Urban congregations across the country are dealing with aging buildings and declining rates of attendance, while the property values surrounding the congregation grow. Churches across New York City are leveraging their space and air rights to unused property to developers. This article from The Real Deal even gives an example of Bethel Gospel Assembly in…
Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post wrote an article about a small Jewish community in Western Maryland. Cumberland Maryland had been a Jewish enclave in the Appalachian Mountains, with four synagogues and many Jewish-owned stores and businesses. But now the Jewish community has mostly left, likely to larger cities, with only around 50 families —…
During times of struggle, congregations often ask themselves “what can we do to help?” The first step is to understand the congregation’s resources. Is your building able to be used as a first-aid station or a place to get water and use the restroom? Is there meeting space to have community-wide discussions or small-scale planning…
LifeGARDEN, a mission of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Maple Grove, MN, is a labor of love of member and Associate in Ministry – Director of Worship, Alice Woodard. She explains, I first started thinking about the possibility of a community garden while attending a worship conference at St. Olaf in 2005 called “For…
In 2014, PBS aired a Religion & Ethics Newsweekly report on closing churches in Philadelphia. Look at the description of congregational resources, their membership, commitment, financial and physical resources. These congregations recognized they have one type of resource — physical space — that they can share with the community. In exchange, they can gain another…