“We chose this place because the Chapel has been a part of our lives for a very long time. We have chosen to be photographed together as we became friends here after meeting in toddler gym class with our kids. We have done so many things together at the Chapel besides attending church services. We have organized fund raising auctions, craft fairs, bake sales, dishes to pass, community talks and so much more. It is almost our second home. We walk there on Sunday mornings, sing in the choir together and argue about everything. The Chapel is a central part of the Forest Home Community and an essential building in this Historic District. The Chapel serves as Forest Home Community Center. We are a truly an ecumenical church open to everyone and have been an essential part of community life ever since homes were first built here, with services held in private homes, and then the school building on Judd Falls Road, now the Botanic Gardens' Nevin Center. Neither of us live in Forest Home, neither of us are Methodists, but both Elizabeth and I were invited to join the Chapel by other members. This place is the center of a community which, through its members who have left Ithaca and now live elsewhere, stretches around the world. A community of which we are proud to be members.”
