What is the Pagan Homeland Collaboration?
Pagan Homeland Collaboration is a Deeply Rooted Church community initiative to build lasting Pagan infrastructure—real places that can hold our gatherings, our education, our service work, and our long-term continuity. Right now, a lot of Pagan life happens in rented halls and borrowed venues that aren’t truly ours, which means access can be fragile (availability, pricing, policies, and public misunderstanding can change fast).
Pagan Homeland is our way of moving from “temporary space” to durable space: safe, inclusive places for Pagans and allies across traditions, with room for many paths and a shared ethic of respect.
We build that future by investing in people and systems we can actually stand behind: supporting Pagan business owners and artisans, keeping resources closer to community, and choosing long-term stewardship over quick consumption. Our projects center ecological sustainability, education, and practical care for humans living in relationship with land and community.
When the opportunity and capacity align, that can include creating an affiliated sister church/temple space (including the possibility of repurposing an existing building) with a grounded humanitarian focus such as reentry support, a food pantry, or shelter work. We respect the sovereignty, culture, and boundaries of other communities—this is Deeply Rooted’s work, offered in collaboration, never as a takeover.
Wisdom Through Experiences 🧭
In 2024, Pagan Homeland Collaboration explored a prospective site in Berlin, Wisconsin. The working vision was to develop a future program that supports people returning to community after incarceration through stable services and practical support—housing stability, basic needs navigation, employment readiness, and community connection—delivered with dignity, privacy, and clear boundaries. The larger infrastructure concept was also formative: how a building originally designed as a Christian worship site might be lawfully repurposed into a Pagan temple and community service hub, without disrespecting anyone’s tradition and without turning the project into a “statement” against Christianity. The intention is practical: convert an existing structure into a safe, values-aligned space for Pagan religious and community life.
Berlin was a bold idea, and it sharpened our understanding of what must be in place before any purchase: site due diligence, clear operating plans, safety and accessibility requirements, staffing/volunteer capacity, and long-range financial sustainability. We have not stopped. We are actively researching other sites—especially those with historic interest—so that future projects can support preservation of human history and culture alongside land care and ecological stewardship. Deeply Rooted Church maintains a separate bank account dedicated to Pagan Homeland Collaboration initiatives. Donations may be received into this account; however, no funds will be used for a property purchase until the project is truly ready, with appropriate approvals, a defined plan, and a responsible timeline.
Durable Pagan space for future generations
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Consent-based safety and inclusive access
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Stewardship: land care + community care
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Durable Pagan space for future generations · Consent-based safety and inclusive access · Stewardship: land care + community care ·
More on the spirit of Pagan Homeland Collaboration
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We Plan with Purpose
We plan in the open. Deeply Rooted holds board meetings with clear notes and accountable decisions, and Pagan Homeland Collaboration uses committee meetings to turn vision into steps.
We also speak at Pagan community events so our direction stays connected to real needs—not just theory. Stay tuned to know where we’ll be speaking next!
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We Collaborate Openly
We build with allies, artisans, and mission-aligned partners—sharing information early and naming boundaries clearly. Collaboration never means takeover. It means respectful coordination, clear roles, and leaving each community’s identity and decision-making intact.
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We Adapt as Needed
Every site, project, and partnership is different. We stay flexible so plans fit the land, the legal realities, and the people doing the work. When new information shows up, we adjust—without losing our values or pretending we know everything in advance.
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We Will Deliver with Confidence
We’re building the infrastructure now: relationships, research, systems, and financial readiness. When the timing is right—and the plan is truly durable—we will purchase a building and convert it into a Pagan temple/sister church space with practical community benefit.
We won’t rush a purchase; we’ll earn it with preparation, clear governance, and a long-term commitment to stewardship.
Learn More about the History of the Pagan Homeland Collaboration
In “Wade Mueller speaks on the need for Pagan homelands,” journalist Cara Schulz reports on a Paganicon talk that framed “Homeland” as a practical, long-game infrastructure challenge: Pagan life often happens in borrowed venues, while permanent Pagan places are rare. The article highlights an approach centered on durable place-based community, doing the work with a small committed core, and building for future generations rather than short-term payoff.
Credit: Cara Schulz, The Wild Hunt (April 4, 2017).
Wade Mueller speaks on the need for Pagan homelands
Circle Sanctuary’s Circle Talk — “Pagan Homeland with Guest Wade Mueller”
Produced as part of the Circle Sanctuary Network / Circle Talk; hosted by Circle Sanctuary Minister Debra Rose, with guest Wade Mueller.
In this Circle Talk episode, the conversation focuses on a practical question: what would it take for Pagan communities to hold more gatherings on Pagan land—and to grow durable infrastructure like temples, groves, and stone circles over time? The discussion names the need for land and buildings “to call our own,” and explores grounded, workable steps toward making that possible.
Wade Mueller: Deeply Rooted Church (S1, E17 — 43 min — May 27, 2021)
Show: The Middle-Aged Baby Pagan
Creator/Host: Aaron Covey
Guest: Wade Mueller (founder, Deeply Rooted Church)
This episode is a grounded snapshot of early Pagan Homeland thinking through the lens of building durable Pagan infrastructure: how Deeply Rooted began, what it takes to keep an off-grid nonprofit community stable, and what long-range stewardship can look like over decades. It’s useful context for where Pagan Homeland Collaboration’s “build the systems first” approach comes from.
SHEAVES Portal via Deeply Rooted Church
This is an AI representation of an idea of how the Pagan Homeland and other initiatives like it could exist. It was generated by show-casing the spirit of communities within the SHEAVES network.
SHEAVES is the place where land-holding Pagan and nature-focused nonprofits come together as peers—to share what works, name what’s hard, and build continuity that outlives any one person or leadership cycle. It’s bigger than any single site: a shared table where communities can coordinate, learn, and strengthen the practical skills of stewardship and long-term community care.
Pagan Homeland Collaboration and SHEAVES sit side-by-side in spirit: both are about durable infrastructure, consent-based relationships, and building future-facing capacity without flattening anyone’s identity. If Pagan Homeland is Deeply Rooted doing the on-the-ground work of “build it and keep it stable,” then SHEAVES is the wider network space where communities can compare notes, support one another, and keep the long view in focus.
Pagan Homeland Collaboration is a Deeply Rooted Church initiative. It is not affiliated with SHEAVES, and it does not speak for, represent, or make decisions for SHEAVES or any participating community. Each organization speaks only for itself.
“One brave deed is worth a thousand books. Sentiment without action is the ruin of the soul.”