Jeremiah 32:1–3a, 6–15
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”
In the fall of 1889, a “small” group of people doing their best to follow Jesus gathered in a home in northeast Charlotte and committed to building a church. One hundred and 35 years later, a “small” group gathered in a church and committed to building homes.
Newell Presbyterian Church is not the first, nor will we be the last, to reimagine stewardship of church assets with an eye toward community development and building belonging. Today, countless churches sit on land and “own” buildings that are breaking their budgets while contributing little to nothing to the greater good. Meanwhile, in practically every city and town around “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” housing that is affordable is out of reach for countless families and individuals.
The wave of church property transition is here. Some estimates suggest that by the end of this decade, the U.S. will have seen some 100,000 church-owned real estate assets become something else (read “Gone for Good,” by Mark Elsdon). For those of us who love the Church, it is indeed a crisis. However, I am convinced that it is possible, and faithful, to leverage one crisis into a response to another.
Jeremiah knew a thing or two about navigating crises. Evicted from their homes by the power of empire, the people of God were headed for exile. Everyone and they brotha knew there would be no swift “return to glory days,” or even “normal,” and Jeremiah buys real estate? It don’t make no sense!
Call is like that sometimes. God tells Jeremiah to invest in his community, apparently, whether or not the prophet will be around to see those seeds sprout.
The Presbyterian Neighborhood Houses/Settlement Movement (1890–1965) took a similar long view. Building up the Beloved Community involved more than lip service; it involved bricks and mortar. “Congregations transformed missions and Sunday schools into settlement houses. Presbyteries and synods worked with local and national organizations to sponsor new community centers,” and the homes, centers and services all adapted to the needs of the people —– embodying a posture of semper reformanda (Presbyterian Historical Society).
Standing on their shoulders and on those of Jeremiah, I’ll add one more little Latin phrase: quid tum. What’s next?
Prayer
God of yesterday, today and tomorrow, stir within our hearts and minds that we might be stewards of a future not our own. Enable us to imagine a time and space in which all your children know the joy of home, and strengthen us to work toward it together, until the day when all will be on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
The Rev. Matt Conner has served as the pastor of Newell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, since 2017 and is a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity, 2017). Since arriving at Newell, Matt has been engaged in leading property redevelopment and cultivating community partnerships at the intersection of affordable housing, stewardship, and “second chance” opportunities for individuals and families impacted by incarceration and/or deportation.
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