Startup
Time for some backstory. We’ve been dreaming about this concept for a long time. Therefore, it’s a long story. I’ll spare you every detail. But I’d like to give you a snapshot of the last few years for us
Our typical years have always had a very seasonal flow - Jenn as a school teacher and I as a youth minister. There were the moments of peace and quiet, and other moments of nonstop, barely-getting-it-done chaos. We’ve generally really loved that. At the end of the previous 8 summers it felt like we both collapsed onto the couch mid-August with a big happy exhale. We were physically exhausted but spiritually and mentally pumped. We had witnessed first hand the joy of community and friendship, the power of shared experience, and had the opportunity to share the most important things in our life with other folks.
In 2018 we jammed our summer with all that we possibly could - international trips with teens to New Zealand, Australia, Puerto Rico. We planned events for kids at home, and I spent time preparing to bring on a new employee, while Jenn was still working through grad school.
2019 came around and, looking back with some perspective, it really just feels like a blur now. Our weariness permeated into every aspect of life and we’d just packed in too much, too tight, and were out of gas. Jenn was heading back to school and I was trying to get our program rolling for the fall. We were burning the candle at both ends and neither of us knew what poor timing that was.
2020. You’re sick of hearing about it. I’m sick of talking about it. But I mention it here because it set into motion a series of events that had huge consequences in almost every aspect of our lives. Jenn faced the struggle of trying to teach kids online, as well as some autoimmune issues. I faced the challenge of decision making in the pandemic landscape. Can we gather, should we gather, how do we gather, is it worth spending an immense amount of time creating an online experience? As you can imagine, folks had lots of opinions about what should happen and it really felt like a no-win scenario. The events of 2020 and early 2021 set into motion a decision that we didn’t know was coming. I decided to step away from full-time ministry.
I’m not typically much of a planner. Jenn’s awesome at that, so why would I bother if she’s just gonna change my plan and make it better? has usually been my thought process. That, however, was also true in this career move. It came rather suddenly, at least it felt that way to us, and I needed to make the move. If I’d had my druthers perhaps I may have continued in ministry and moved into a different role. I’d been dreaming up ways to reach out to and connect with the young adult community living in Somerset and the surrounding areas. It’s a group largely forgotten by most every institution except our local bars. No judgment, just true. There’s no AYSO soccer for 25 year olds. This was the genesis of an idea - what if we take our love for outdoor activity outside of the bounds of teenagers in our youth ministry and share that with people more broadly?
When it became clear that remaining in the ministry context wasn’t gonna be a good fit for me, at least for this season, I started thinking more seriously about what it might look like to take our idea outside of the church. Some major questions remained…logistics, money, transportation, gear, staff, volunteers, support, communication. If it’s right, we will find solutions for all of them. But this idea is a big one, and not the easy road.
As most of you know, the realities of life are coming at you whether you’re ready for them or not. For a period of time I needed to nail down a job and be able to carve out the time to plan and prep for what this next endeavor might look like. And hence Union and Main was born. U&M is our production company, that we’d been running for a couple of years as a side hustle. We made a plan for Jenn to stay committed to teaching and I jumped in to the production world with both feet. We found and renovated a studio space, kept shooting weddings, started shooting real estate, market d events at the school, worked with local businesses and organizations, and much more. It’s been a fun journey, but it was always meant to be a bridge. A bridge to something that I feel is profoundly needed.
So what are we trying to start? Movement is intended to be primarily about the breaking down of barriers that keep people from experiencing all of the outdoor adventure in our area. As we’ve had countless conversations with high schoolers over the last 10 years and so many express the sentiment that they can’t wait to get out of Somerset and start their life in a community that has “more to offer” or “more going on.” While I do understand that sentiment in terms of career and options for shopping and entertainment, I really don’t think you can beat Somerset for a wide variety of top notch outdoor fun, at least on the east coast. You can live in an affordable, safe neighborhood and you’ve got a plethora of outdoor recreation opportunities within 30 minutes in any direction.
At the same time as we love boasting about all that there is to do here, we have also come to realize that there are some obstacles to getting out and enjoying the outdoors. As I’ve made moves like upgrading my mountain bike, purchasing climbing gear, obtaining camping and skiing equipment, and buying a season pass or lift ticket, it’s occurred to me that we’re talking about thousands of dollars in gear and we’re only 1/3 of the way there. Once you’ve got everything, you need to learn how to use it. Where can you go in Somerset for climbing lessons? And even if you figure out how to safely rig up some climbs, how do you know where our nearest climbable cliff is? Finally, you can’t, shouldn’t, and likely won’t enjoy adventuring outdoors if you’re always doing it alone.
We want to tackle that three-fold problem: Equipment, knowledge and community. We’re not trying to start up another youth ministry, and we’re not trying to be a for-profit outfitter. We just want to give people in our community - specifically young people, to start - the opportunity that we were so fortunate to have. We want to provide the chance to escape the burdens and challenges of modern life, and the opportunity to find lifelong friends, develop useful skills, and commit to a healthy lifestyle along the way.
So there’s the back story. We’ll share more specifics in future posts. If you agree that time outside is good for you and you’d like to support our mission, hit the “Donate” link above. We’d be so grateful.