A housing project update from vestry member Gary Carroll:
Dear St. Philip The Deacon Family and Friends,
I am writing today to share news about our ongoing affordable housing process. This is a followup to the news that I shared during services on Sunday.
We received news last week from Bishop Akiyama that the Diocesan Redevelopment Team will not approve our plan to sell a portion of the land that St. Philip occupies to Habitat for Humanity for the development of housing. The sale is a critical stipulation of the partnership and without it, the project is unable to move forward. As a reminder, when we were partnered with PCRI, transferring ownership of a portion of the land to a shared third-party entity comprised of both PCRI and St. Philip representatives would be crucial to the project moving forward.
With this news, we are going to need to regroup, re-evaluate our goals and mission, and continue to work with the Diocese to gain a clearer understanding of what pathway we can take forward to meet the mission of St. Philip and the greater church. I would like to thank Mother Maria, the vestry, all of you as members, and the larger community for your support of this project and your encouragement during this setback. Times like these are when we must lean into our faith and remember that we don’t have full understanding of what God is doing. We must remain open to hearing what the Spirit has to teach and show us. If you have any questions or would like to talk further about this subject (or anything else) please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Yours in Christ,
Gary