What is a “launch team?”
When I started in this role part-time in September 2023, I knew that it would take time to gather a new Episcopal community here in Sunnyside. I knew it would take time to experiment, to build a network of relationships, and most importantly, to build trust with people who might feel called to be leaders with me. I knew it would take time to discern a vision for this community as a new kind of church: what are we yearning for? What are we willing to show up for?
I also trusted that it would take time because that’s how things grow in the natural world, and the natural world is Jesus’ primary model for the abundance and mutually beneficial interrelationship he describes as “the Kingdom of God.” Jesus doesn’t invite his disciples to rise and grind, or move fast and break things. He invites them to go slow and grow things—and to be nurtured in their own growth along the way.
In this cold winter of January 2025, we are still very much in this experimental, seed-sowing phase. We’re seeing some seeds grow (the Blessing Bureau, the Little Window Gallery, an Artist Residency, our experimental Eucharist, our gathering for practice and reflection called “Church?”). We’ve seen some seedlings wither (the chanted Compline service we tried last year, and weekly dinners at my house). And we trust that there are many seeds still under the ground, and they may or may not sprout when their time comes. We’re going to keep on growing things in this way; we’re going to keep on going slow, and seeing what surprises burst forth from the good soil of this place.
And, in parallel, we are also going to move with intention toward a specific goal: we are going to push toward a public launch of this new community in September 2025. What will that mean? It will mean weekly Sunday worship, spiritual formation for kids and adults, and more mission-driven participation in the life of Sunnyside, in solidarity with the most vulnerable and those pushed to the margins.
There will be a lot of conversations coming up about what, exactly, we want this to look like. Because there’s a lot that we get to discern and decide. And there will be some work we get to do together to bring that vision to birth this fall. I am gathering a team of people who want to be a part of this work, and are willing to invest 4 or 5 hours a month for the next 12 months to get this new church going. Will you join us?
