It’s becoming more common every year. A church finds itself aging out, its membership dwindling, and the church is disbanded. The big question then is, what do you do with the empty church buildings?
In the case of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Greenville, South Carolina, a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), the building is being transformed into a “community hub for renewal, connection, and creativity.”
It is called Re:Center and is positioned to provide much-needed support in the metro-Greenville area, including various LGBTQ+ communities. A transgender support group and an LGBTQ+ support group are already making use of the space.
Re:Center is a joint venture of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), South Carolina Synod, and Foothills Presbytery, a regional body of the Presbyterian Church (USA) encompassing 6 upstate South Carolina counties.
The transformation from church to community-based entity is due to the big dreams of two women: the Rev. Ashley Twitchell, an ELCA minister, and the Rev. Dr. Jackie Putnam, a PCUSA minister.
They convinced their respective denominational bodies — the South Carolina Synod of the ELCA and Foothills Presbytery of the PCUSA — to cooperate in something that Putnam describes as a “laboratory for art, spirit, community, wholeness and healing.”
As Twitchell and Putnam met casually and began talking, it quickly became apparent to them both that they were on to something new.
Twitchell has a significant interest in art therapy, arising out of her experience with the use of that model in helping dementia patients communicate.
Putnam has been facilitating a group for individuals who have been subjected to religious trauma in local churches or Christian colleges. She estimates about two-thirds of the group members self-identify as LGBTQ+.
Her group originally met in a local brewery, but they realized that the noisy environment did not lend itself to conversational ease. The group moved to the Queer Wellness Center (QWC) in Greenville.
According to their website, QWC exists to provide “a safe and accepting environment where the queer community can gain access to affirming resources…” Those resources include mental health programming, maintaining a resource closet with everyday personal hygiene supplies for LGBTQ+ individuals, most of whom are in the 18–24-year old range, who, according to Putnam, have lost familial support, and connecting LGBTQ+ folks with medical care that meets the specific needs of the community.
QWC, faced with rising rental costs, needed a new space in which to house it efforts.
Re:Center met that need. QWC moved its operation, providing its resources and services in Re:Center.
According to the Rev. Debbie Foster, Presbytery Leader and Stated Clerk of Foothills Presbytery, “The dream of Re:Center emerged through ministry leaders listening, and then experimenting with new ways to ‘be the church’ in an ever-changing world.”
Although it occupies a former church and is being driven by two Christian ministers, Re:Center is not a church. There are no corporate worship services. There is no church organization. There are, however, opportunities for spiritual re-centering and growth — in whatever form that spirituality takes.
When she spoke with Qnotes, Putnam was also quick to say that they want to “balance courage and caution.” There will be no “partisan political rally” held at Re:Center.
The grand opening of Re:Center was held Sunday, July 12. In attendance were Whitsett, Putnam, Foster and the Bishop of the South Carolina Synod of the ELCA, the Rev. Virginia ‘Ginny’ Aebischer.
This story is brought to you by Rosedale Health and Wellness and Dudley’s Place.
