Photo by Tierra Mallorca on Unsplash

The Mission Planning Team (MPT) is excited to announce that the Church Council has endorsed the proposal to use Jeff How’s home for transitional housing.  The proposal, submitted by the Community Ministries Plus (CM+) group, aims to repair the home and gift it to our long-time community partner, The Interfaith Coalition, for use in its Bridges transitional housing program. 
 
Through the program, families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness are offered a limited one-year lease.  The family builds rental history (with reduced rent and savings program) and is supported by case management, volunteers, and Interfaith programs as they seek permanent housing.  In five years, Jeff’s home is expected to serve five or more families.
 
Upon approval by the congregation, volunteers will begin to repair Jeff’s house to make it “move in ready”.  Mike Hess and Rick Gordon have identified the needed repairs in conjunction with The Interfaith Coalition staff. Volunteers, coordinated by Leith and Shelly Swenson, will be called upon to complete defined repair projects.  Fundraising for both the needed repairs, and to repay the debt on the property will be coordinated by Mary Hess with help from Dana and Cindy Petersen and Rick Gordon.

Christ the Servant will enter into a master lease agreement with the Interfaith Coalition so that the house can be used for Interfaith programs as soon as it is repaired.  Under the agreement, Interfaith will apply for a property tax exemption, relieving CTS of that expense. The congregation’s only ongoing cost would be the insurance on the property.  The property will be transferred to Interfaith’ s care and control by the end of 2022.

Fundraising has already begun with grant applications beginning submitted to local foundations and requests being made to local building supply firms for donations or discounts. The Mission Planning Team is pursuing the reduction or forgiveness of the debt against the property. 

CM+ originally proposed gifting the home to Interfaith immediately after completing repairs.  However, the Interfaith Board recently identified two constraints:
• The property must be debt-free.
• The sewer line must be inspected and replaced/repaired based on the findings of the inspection.

The sewer line has been inspected and a section of the pipe has been identified for replacement. This is a relatively small expense and will be handled during the repair to the house.  Later this summer, the fundraising committee will begin raising funds for paying off the debt on the house, primarily a result of Jeff’s nursing home care in his final months.  If there is any debt remaining at the end of 2022, the fund-raising committee will coordinate with the Interfaith Coalition in an appeal to its 1,600 supporters after January of 2023.  Interfaith has its own fund-raising efforts underway this fall and at the end of the year so we won’t have access to their list of names until those efforts are completed so that we don’t compete with Interfaith raising the needed fund for its operation.
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Once the debt is paid off, the property will be gifted to the Interfaith Coalition.

​The Mission Planning Team (MPT) is excited to announce our endorsement of a proposal to use Jeff How’s home for transitional housing.  The proposal, submitted by the Community Ministries Plus (CM+) group, aims to repair the home and gift it to our long-time community partner, The Interfaith Coalition for use in their Bridges transitional housing program. 
 
Through the program, families experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness are offered a limited one-year lease.  The family builds rental history (with reduced rent and savings program) and is supported by case management, volunteers, and Interfaith programs as they seek permanent housing.  In five years, Jeff’s home is expected to serve five families.
 
CM+ originally proposed gifting the home to Interfaith immediately after completing repairs.  However, the Interfaith Board recently identified two constraints:

• The property must be debt-free.
• The sewer line must be inspected and replaced/repaired based on the findings of the inspection.

 
Thus, additional time is needed to assess the sewer, define the partnership, and develop a master lease agreement which would enable Interfaith to use the property for transitional housing until debts are paid.  A formal recommendation to the congregation will not be made at the June 5 semi-annual meeting as planned; instead, it will be presented to the congregation for approval during a special meeting later this summer.  This delay poses no risk to completing implementation by December 31, 2022.
 
Regardless of how the property will be used, we’ve determined that basic repairs are needed.   Thus, CM+ will move forward with their work to raise funds and coordinate volunteers to do so.  The MPT is ordering an inspection of the sewer line.  These expenses will be paid from a dedicated account established for the Jeff How estate.
 
While the CM+ proposal was the only application received by the MPT, it meets all seven acceptance criteria and would have earned high marks in many of the selection criteria as well.

