2023 Young Adult and Campus Ministry Grant Recipient - Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara

Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara                                                               $30000

Diocese of Los Angeles
Watershed: Young Adult Ministry at Trinity Episcopal Church, Santa Barbara

A watershed is the place a smaller river or creek joins a larger body of water. For us locally, it is where the creeks meet the sea. Young adults are at a watershed moment in their life, where their smaller individual creeks are about to join the larger sea. We aim to meet our young adults at this juncture, this watershed — the threshold place where a smaller ecosystem joins a much larger one — a threshold that requires companionship, faith development, and a safe place to take risks in community. Over the past year+, Trinity has experienced a large influx of new parishioners in the 18-30 age range. These young adults have found at Trinity – a theologically progressive and socially active parish – a place where they can worship, serve, and be an active part of a congregation. We are grateful to be bucking the trend of mainline church demographics, but we need the help of this development grant to take us to the next level: we need funding, primarily for staff, to be intentional in nurturing these folks who are seeking deep, meaningful spiritual connection in a community where they can be fully themselves.