After hearing ‘no’ to affordable housing, we decided to step back and regroup. To do this we started the PC(USA)’s New Beginnings process. This gave us a moment to reflect, breathe, talk, and decide what our next steps might look like.
chapter 2:
new beginnings

An Answer, Not a Plan
How does the saying go? Humans make plans, God laughs? For some people, hearing 'no' to affordable housing would be the end of things. It was difficult, but not debilitating. For us, it meant having conversations. These weren't always pleasant. People would leave...

To Love is to Listen
We understand what it feels like not be heard. We love our church, both what it was then and who we are now. So did others who didn't agree with our discernment about affordable housing. Hearing ‘no’ in that moment may have hurt for a bit. It didn’t change the fact...

Courage v. Comfort
What’s the story of your church? What pops into your mind when you think of mission and ministry? When you look around the sanctuary, what do you see, what stories does it hold? How would strangers describe you? Churches are living communities. We are a hodge podge of...