Dear Church Family,
I am looking forward to worship on Sunday, November 16 when I will deliver our annual State of the Church address. This has become a wonderful tradition when we celebrate the life we have lived together over the last year and look forward to all the possibilities ahead.
Before that Sunday, however, I wanted to address a concern that a few of you have brought to my attention. Last month the Bentonville Bulletin ran an article that shared that our church was interested in developing the green space for affordable housing. Those who have raised concerns have been shocked that such plans are underway. Let me address those concerns: no plans have been made to do anything on the green space at this point.
The Bentonville Bulletin attended the closing session of the Faithful Foundations program sponsored by the Urban Land Institute. Our church was one of six churches who participated in this nine-month program that was specifically designed to teach churches what they would need to know to develop their land, with a particular emphasis on developing it for affordable housing. I encouraged our participation in this program because I do think that we need to look at possibilities for development of our property, with an eye to addressing community needs as well as needs for our church. We also had the endorsement of both the Trustees and Church Council to take part. We were also under no obligation to develop our land if we participated. This program allowed a team from our congregation to be trained in the stages of land development. This team represented a cross section of people from our congregation. I am personally grateful for the knowledge I gained. You may not be aware, but pastors get absolutely no training in building and development in seminary, so as we look at the possibilities for our campus as a whole, I am so grateful for this education that I have received as a result of this program.
At the completion of the program, we were required to make a pitch to a room of interested parties – developers, real estate professionals, city officials, and nonprofit investors. While the other 5 churches presented plans with architectural designs and complete budgets, we simply shared some reflections on needs that we see in both our church and our community that we acknowledge could be addressed with our property. Yes, housing options were represented in that presentation (though we made the case that mixed income options were both reflective of our welcome statement and our neighborhood). We also lifted up the need for communal gathering options like a pavilion, a dedicated space for the Second Street Pantry, and a parsonage.
We made it clear in the presentation that our next step in considering what to do with the property is to take it to the congregation. This next step is not to sell you all on an idea that is already defined, because that does not exist. It is to hear your input on what you would like to see for this campus as we face the joys and challenges of the coming eras for the church. We have a remarkable resource in that land, a resource that can allow us to do powerfully transformative things in the name of Jesus Christ. But we won’t know what those things can be until we have taken significant time to discuss it as a congregation. And that doesn’t even begin to discuss the approvals we need to get from the denomination!
I hope this helps assuage concerns you may have had. You must know that I do not lead unilaterally. Certainly with something as important as our land, I would never make decisions without significant input. I do encourage you, though, to start dreaming. Start imagining the possibilities we do have to help both our church and our community. Early next year we will make plenty of space for you to share your thoughts and vision. Then, when we have a good idea of where the whole church sits, we will start moving in the direction Christ is calling us.
Please know that if you have any questions or concerns, you can always reach out to me. Just be aware that I am on vacation November 8-14. I look forward to seeing you in worship on November 16 when I get to celebrate all of you and the incredible disciples you are for Christ!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Michelle