Starting this Sunday, you'll see Task Force and Steering Committee members wearing "Ask Me About the Block" pins around the parish. They're an invitation.

If you have a question, an idea, a concern, or simply want to understand more — these are your fellow parishioners, and they are a resource for you. Ask them anything. Share what's on your heart. This discernment belongs to all of us, and the more of us in conversation, the better the outcome will be.

Sociologists have a term for the places that aren't home and aren't work, but matter just as much: third spaces. The coffee shop where regulars know your order. The park where kids play while parents catch up. A faith community that welcomes you exactly as you are. A place that exists simply for people to be together. 

Our corner of Midtown is something of a third space desert — a part of the city with surprisingly few places where people simply gather, across generations and walks of life. 

All Saints' already is one of those rare places. The question before us now is how we make sure it remains one — not just for this generation, but for the city All Saints' has always served. 



This is the heart of our master plan's guiding phrase: In the City, For the City. Not a campus apart from Atlanta. A commons within it.

As the Egleston Task Force and Block Development Steering Committee evaluate the range of design options, they keep returning to one question:

What will be most generative — to our ministries, to our neighbors, and to this block's life for the next hundred years?

That question is already shaping some exciting ideas under discussion, including:

• An intergenerational commons — one of the few places in Midtown where toddlers, teenagers, young families, and longtime parishioners share the same common life
• A block that gives back to the city — exploring whether All Saints' could serve as an incubator for mission-aligned organizations and small social ventures, extending our reach into the city
• Deeper partnership with Atlanta's universities and civic institutions — including conversations about how academic programs in social entrepreneurship and community development might find a natural home or partnership here



None of these ideas are decided. They are part of the vision driving the conversation — a reminder that this discernment isn't only about fixing what's broken. It's about imagining what's possible.

All Saints' is in a position most churches aren't: financially healthy, growing, and younger than the average Episcopal parish. But strength today doesn't guarantee strength in fifty years.



A vibrant commons — full of ministry, partnership, and intergenerational life — is part of how this parish sustains itself for the long term. The seventh generation principle asks us to make decisions today that serve those not yet among us. A thriving third space is one of the clearest ways we can do that.

What is "the commons," exactly?

It's less a place on a blueprint and more a way of describing the vision: a block where ministry, community, and neighborhood life overlap and reinforce one another — rather than existing in separate silos.

How does each design option affect the commons?

Each of the options under evaluation creates a different amount of shared, flexible space for community life. The Task Force is weighing this directly: more shared space generally means more room for ministry, partnership, and intergenerational connection — but every option must also be financially and structurally sound. That balance is exactly what's being costed and evaluated right now.



Why focus on "generative" use instead of just fixing the building?

Because a building alone doesn't sustain a parish — its use does. The Task Force's job isn't simply to repair what's damaged; it's to ensure whatever comes next serves people, ministry, and mission for generations.

WHAT THE TIMELINE LOOKS LIKE