 1951 - 75 years ago!

04/27/2026

Chapel Architect Lloyd Wright speaks to Elizabeth Schellenberg on this day, April 27, 1951, a couple of weeks before the chapel opening on May 13th.

Long before the glass walls of Wayfarers Chapel opened to the public in 1951, the seeds of its vision were being quietly planted through generations of faith, intellect and community. Among those who helped carry that vision forward was Elizabeth “Bess” Schellenberg, a member of the Swedenborgian Church who lived on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in the late 1920s. The Peninsula was largely open farmland with a two-lane gravel road skirting the shoreline from San Pedro to Palos Verdes Estates. Mrs. Schellenberg dreamed of a small chapel of exquisite beauty and spiritual architecture on a hillside above the Pacific Ocean where wayfarers could stop to rest, meditate, and give thanks to God.

H/T: USC Libraries

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

04/15/2026

On April 15, 1947, Lloyd Wright submitted his plans to the chapel organizing committee. The plans were immediately and enthusiastically adopted. Two years later the cornerstone would be laid and consecrated. Lloyd Wright noted that his vision for Wayfarers Chapel came from “great cathedrals of redwood of Northern California.” Using this inspiration, Wright developed a design for the chapel based on the Swedenborgian concept of “The Natural Church,” which he believed was embodied by a forest grove. Wright combined locally sourced materials with modern construction techniques to create a design uniquely suited to the mild climate of the Southern California region.

H/T: CCA, Centre Canadien d'Architecture / Canadian Centre for Architecture

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

03/31/2026

We wish Lloyd Wright a Happy Birthday today! Born March 31, 1890, Lloyd Wright would later design Wayfarers Chapel after finding inspiration on a trip in the redwood forests of northern California. When he saw how the redwood trees formed a majestic cathedral-like sanctuary, he decided to use that concept as the basis for the Chapel’s design. The glass structure creates a sense of transient space, being simultaneously inside and outside. Lloyd Wright’s design is one of the foremost examples of organic architecture and has inspired many other buildings around the world. In 2023, Wayfarers Chapel became a National Historic Landmark.

“When the trees that surround the Chapel grow up, they will become the framework, become a part of the tree forms and branches that inevitably arise from the growing trees adjacent to it.... I used the glass so that the natural growth, the sky, and sea beyond became the definition of their environment.” -Lloyd Wright

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

03/19/2026

Did you know? While the chapel opened in 1951, most landscaping was not completed until 1965. Detailed planting plans from 1955-1959 specified the trees, shrubs, ground cover, and herbaceous species to be installed throughout the site, including redwoods and ferns in the chapel’s berm planters; cedars, olive trees, lilies, and various rose species in the formal garden (referred to as the “Biblical Garden” on a 1959 planting plan); Hollywood juniper trees along the edge of the amphitheater; Algerian and Japanese ivy, Italian stone and Monterey pines, and California bay laurel trees along the hillside entrance; and pine trees at the entrance lawn and walkway, and in the parking lot islands.

Our new prospective project will recreate Wright's masterful geometric garden layout, while adapting to the new surroundings. Working closely with local conservation groups, the Wayfarers Chapel project will incorporate native plant restoration, wildlife corridors, and educational gardens designed to connect the local community, students and all wayfarers to the living landscape. Every detail of the new Chapel setting will reflect harmony between our heritage and natural habitat.

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

03/17/2026

The Story of a Rose Bush named "Hope" by Nanette, on behalf of the Wayfarers Chapel Congregation:

Hope is one of the rose bushes taken from the Wayfarers Chapel rose garden when the landslide began the deconstruction of the chapel on February 17, 2024. She's one of the many being fostered by the good people in our congregation.

Hope had been planted a long time ago when the young Chapel was growing into the magical, majestic grounds that hold so many memories for all the special times and events in the lives of those in the South Bay community of California and beyond.

The landslide two years ago turned us into true wayfarers and created a rescue mission for the Chapel's garden, whereby a few members of our congregation have been nurturing the saved rose bushes and St. Francis has provided us with a safe haven.

On March 4, 2026, St. Francis granted permission for Hope to have a temporary, prominent place to grow until Wayfarers garden is again able to have their rose bushes replanted.

“One of our beloved rose bushes from the heritage site of Wayfarers Chapel has been lovingly fostered over the course of the last two years. Last week, one of these rose bushes found a new home on the grounds of St. Francis Episcopal Church. This rose bush has been given the name Hope and carries in our spiritual journey from where we presently worship on Sundays towards our goal of reopening at our prospective site.” - Rev. Dr. David Brown

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

03/05/2026

For 25 years, the original Lloyd Wright designed chapel complex stood until land movement damaged the visitors center in 1979-80. The original visitor center/meeting hall was located at the east end of the colonnade. Our new prospective project will work to restore the original meeting hall.

In 1978, a crack in the earth was discovered by the visitors center, east of the chapel. The crack had been formed by a landslide that began developing one-half mile east of the chapel's complex in 1956. The Abalone Cove Landslide Abatement District was formed in 1980 to install dewatering wells, which would relieve stress in the land movement and halt the landslide. By 1982, the landslide had (temporarily) come to a stop. However, by this time, the visitors center had passed the point of stabilization and could no longer be repaired; it was closed in 1982 and demolished in 1995. The office annex, which connected to the visitors center at the east end, was adapted as a freestanding building. A new visitors center, designed by Lloyd Wright's son, Eric Lloyd Wright, was built on more stable land and dedicated in 2001.

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/

02/24/2026

Join us in two weeks on March 10th for our next Exploring New Earth+ discussion at 6:00pm with filmmaker Marcia Kimpton!

"Marcia Kimpton, a filmmaker and TV host, talks about finally finding happiness and peace (most of the time) and how her art is a reflection of this state of mind. Can heaven on earth really happen? She worked hard with her studies of Emanuel Swedenborg, Buddhism, meeting healers around the world, therapy, mediation and yoga to finally develop a method that helps others find happiness through writing their memoir because this happened to her when she wrote "Escaping the Hollywood Bardo. " She now calls herself a “happiness coach” because she truly wants to help people find more happiness." - Rev. Dr. David Brown

Sign up for our mailing list for more instructions:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/services/worship/exploring-new-earth/

02/19/2026

Two years ago this week, Wayfarers Chapel shut its doors to the public due to ongoing landslide issues. Small shifts and cracks that had developed over the years due to slow land movement were suddenly getting bigger each day. The photos you see here are from February 2024, but the damage would expand throughout the campus later in the year, eventually leading to the decision in May 2024 to dismantle the chapel to save it from permanent damage. Our goal has always been to rebuild the chapel. With the Chapel disassembled and stored, we're ready to rebuild our National Historic Landmark once the prospective site and funds are secured.

Sign up for our newsletter for future updates:
https://www.wayfarerschapel.org/newsletter/