Imagine Cincinnati, which will serve the Cincinnati metro area from a base in its northern suburbs, and Emmanuel New Hope Church, in Beavercreek, have received New Episcopal Community grants through the Episcopal Church’s Office of Church Planting and Redevelopment.
“I want to thank the Executive Council and the wider church for the faith they have expressed in the mission and leaders of these respective projects,” said the Rev. Jason Oden, canon for formation and new Episcopal communities. “It takes a lot to buoy new Episcopal communities through their startup phase. And these grants will provide significant and essential help. We’re very grateful.”
Imagine Cincinnati describes itself as “a parenting center and intentional community for families whose spirituality no longer fits traditional models of church.”
“We create space and develop programming that provides parents, grandparents, and caregivers with confidence, community, and support for the spiritual journey,” the Rev. Jennifer Fisher wrote in the community’s application.
Imagine Cincinnati, which received a $10,000 grant, is a collaboration with the Presbyterian Church and Launchpad Partners, a leadership group for planters of inclusive, anti-racist churches co-founded by Fisher.
New Hope Church is led by the Rev. Emmanuel Tuyishime, a native of Rwanda, who was previously a curate at St. George’s, Dayton. Its focus is on multicultural ministries.
The support the church receives will help the congregation “define its contextual mission, understand how its Episcopal identity informs its worship and its outreach, and … find ways to better align various ministries,” diocesan leaders wrote in documents supporting the grant.
The church received a $30,000 grant.
In all, the Episcopal Church provided $734,150 in support to 38 new church and missional communities through the churchwide budget passed at General Convention in 2022.
