About

Our Mission

Wild Grace Sanctuary is a place where people, animals, and the land heal each other through creativity and connection.

We do this through daily animal care, land stewardship shaped by permaculture principles, and creative practices like writing, music, play, and improvisation.

Wild Grace Sanctuary is a Georgia nonprofit religious corporation — a 501(c)(3) organization based on 18 acres between Conyers and Lithonia, Georgia.

The Dream

Years ago, while still in Ireland, Rejini Samuel had a dream — a piece of land divided by a winding road. On one side, an animal sanctuary. On the other, a home. A place where people could rest, remember, and create.

That vision rooted itself across continents, and after many moves, many losses, and a leap of faith, it took form on eighteen acres between Conyers and Lithonia, Georgia. What began as a personal refuge became something more: a living sanctuary where people, animals, and the land heal each other.

I've built small businesses. I've written books. I've coded complex systems and survived deep heartbreak. But nothing compares to the feeling of standing on this land, hearing the wind in the trees, and remembering: I am home. This space healed me when I thought I couldn't be healed. Now I offer it to others.

— Rejini Samuel, Founder & Minister

What Wild Grace Is

Wild Grace is the untamed divine love in nature, animals, and human creativity with the grace to heal.

Wild Grace Sanctuary is not a traditional church. We don't have a steeple or pews. We have a barn with fairy lights, seventeen cats, a dog named Lily Possum, and eighteen acres of forest and meadow.

Currently home to seventeen rescue cats and one dog, the sanctuary is a place where the deepest healing often happens in silence — sitting beside a cat, walking the forest paths, watching the light change over the lake.

The Journey

The Dream in Ireland

A vision of land divided by a winding road — sanctuary on one side, home on the other.

Walking Between Worlds

Medical doctor, software architect, novelist, improviser, songwriter, soccer player and coach — Rejini's path wound through many careers across four continents. Through it all, one vision persisted.

Finding the Land

After many moves and losses, eighteen acres between Conyers and Lithonia, Georgia. A leap of faith. The dream finally had ground to root into.

Building the Sanctuary

Two retreat homes, a barn with fairy lights, outdoor gathering spaces. Over time, a dog and seventeen cats found their forever home. The land began to breathe with new life.

Wild Grace Today

A nonprofit religious corporation, an animal sanctuary, and a place where three programs — Animal Care, Earth Care, and Creative Care — come together on the same ground.

Rev. Dr. Rejini Samuel

Founder · Minister · Writer · Improviser

Rejini Samuel has always walked between worlds. Her life has woven together many paths — medical doctor, software architect, novelist, improviser, songwriter, soccer player, and minister.

She is the author of five novels published under the pen name RJ Samuel, including the 2018 Ann Bannon Popular Choice Award winner An Outsider Inside. Her poetry collection Write You Away: Love in Three Acts reached #2 on Amazon's poetry new releases chart.

Ordained since 2017, Rejini founded Wild Grace Sanctuary on the land she now calls home. She performs improvisation with Tapestry, Atlanta's immigrant improv ensemble, and plays Sunday league soccer.

The medical training taught her how to think about what's actually wrong — not the story someone tells about their problem, but the underlying system. IT taught her how to build frameworks that make overwhelming complexity navigable. Writing taught her that people learn through story, not instruction. Improvisation taught her that connection and joy are skills you practice, not feelings you wait for. And the animals and the land taught her what no career could — how to be still, how to pay attention, and how to stop fixing things long enough to let them heal.

Minister Services

Rejini offers non-denominational, inclusive ceremonies shaped with you — grounded in presence and the living world around us.

Minister services can support:

vow renewals
commitment ceremonies
blessings
memorial or remembrance gatherings
milestones and transitions
openings/closings for group gatherings

A ceremony may include a short reflection or reading, personal words or vows, creative elements (music/writing), and a simple closing blessing. Each one is shaped with you, in conversation.

To inquire: info@thewildgrace.org

Our Community Covenant

As members and participants of Wild Grace Sanctuary, we covenant together to:

Share space, not dominate it

We honor that this sanctuary belongs to all beings who dwell here.

Keep animals, people, and land safe

We prioritize the wellbeing and security of every member of our community.

Practice honesty and transparency

We communicate openly and truthfully in all our interactions.

Include without prejudice

We welcome all people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, or background.

Honor consent, boundaries, and care

We respect personal and animal boundaries and seek permission before touching or entering spaces.

Serve together as stewards

We share responsibility for the care of this sanctuary and one another.