Thank, you, thank you, thank you,
to everyone who contributed to this campaign.
We have been overwhelmed and overjoyed by your generosity.
If you didn't have a chance to give before the deadline, it's never too late make a donation to the project on our website:
www.stlydias.org
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what's a Dinner Church?
St. Lydia's is a Dinner Church. We gather for worship each week around meal we cook and share together.
We're a progressive, GLBTQ affirming congregation, looking for an experience of the holy that is strong enough to lean on, deep enough to question, and challenging enough to change us.
The most important thing we do is bring people together across boundaries, to sit at a table and break bread together. This is where justice begins.
St. Lydia's was founded five years ago by Pastor Emily Scott, in collaboration with friends and colleagues, and about a million supporters like you, cheering us on as we grew.
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This is Dinner Church
we need you to help us build!
The past few years we've been renting a place by the night to hold our Dinner Church services. But we've grown so fast, it's time to move to a place of our own. We've found a fantastic storefront, and now we need to move in!
Our new space will be a place of quiet and beauty, with a kitchen where we can make our meals and big, sturdy tables where we can eat them. Architecturally, it's something entirely new: a sanctuary with tables instead of pews, all in about 1,000 square feet.
We need $120,000 to build this unique space. The good news is that we've already raised $80,000, given by the congregation and some very generous donors who wanted to give us a strong start. Help us reach our goal by giving to this campaign.
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Our new storefront, where construction has already begun!
plus, there's co-working
During the evening, we'll be holding Dinner Church services and other events like Bible study, lectures, and concerts. But during the day, our new space will be a co-working space: a place where anyone who would normally work from home comes to work together instead of working alone.
There will be coffee and tea, wifi, and a spiritually focused collaborative community of people to work alongside.
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An interior sketch of our new space set up for Dinner Church. Architect, Sheryl Jordan.
what will the space look like?
We’re seeking to create a space that both invites the congregation into shared work and participation and feels sacred and holy. Three central tables will host Dinner Church participants, then split into components that transition into more private work space. A canopy at the entryway with a perforated surface will create a patterns of light on the floor, creating a threshold. A system of rods on the ceiling will allow us to hang oil lamps to be lit during worship, as well as cloth for different seasons of the year. We’ve worked to use space efficiently, with under-bench storage for bags and purses.
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Dinner Church setup transforms to co-working setup. Architect, Sheryl Jordan.
we've built this together
St. Lydia's started out in a friend's living room five years ago. There were twelve of us there that night. Since then, we've grown to two services a week of about 25 people each.
This is a place where folks who were raised in the church and folks who weren't come to feed souls that are hungry for connection and communion with God and one another.
We started out with a budget of $0 and, in 2013 have grown to a church with a congregant and donor base of 120 individuals who, together, gave $40,094.00, 35% of our total 2013 budget. Currently supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, our goal is to be financially self sustaining by 2017, and moving into this storefront is the way we're going to get there. Rent is pricey in New York, but with strong congregant giving, donor giving, and the income from our co-working space, we have a sustainable financial model.
Your giving is integral to this plan. St. Lydia's wouldn't be here if it weren't for donors like you.
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The storefront exterior. Architect, Sheryl Jordan.
more questions?
Read our FAQ sheet for donors, by
clicking here! Or visit our website at
stlydias.org.
how you can contribute
We're so glad you're here, and even more glad to invite you to participate in this amazing moment in our church's history!
You can help by:
-giving to this campaign
-sending an e-mail to anyone you know who you think will want to help too
-using the Indiegogo share tools to share about this campaign on Facebook and Twitter
-writing or blogging about us with a link to this campaign!
