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Two events explore stewarding church assets

Events in Seattle and Spokane explore stewardship of church land, buildings, assets

Two ecumenical opportunities are being offered for congregations to explore stewardship of their land, buildings, parking lots, houses and other assets. One is in April in Spokane, and the other is in a cohort beginning this fall in Seattle.

The Presbytery of the Inland Northwest is gathering faith, city and county leaders to share ideas for “Stewarding Faith Property for Community Good” from 9 a.m. to noon, Wednesday, April 30, at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, 645 S. Richard Allen Ct. in Spokane.

“We seek to bring together leaders to address community needs,” said Drew Peterson, land stewardship guide for the presbytery and pastor at Knox Presbyterian, which just opened its gym as a women’s shelter.

City leaders will outline community needs. Faith leaders will explore how to steward their land and buildings to meet neighborhood needs.

“We hope to help pastors and church leaders discover the sacrificial spirit of the early church,” said Drew, “and remind them of the words of Martin Luther King Jr., writing from the Birmingham jail, saying that unless the church can rediscover the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions and be disregarded as an irrelevant social club.”

Drew believes in the revival of churches through rediscovering the sacrificial Spirit of offering a church’s assets to God to serve neighbors. He reminds congregations they are not owners but stewards of their property as tools to accomplish God’s mission in the world.

“We are stewards of what belongs to God to spread God’s goodness in the community,” Drew continued.

Organizers will share examples of local congregations that are developing and have developed affordable housing, opened part of their buildings as homeless or respite shelters, like Westminster United Church of Christ, or two churches merging and using the second building to house nonprofits.

For information, call 509-924-4148 or email drew@presbyinw.org.

In King County since 2020, the Faith Land Initiative has been supporting faith communities in practicing faithful and equitable discernment of faith-owned land, buildings, parking lots, houses and other assets through the Church Council of Greater Seattle.

The Church Council is beginning conversations with faith communities to start its 2025-26 Faith Land Discernment Cohort in the fall.

Through the Faith Land Discernment Cohort, participants explore:

1) What are congregations called to be in this moment as stewards of faith community resources?

2) How can local faith communities embody reflective, relational and impactful strategies rooted in their mission that center communities most impacted by systems of oppression?

3) What do they need to pay attention to in the midst of the economic, social, political, and spiritual moment today?

The Church Council is seeking three to five faith communities to participate, with the support of a grant from Trinity Church Wall Street. Those interested may email Joey Lopez at jlopez@churchcoucil.org.

For information, visit thechurchcouncil.org/faith-land-initiative.

Pacific Northwest Conference United Church News Copyright © April 2025

 

 

 

 

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