An outdoor stone altar with wooden benches at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sebastopol, CA

The members of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sebastopol, CA, wanted to create a special place outside their church where people of any faith would feel welcome to participate in everything from religious services and weddings, to concerts and poetry reading, sitting on wooden benches under a beautiful blue sky.

But what they created is no ordinary place. St. Stephen's Church succeeded in such a way that is sure to catch the attention of everybody in their community, along with spiritually minded people nationwide.

The stone structure they created is reminiscent of an ancient gathering place that you might find on a hillside in ancient Europe. The rocks were gathered from a nearby quarry by a local craftsman to build a striking blue-grey wall, to be draped with lush vegetation over the years, as a backdrop for viewers.

St. Stephen's Church stone and mosaic tile alta

In the middle of the wall sits an altar. Glowing from the center of the rock formation is a colorful piece of art made of tile and glass. Water gently flows down this art piece to a natural rock basin below, where it is then re-circulated back to the top.

A stunning redwood plank serves as a simple table. The plank is a special "live edge" redwood, taken from a fallen tree and finished by another local craftsman.

Facing the wall are 24 wooden redwood benches which blend in perfectly with the surrounding environment of trees, leaves, grass and green hedge walls that are growing in place.

This truly is an amazing transformation of an empty field into an exceptional space.

"Everybody loves it. They think it is a beautiful place," said Marshall Ward, church treasurer and a member of the committee that oversaw construction of the project. "It exceeded all of our expectations. We call it an "Outdoor Sacred Space."

Ward said the basic idea for the site was to create a community gathering area outside that could be used for a variety of purposes, many of which are yet to take shape.

"We wanted to dedicate this to the community as a place where they can come to meditate or just check it out any time they want." he said.

The church members envisioned a space with an open ambiance where people felt free to just sit, relax, pray or meditate. And they didn't want to limit access to just church members, but include the entire community regardless of their faith.

The design of the Outdoor Sacred Space was inspired by the work of noted artist and architect, James Hubbell.

The redwood benches were supplied by The Park and Facilities Catalog.

"The benches have been well-received by the public," Ward noted. "People think they are very comfortable to sit on."

The initial part of the space was completed in October. But Ward said the church has additional plans to add a labyrinth and meditative park.

On their website, the church states "We welcome individuals of every race, nationality, gender, age, ability, sexual orientation and economic circumstance to participate fully in the life of the church as we seek to respond to God's call to be a people of compassion and love."

When you first see the charming altar and the natural stone wall surrounded by trees, you can see how this sacred place coincides with that mission - to create a warmly welcoming, spiritual space that attracts people from everywhere.

Whether to be a part of an event, or to simply sit and stay awhile, the natural beauty of this outdoor place of worship imparts the simple joys of life that we all share. That's truly a success story for any gathering place.