MBCC Blog

Wednesday Word: Home

Greetings dearest MBCC Community,

As you know the saga of our future location has been an ongoing topic of discussion for MBCC.  For some of you, this has been dragging on FOREVER while for others of you, this is a brand new discussion.   The time is coming quickly where we will be making a final decision about our next location.  As it turns out, we have been given the opportunity to become a parter in ministry with a sister Presbyterian Congregation, Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church, located in the Excelsior District of San Francisco (32 Ocean Avenue).

With this in mind, the Steering Committee of MBCC is proposing that we enter into a partnership with OAPC in the care and use of the facility located at 32 Ocean Avenue.  While details ares still to be worked out, we feel the immediate and longterm benefits greatly outweigh challenges and difficulties that such a move would present. Ultimately we believe we have exhausted other possibilities and this is our best chance at moving towards a more outward-focused presence in the community.

The SC offers this as a the proposal that we think is best for the future of the church, but by no means is this a DONE deal.  We would like to have some conversations about the possibilities and obstacles that we have thought through.  We feel like we have addressed most issues, but understand that we are only one part of the MBCC community, so want to be open to how else the Spirit may move.

In the next week or so, we will have some online resources for you, will be scheduling a walk-through and will also be hold a Town Hall Meeting on Sunday, August 31 immediately following worship.  We will then go through a three week listening time culminating in another Town Hall on Sunday, September 21, 2008 .  So please make your calendars for these two very important times of gathering.

While we will be working on getting more info to you by the 31st, here is a little info to get your mind and spirit moving about this.

What is good about it . . .

The Space for Ministry // The space that is now Ocean Avenue is made up of three buildings, two of which are in good condition and another needing a good deal of work.  While it does feel much "churchier" we would now have space to hold classes, church school, community meetings, etc that are more flexible, bigger, ect.  We will have some of the space exclusive under our control while sharing equally other space with OAPC.  The sanctuary it self is a Julia Morgan Designed building so it feels and looks simple and elegant.  It is more of a traditional feel, but over time, there may be opportunities to create a gathering space that holds some of our current sensibilities.  The potential for a look that embraces tradition and innovation is not only exciting, but I think reflects the MBCC culture.

The Community for Ministry // While this should NOT be the case, the reality is that it is easier to engage in ministry when the ministry opportunities are right on one's doorstep.  While the Excelsior District is slowly improving in many ways, there is an abundance of opportunities for us to live our faith and respond to the blessings in our lives.  In addition to issues that impact youth, seniors, public safety and economic development, there are numerous ways to engage the world.  We could pretty much start any ministry and there would be a needs, so our biggest challenge would be to discern the best use of our resources.

The Money // While not the sole force behind the decision to relocate, God demands of us to be good stewards of the resources that we all bring to this place.  Being partners in the ministry as opposd to tenants, we would not pay any rent, with our only expenses being shared utilities, upgrades we hope to make, etc. we would see an immediate $4,000-$6000 per month saving.  This kind of shift would not only make us self-sufficient overnight, but can you imagine the ministry that could be done and supported with these kinds of resources?  Just imagine.

The Future // Let me be very clear.  This is a big step in our development and growth as a church.  We would be responsible for a building, we would be committing to a community, we would in many ways be "growing up" as a congregation and planting ourselves in one place for a while.  I think we are ready.

What will challenge us . . .

The Setting // Pews?  What pews?  Yes, for the immediate future we would move into a setting that has pews and we would not be able to sit in a circle.  The pews are angled so we would not be all facing straight-ahead, but it would be not the same set up as we currently have.  To deal with this, Abby and others will be using their uber-creativity to create a creative and imaginative space.

The Location // While SF is small in geography, we are still highly neighborhood based.  We know that some will just not be able or willing to make the trek over the 32 Ocean Avenue [Google Map Directions] but we will do everything in our power to share public transportation information as well as listen for other creative transportation solutions.  We also know that parking will be more of an issue, but we will be working on trying to secure parking and encouraging other modes of transportation.

The Time // Probably the biggest change that we are proposing is to move to a Sunday Evening worship time.  We have tentatively been thinking about a 5:30 worship, followed by a 6:45-8:00 community meal.  We think this works best for families who then don't have to worry about dinner, people who want to go out on Sunday PM and others who would like to have a fuller weekend before coming to church.  We do know that this may knock some folks out so are open to talking about alternative/additional services.  OAPC currently worships at 10:00 so our normal 11:00 slot is not available at this time.

And in closing . . .

Ultimately the church is not a location, but it is the people inside and outside of the church walls who are committed to the ministry that Christ has called us to undertake.  Our location, setting, etc. certainly inform and impact our ministry so we do not enter into this conversation lightly  Still, while scary, in oh so many ways, we believe this new partnership will help to move us forward in better living out God's love, justice, mercy in the world.

