As most of us already know, the conference owns the land and the buildings at St. Paul’s. This brings up the question: “What are the requirements from the conference if we pursue affordable housing?” Basically, to paraphrase and quote the most current Book of Discipline, the Conference owns the land and it is up to the church to “acquire, hold, maintain, improve, and sell property for the purposes consistent with the mission of the church“. If we so decide, this would permit our church to figure out the best options for affordable housing, and which population we would treat.
The discipline does allow a United Methodist Church to enter into an affordable housing project on their property if the church is viable, and a business plan exists. St. Paul’s UMC is an active congregation which can make decisions on how to steward this site and will receive support from the conference. Our current Bishop, Cedrick Bridgeforth, is in full support of affordable housing projects and takes every public speaking opportunity to get Methodist members excited about, and pursuing this project. Developing solutions for affordable housing is included in his M.I.L.E. mission statement.