2023 Young Adult and Campus Ministry Grant Recipient - St. Thomas Episcopal Church

St. Thomas Episcopal Church                                                                                 $8000
Diocese of North Dakota
Patchwork: A Young Adult Ministry of the St. Thomas Episcopal Church

Our goal is to acquire funds to establish and launch a community for young adults on the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation; an all denominations young adult community called Patchwork. Our churches are absent young people; as grandmothers line the pews praying for their families while grandchildren, great grandchildren are living a catastrophe; these are the young adults of Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation. The project shall use the Dinner Church Model. What is a Dinner Church? It is a gathering of people of good will where al the most important things happen at the table.! Much like a nuclear family meal wherein al family members sit and eat and talk about their day, having a robust conversation and sharing. As there is heightened family dysfunction on the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation; there are few nuclear families, there are few families that are gathering at the dinner table. Patchwork is an experiment in cultivating a community of young adults that are willing to wrestle with what church is and dare to believe in what it can be for them. With this funding, we will be able to begin this innovative mode of gathering into a full-fledged space for young adults to wrestle with their faith, doubts, fears, and longings in a community influenced by the way of Jesus, influenced by the seven sacred teachings/values of the Dakota people while providing a protective factor for al young adults on the Spirit Lake Sioux Indian Reservation.