Virginia Episcopalian Magazine Winter 2014 Issue | Page 10

Revisioning continued from page 7

combination of budget cuts, use of
reserves and continued efforts to
sustain the church “as is.” While this
option had the comfort of familiarity,
it did not address the long-term
sustainability of the church.
And, more importantly, the
committee found itself
asking, “Where’s the
mission in this option? Is
this truly what God is
calling us to do?”

The second possibility was to commit to a bold idea that
would revitalize the
church while connecting to the surrounding community in new
ways. Could the church
property be leveraged to
meet urgent community
needs for seniors and/or affordable housing for working class
families? The Re-Visioning Committee
began meeting with potential partners
and local developers to explore the feasibility of constructing a new building
on church property that would house
the church and its current mission activities on lower floors, and provide
housing units above. A project of this
nature would likely take five years to
achieve but would challenge Resurrection to once again be more focused on
its mission and service to the community, rather than worrying merely about
its own survival.

The initial study showed that the
idea was feasible, and the Re-Visioning
Committee visited with diocesan staff
to d \