Please please please ask questions on this blog, leave your thoughts and try to show up at the Town Hall meetings to be part of the conversations.

Thanks and Peace,

Bruce

A moving conversation

As you know from my last post on this blog we are in high-gear regarding our facility search.  Part of this process will be getting some feedback for the Steering Committee as they help to make a good decision.  Keeping in mind that nothing is perfect and that the building is not the community, it would be great to hear what folks have to say about some of the things we are thinking about.

There are three areas that I think would be helpful to get some thought about, so please feel free to make your voice heard about any or all of these things topics.  These seem to be the three big shifts that could be made in to some degree.

LOCATION - How important is the location?
We are looking at spaces throughout the city from our current location (Mission Bay, Portrero Hill) to further  out (Excelsior, Mission, SOMA) to the West side of the city (Sunset, Richmond).  How would any location effect your commitment to MBCC?  We are keeping mind parking, public transportation, etc.  Are there other things that we should be sure to keep in mind?  What weight should we give this in our decision-making?  Other thoughts?

SETTING - How important is the setting
With most of the spaces we are looking a we will most-likely not have a worship space as individualized as we have now.  We will probably be sharing a larger multi-use area, might have pews, might be a theater, etc.   How important is meeting in our current configuration? We are trying to find a flexible space that allows for our kids to have some good space as well as a space that can be transformed without a huge about of weekly energy.  What weight should we give this in our decision-making?  Other thoughts?

TIME - How important is the time of our service?
Our options increase greatly if we meet in the afternoon/evening.  Would this effect your commitment to MBCC?  Would you welcome a later service and a possible meal afterwards? What weight should we give this in our decision-making?  Other thoughts?

There are of course many other complexities to this next move for us.  We want to be somewhere for a while. We want to be sure the we understand any sacrifices we may have to make. We want to continue to build on our energy. We want to be good stewards of the fiscal gifts of the community.  We want to do what will best move us forward as a community.  We need to listen for God.

Please take a few moments to let us know what you think, respond to some other people's ideas and generally be part of the conversations about where we will next call home.

Thanks - Bruce

An update on our move

As some of you will remember, about six months ago, we almost moved to a new location.  After building up a great deal of excitement about moving to the Excelsior District and the site of Ocean Avenue Presbyterian Church, the folks at OAPC eventually decided it was not in their best interest to have us come over.

While that experience was disappointing, we think it may have indeed been the best move.  The building that we were going to occupy turned out to need quite a bit of work and we were not willing to put a great deal of resources into the space without know that it was going to be permanent.

Soon after that, Advent and the holidays came so our search had been put on hold in order to let us breath a bit.  Over the past few months we have again stepped up the search for a new location*.

There are many many irons in the fire at this moment.  Conversations are ranging everywhere from buying a building to renting a Sunday-only space.  Right now we feel like our best bet in order to maintain current energy levels as well as use our resources well would be to share space with another church.  The zoning and safety issues seems to be the biggest obstacle in finding a suitable space in SF and current churches are already zoned and configured for what we would need.

This is where we need your help.  While I am pounding the Presbyterian pavement and working some other relationships, we need more eyes and ears looking for potential sites.  What we need is for you to heighten your awareness of churches and/or other gathering spaces along your normal routes of travel: muni, driving, etc.  If you see something, jot down what info you have and send it to me. I can make the initial contacts and then see where we go from there.

If you do happen to have some connection or see space, here is what we are thinking:

LOCATION
Preferred: Mission Bay, SOMA, Mission, Excelsior, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill
Willing: City-wide

TIME
Preferred: Sundays, 8:00-2:00
Willing: Sundays, 2:00-9:00

SPACE
Preferred: Reconfigurable space for 150 and 3 rooms for kids
Willing: Traditional space with pews/chairs for 150 and 2 rooms for kids

OTHER
Storage for band equipment
Kitchen access
Possibility for other periodic times of use

LOGISTICS
Monthly rental is negotiable depending on what is provided.
We are targeting a June 1, 2008 move-in date.

In the end, our physical location is not what makes MBCC, well, MBCC.  It is the people, the culture and the communal nature of our life together.  Still, our space matters to help create and sustain so much of what has happened, is happening and will happen in our life as a church.

If you have any thoughts, comments or suggesting, please feel free to leave a comment on this post of eMail me directly.

Thanks in advance,
Bruce

* If you are new to this conversations, while we love our current space in many ways, the main reasons we are leaving are as follows:

• Building is not zoned for our current size and usage;
• Lease will go up dramatically in November;
• Our space configuration is not what we need for a growing youth/children's program;