Page 7 - PC Fall 2023

presbyterian.ca
FALL 2023
Reimagining Church Properties
By Karen Plater, Stewardship, and Betty Kupeian, Presbyterian Church Building Corporation
For two days at the end of April 2023, Betty Kupeian, Chief Op- erating Officer of the Presbyte- rian Church Building Corporation (PCBC);AinsleyChapman,Execu- tive Director, Evangel Hall; Karen Plater, Associate Secretary, Stew- ardship, The Presbyterian Church in Canada; and the Rev. Dr. Tim Dickau, Missional Leadership Certificate Program, St. Andrew’s Hall, B.C., joined a group of 30 people from across the country to reflect on how the use of church buildings and properties may be reimagined. The group was composed of urban planners, ar- chitects, denominational leaders, Indigenous Elders and non-profit housing developers from Presby- terian, United, Anglican, Christian Reformed, Baptist, Missionary Al- liance and Pentecostal traditions.
Karen, Betty and Ainsley are part of a team that has been working together for the past three years to evaluate resources and agencies that have the po- tential to best support congre- gations and presbyteries as they discern best practices in the stewardship of the church build- ings and properties under their care. The team includes staff and
volunteers from the Life and Mis- sion, General Assembly Office, Church Architecture Committee, Financial Services, PCBC and ministries working in affordable housing (Evangel Hall).
If you are interested in par- ticipating in this conversation, please contact Karen Plater at kplater@presbyterian.ca. Watch for new resources and webinars on this subject coming this fall.
Fourteen Presbyterian congrega- tions closed this past year. Be- ginnings and endings have long been a part of the history of the church. There is always some- thing sad when a congregation’s ministry ends. Our church history, however, is steeped in the tradi- tion of being reformed and always reforming. This tradition was re- flected in several reports to Gen- eral Assembly highlighting con- gregational ministries that have adapted to their context while adopting fresh ways to share the good news by meeting commu- nity needs in changing times.
No one can deny that the church in Canada is going through a pe- riod of significant decline, where congregational closings exceed openings. We are not alone in these observations. At the end of April 2023, an ecumenical group of people concerned with these
closings gathered to see where God is at work today and to un- cover possibilities for continuing God’s mission in light of these challenges.
We are aware that in the past 10 years over 4,500 congrega- tions across all denominations have closed. We have seen church properties sold to private individuals, businesses and de- velopers, to be turned into private homes, condos, pubs, stores, ca- fés, galleries and theatres.
We have also seen the rapidly rising real estate values—in both the rental and ownership mar- kets—which are resulting in an affordable-housing crisis across Canada and a loss of affordable spaces for community gatherings and programs serving acute and chronic social needs. We are also increasingly aware of the critical role played by land and churches in our colonial history.
Through table discussions, presentations and dialogues this ecumenical group explored sev- eral ideas to respond to our rapidly changing context. Ideas included using/conver ting congregational buildings/proper ties into spaces for affordable housing (subsi- dized apar tments, rent geared to income, etc.), suppor ted housing (for seniors or people with disabil- ities), community hubs, social en-
Photos from the event on how the use of church buildings and proper- ties may be reimagined.
terprisespacesandothercreative uses, all with a focus on environ- mental stewardship. Case studies were shared about congregations that have developed parking lots into a mixed social and affordable housing project, and others that have become community hubs (including space for community worship), and how others are using their properties to serve in healing and reconciliation.
We have heard that a cost ac- companies these visions. The de- cision may be not to sell proper- ties/buildings to the highest bidder, or not to sell them at all. (Proceeds of building and proper ty sales are folded back into mission and ministry.) If the priority is afford- able housing, such a project may impinge on the income needed to support a congregation’s ministry. Building to the highest environ- mental standards is more expen- sive than traditional means.
Indeed, these costs are borne by the congregation (if it is con- tinuing on), the presbytery and the denomination. And yet, we
society? How should we steward it so we create homes and com- munity spaces so that others can safely experience God’s abun- dance and joy?
Across the country we are ex- periencing a homelessness crisis. Thousands of people are without homes or are stuck in transitional housing because there aren’t af- fordable market housing options. We need affordable housing that people can call home. What if more congregations thought about
are conscious that we are called to be good stewards of the prop- erties and historic buildings we are given. And so we are seeking to discern how these assets may best serve the mission that God is already affecting in our world. In this regard, we were also chal- lenged by Indigenous people who were present to consider and explore the role of land and build- ings in healing and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples—and how to ensure that Indigenous needs, ideas and opinions are re- flected in our decisions.
While recognizing that these are challenging discussions, we felt that we should risk the conversa- tion as we stand firm in commit- ment to live our faith in action. The dialogue star ted at this conference continues to provide discussion points that suppor t conversation at all levels of the PCC.
also becoming places that offered shelter space, transitional housing, low income or market housing for individuals, seniors, families, refu- gees, those with disabilities?
Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God and neighbour as oneself.
If we value an affordable, com- for table and welcoming home in a good, safe neighbourhood, we should also want that for others. We have many neighbours who need that kind of warmth, safety and long-term security, so what are we doing to love them?
The blind, the lame, the sick, the thirsty, the desperate, the lonely— Jesus challenged them to believe what felt impossible. Are we will- ing to do what it takes to help all people find a home, even when it feels like an impossible task? Are we ready to think creatively and faithfully around the future of our land and buildings? With prayer and a renewed sense of God’s vision, I pray that we can all find ourselves welcomed home with open arms.
Connection
PRESBYTERIAN
7
What Does It Mean to be Stewards of Our Land?
By the Rev. Rebecca Jess, Armour Heights Presbyterian Church in Toronto, Ont., and Vice President, Evangel Hall Mission Board of Directors
Land is important in the Bible. We hear a lot about it in the ear- liest books: promises from God around land, Israelites seeking land, the releasing of land at Jubi- lee, to name a few. Land is impor- tant. Land sustains, nurtures and grows us.
Land is what we live upon. It’s where you take root. Raise chil- dren. Source food. Build com- munity. Set up places of worship, education and health care.
Home is an equally impor tant concept. Home can and should be a place of comfort, a place of safety, a place to eat and rest and
reflect. It’s a place where family and friends are intended to care for and nur ture one another. Un- fortunately, while Canada is seen as a land of plenty, having a stable home isn’t a reality for too many. Instead of solving the challenges of homelessness, it seems to be a growing problem in communities today.
Presbyterian churches across the country are big landholders. And as the landscape across our denomination is shifting and changing, questions around the buildings and the land that we hold are growing. As congregations begin to wonder about what to do with their land and buildings, es- pecially when congregations have to find creative ways to stay open, it is also time to consider how those buildings connect to creat-
ing homes.
Churches are spiritual homes
to many of us: welcoming places where we are safe to wonder and question, where we hold a sense of belonging, where we know love. While we don’t need physical church buildings in order to house our spiritual needs, we tend to hold a strong emotional connection to them because they provided plac- es for growth, belonging, love and spiritual journeys to happen.
So what happens when our congregations’ physical spaces become more than we need?
It can be hard to imagine a new reality when the physical spaces (land and buildings) that have been spiritual homes no longer ex- ist in the way we know them. How can we view the land our churches sit on as a part of God’s vision for