Open doors and open hearts.
Oct. 5, 2024
Steve Polston, director of digital communications & marketing
In April 2022, about 25 members of community organizations participated in a tour and discussion at St. Timothy’s about the physical plant and organization structure of our parish facilities and programs. Several members of the leadership committees and congregation involved in the “Church Buildings for Collaborative Partnerships” participated. The meeting was organized by Rev. Rebecca Nickel and was a robust and lively meeting that allowed us to conduct tours and get to know people in the community organizations.
Rachel Stackhouse, PhD, also attended and took a lot of notes about the conversations initiated by members of the community. She also made copious notes about the condition and size of our rooms. Rachel Stackhouse is leading the congregation now in a guided asset recording exercise that will help us learn what the community around us (SouthSide) needs and what ways we might form connections and partnerships.
The conversations were enlightening and the people from the community reflected to us that we lived up to our commitment to offer radical hospitality and welcome. An amazing heart-to-heart conversation opened when a community organizer noted that she had long held bad feelings about the church (in general) and that she felt ill at ease coming to St. Timothy’s. But at the conclusion of our conversations, she said she felt positive that she could come to the congregation’s programs and feel welcomed and encouraged.
That one small incident provided a lot of energy to members of the congregation who were present. We often say that we see ourselves as a family because we support and encourage each other. We also are aware that the term “family” is so loaded with connotations that we should temper our use of the term outside of the context of our congregation. Our hearts grew larger during that moment, and we gathered more energy for the work of radically welcoming members of the community to use our building.
But the question we all ask is what possibilities are there for inviting the community to use our facilities and why should we concentrate so much energy on that effort?
In the blog last week, I proposed that studying our building as an asset and developing community relationships and assets might mean change. Will we want to change, and will it cost us? What will it cost us financially, or in the terms of how we welcome others?
I am enjoying my membership on the “Building Capacity2 (squared)” committee because we have moved to the stage of studying our buildings and properties with an eye on what visitors experience.
Next time — how we try to bring people closer.
Visitors on a tour of our rooms in April 2022.
No barriers to entry – no steps to climb.
Imagine if the angel couldn’t trouble the waters because there were too many barriers to entry. Imagine if Jesus had sent the patient to the pool but they couldn’t enter because there were too many steps, too many people. (John 5:1-18)
Sept. 20, 2024
Steve Polston, director of digital communications & marketing
Hi everybody!
We’ve heard the name of the grant-supported project a small and trustworthy parish leadership team has been engaged in for the past two years called “Church Buildings for Collaborative Partnerships.”, with the Partners for Sacred Spaces.
The diocesan office has promoted this collaborative discovery method to help congregations engage in deep study and planning called “Building Capacity2 (squared)”. St. Timothy’s is receiving customized support from the program staff of this national asset mapping curriculum to make sure we can know ourselves really well before making any changes to our building.
There are two traditionally scary things about studies in churches – people ask the question, “will I have to change?” and “will this cost money?” It’s just like the dynamic in any family in our parish; we responsibly watch our budgets and take care of our values.
I just subtly mentioned changes in our building, and I want to make sure I address that topic. I’ll pose a question – think of the last Sunday you entered the church building through any doorway from the outside. Did you step up? No, you did not. Were you forced to make a step up to participate in any activity in the building that did not also have an equal experience with no steps? That second question is a little mouthful, isn’t it?
Before you answer, think about what our sanctuary looks like. Now, there is a series of steps up to sit in the pews that look down on the Sanctuary dais, that raised flooring that comprises the altar, lectern and pulpit. If you want to see the action you actually can sit in a series of eye-level pews, or you can climb steps to sit in pews above eye level. A good experience to re-live right now is to look at last week’s livestream of our worship service on Pentecost 17 (Sept. 15).
Back to that question of entering the building. Did you step up or over an entry? No, this is a zero-barrier building. Think of how many public facilities in our community have steps and because of that signal that entry is difficult for people who can’t climb steps.
As we consider studying this primary asset characteristic of our church buildings, we have this beautiful little thing we can smile about. There is no physical barrier to entry, and this is a welcoming statement.
Next time – how have we engaged the community?
Above: Rachel Stackhouse, PhD, is a program consultant for the collaborative partnerships study the parish is engaged in. She toured the building and made detailed notes during a community meeting in April 2022. Pictured with her is Rev. Rebecca Nickel, rector.