The Community Ministries Committee, along with others who are interested in partnering with The Interfaith Coalition, is developing a proposal.  If you would like to learn more, contact Mary Hess, chair of the  Community Ministries Plus group at chionie1980@gmail.com or 360.393.7988.  

Do you have a different partnership in mind?  Additional proposals are welcome.  Please let us know by April 8 (proposals are due on May 4).  The Mission Planning Team will help you connect with others who've expressed the same interest.  

Questions?​

• Check our FAQ
• Contact the Mission Planning Team

Yes, you can still attend the Proposer's Conference to learn about the proposal and application process.

• Saturday, March 26 at 10 AM
• In person, at church in the North End Meeting Room. 
• Register​ here.

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Curious about what we'll cover?  Preview the Proposal Packet, which:

• Outlines the process and timeline
• Includes a copy of the application questions
• Lists the criteria used to determine if a proposal will be accepted and how it will be evaluated.

Review previous blog posts, which include summaries of the Listening & Imagining sessions and what we've heard from local experts in low-income housing.

If you are exploring a partnership with a community organization, here's an important letter for them.

Questions?  Contact Rick Gordon at 360.739.6941 or rickgordon49@comcast.net.

Want to propose a use for Jeff's estate?  Come to the Proposer's Conference to learn about the process and get answers to all your questions.

• When: Saturday, March 26 at 10:00 a.m.
• Where: Christ the Servant Lutheran Church

Let us know you're coming by completing a registration form.

Curious about what makes a proposal acceptable or how they'll be evaluated? See the Proposal Criteria recently approved by the Mission Planning Team.  

Questions?  Contact Rick Gordon at 360.739.6941 or rickgordon49@comcast.net.

In late February, the Mission Planning Team met with experts in local, low-income housing.  They shared information about what their organizations do and how Jeff's home might be used.  Curious to learn what they said? See minutes from our meeting.

Attendees were invited to send us summaries of their organizations' work and/or ideas about how they might use Jeff's gift.  Here's what we've received:

• Email message from Steven Shetterly at World Relief in Bellingham
•      Whatcom County Refugee Resettlement Overview
• Email message from Deanna Wildermuth at Interfaith Coalition
•      Interfaith Coalition and CTS
• Email message from Emily O’Connor at Lydia Place
•      Lydia Place Overview
•      Lydia Place 2021 End of Year Newsletter
• Email message from Nolan Zenonian at Lighthouse Mission
•     Lighthouse Mission letter of intent

Attendees: 
Jason McGill from Northwest Youth Services
Deanna Wildermuth from The Interfaith Coalition
Douglas Gustafson from Homes Now!
Meredith Stamey from Lydia Place
Bridget Reeves from Lighthouse Mission
Steven Shetterly from World Relief

How might we use Jeff's gift to provide low-income housing solutions in our area? Participants of three Listening & Imagining sessions tuned their hearts to the Holy Spirit and one another to explore this question.  A summary is now available.   

Do you have a question, concern or comment for the Mission Planning Team?  We welcome your feedback.

​Many ministries are worthy of support. So, why a focus on housing? While putting his affairs in order, Jeff wanted to provide a home for his disabled friend. Like him, she was living on a limited, fixed income and affordable housing options were severely limited. Jeff hoped she could live in his home for the rest of her life. While accommodating this request turned out to be too difficult, Jeff’s spirit of hospitality, along with other factors, led us to choose a focus on housing.

Housing for the poor has long been supported by our congregation, and housing ministries align well with our CTS mission and vision of being a Serving Community. In our post-mortgage discussions, housing solutions were a top priority. Through Community Ministries, we support several programs with a focus on housing, including:
• Interfaith Coalition, which supports Family Promise, emergency housing, and transitional housing,
• Lighthouse Mission, an organization that works throughout Whatcom County to break the cycle of homelessness, and 
• Homes Now, which supports several tiny home villages.

Also, housing for low-income people has never been more urgent.  Storms, rising housing prices, the impact of the pandemic, and our anticipated welcome of refugees in Whatcom contribute to the growing need.