The SCCC Property Committee, with unwavering dedication, has spent several months in prayerful contemplation, seeking God’s guidance on how to best use our four acres of property. We have explored various options, such as generating solar power, vertical farming, and selling the land, all in our quest to be better stewards. However, none of these ideas has yet revealed a strategy that seems to align with God’s will.
What has had more than its share of open doors is another idea altogether.
We suspect that God would like us to be kind to our neighbours and, at the same time, those who are not yet our neighbours…but would like to be. These are the thousands of people in Calgary who desperately need a nice, safe place to live, but these people are not wealthy and, as such, have limited options. We are not talking about people experiencing homelessness here, but rather people like our sons and daughters, and generally anyone under 40 who only has one income. Rent is starting to take more than 40% of their take-home pay, and those places they can afford are in less desirable areas of town.
By utilizing our 4 acres, we can potentially provide homes for up to 400 people. These would likely be multi-story (3 or 4) row houses with ground-floor parking and some centralized support space. Imagine a community hub, a place for fellowship and growth, much like the complex on 162nd Ave SW across from the Sobeys in Evergreen. This project has the power to transform lives and communities.
We are very early to determine if this idea is feasible, and it will be many years before this could happen, even if our congregation likes it. Before then, the following has to happen:
More congregational discussion is needed as the idea becomes more concrete
We need to find partners with money and talent to develop this idea
We have to involve our actual SCCC neighbours
God has to open many doors and close some, too…
So please take this vision to God in prayer, join us in knowing whether this is the path He has marked out for us…and start building your courage. Because being obedient to this vision will require a considerable amount of change to the way we have treated His gift for many decades now.
Mike Behrend, Margie Edwards, Derik Simpson
Property Committee
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