11 September 2026 - Friday after the 15th Sunday of Pentecost

Dear friends,

There are moments in our lives that mark the end of an era, or the dawn of a new one. Moments that reveal that everything is different now, and there’s no going back to the way things were before.

25 years ago today, the attack on the World Trade Center was one of those moments. It changed this nation; it changed the world; it changed this city we call our home. And there is no way to rewind, to simply return to the "before times."

On this anniversary of that terrible day, we remember and grieve those who were killed, and those who gave their lives to save others. We celebrate the common purpose and compassion that united this city and this nation in the aftermath. We lament that our leaders leveraged the trauma of the Twin Towers' collapse to pursue wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that proved to have little strategy beyond vengeance and resource extraction. We lament that so many still feel fundamentally unsafe.

It is one of the great challenges of our lives to make meaning out of what we suffer. But we never make meaning just once: being alive means we can always revise the story we tell about an event, or about ourselves, in light of new experience and new learning. Such ongoing reflection is one way we become wise, one way we step into the fullness that God dreams of for us, and for all.

We keep on discovering what the past is pointing us to as we face the present and live into the future.

This weekend at the Episcopal Mission In Sunnyside we will also mark another anniversary: it has been one year since our launch as a new community of Christian practice. And joyful day already feels so different to me now—already means so much more to me than it did in the moment—because of all the life that we have lived as a community in the past year.

I am filled with hope and awe when I allow myself to look ahead and wonder what the launch will mean to this community on our 25th anniversary. What will we have discovered, that can't be "unknown?" What wisdom will we have found? What will we have gotten wrong, that needs revising and reinterpreting? What partnerships will we have made that have transformed us? What adventures will God have called us into?

There is so much to discover—and we will walk this road together, day by day, keeping our eyes on the horizon that Jesus continually points to: a way of being in which everyone has what they need to heal, and grow, and share their gifts with a community that cherishes them. Jesus called that "the kingdom of God." And that already means so much more to me than it did a year ago, because of who we are becoming together. I can't wait to discover more, with you.

peace,
carl+

As a community, we take turns giving and receiving—spending time in the spotlight, and doing work behind the scenes.

Can you help out this week? Or in the Sundays to come? Sign up here!

and…how can we pray with you, or for you?

Every Sunday, part of our service is “the Prayers of the People.” We’ve started making more space for people to name their own personal prayers in that moment. Some people will feel comfortable speaking aloud, but we also wanted to make a space for folks to ask for prayers during the week.

And—if you’re praying for help or for a way to help, we made a Whatsapp Group for that!

Local community organizations Science for the People NYC and the Association of Filipino Scientists in America are looking forward to a community discussion about the project itself and the effects it will have if and when it goes through. Please contribute food to share with others and your thoughts and questions!!

In the past week, we’ve done AMAZING work on the building!

We’re so excited to welcome Sunnyside Literacy Lab, Citation Needed Press, and Parenting Style as partners in shared mission. These partners share our values of solidarity, integrity, and creativity—and we trust that these partnerships will ground an ecosystem where new ministries and initiatives will flourish. Our nickname for this ecosystem is “the Greenhouse”—learn more about it here!

We’ll send more “before and after photos” this week, but here’s just one, of the space that Citation Needed is moving into this week.

Would you consider giving some money to nourish the seeds we’re planting in “the Greenhouse”?? Your gift will nourish this ecosystem so that it can become an incubator where neighbors discover their vocations, and are supported as they pilot and grow new initiatives which will contribute to the flourishing of this neighborhood.

And we’re preparing for Fr. Carl’s parental leave.

Fr. Carl will be spending time with Wren (4 months) from September 21st to November 23rd. The Bishop’s Committee is making all kinds of preparations to take over many of his responsibilities while he is away, and for clergy to fill on Sundays. More to come on that, next week!

Thursday mornings from 9:30-11am, we have a drop-in gathering on Zoom where we can do some of life’s challenging administrative tasks in the context of a supportive community.

At the start of each session, we introduce ourselves, share how we’re doing and what’s on our to-do list. Then we’ll each work on our stuff, on mute, until a few minutes before the end of the session, when we’ll come off mute, share with each other what we’ve accomplished, and celebrate the progress we’ve made.

Thanks to Hugh Klitzke, who has volunteered to host these Thursday morning sessions! If you have questions, you can reach out to Hugh, or to Fr. Carl.

Looking for ways to protect our neighbors from ICE?

The neighborhood ICE Watch “Office Hours” meets every Saturday from 2-3 pm. This is now a movable feast—gathering in different places each week, but this is a great way to get connected to the work of protecting our neighbors and building power. All are welcome—reach out to Lila Klatz for info about how to get involved.

Zehra A
a second moon strings itself in the sky

Zehra A (she/they) is a creative neighbor person based in Sunnyside, Queens. While collage was a favorite creative medium for them during youth, they returned to it again last year, drawn to its accessible & tactile nature, and a desire to connect with their inner child’s desire for play.

This particular piece was born late one night, when Zehra was experiencing some heavy feelings and recognized that she needed to give them a channel for outlet. She remembered some paper a friend had specifically gifted her for the purposes of collage, and started there, creating most of what you’re looking at. She then put the piece away, thinking the glue had fully dried, but when she pulled it out some days later, she saw that some string with a little pink tag had elegantly gotten stuck across it. It felt to her like an act of divine collaboration where the universe was participating in the act of creation with her. So this work invites the question…

What is an act of divine collaboration or synchronicity YOU’VE experienced?

Here’s how one neighbor responded:

In an incredibly low time in my life, I went to an online space simply seeking some reprieve and distraction and idle interaction with strangers. Little did I know that in this space I would end up meeting some of my best friends and my now fiancé, completely changing the trajectory of my life for the better. The universe really does work in mysterious ways.

Let us know what YOU think on the Little Window Gallery website! We’ll anonymously post all the responses there, and on the LWG’s Instagram page. And in a few weeks we’ll randomly select one of the people who responded and they’ll get to keep Zehra’s collage—a local work of art for their very own!

Thanks to Zehra for sharing this beautiful work, and for the story that, again, reminds us that we are not alone—that divine creativity is breathing through this world, if we can stay open to it…

Please—if you're yearning for something that you haven't seen here, reach out start a conversation. This new mission in Sunnyside is made up of...US. So it gets to be what we want it to be...