When I was a college chaplain, worship often happened outside the chapel. Students were drawn to more intimate, familiar, or visible settings. A gathering on the quad drew in people walking to class. Seats could be arranged in a circle in the commuter lounge. The secluded, wooded prayer garden invited meditation.

Like undergraduates finding their way in the world, some Congregationalists have changed their views about what makes a church home. They have discovered that letting go of spacious buildings makes room in their budgets and calendars for deepened spirituality. Decisions of this nature are momentous, but the loss can bear new ways of being church.

Please let me know if you would like to connect with other NACCC churches who have made this faithful journey into unknown territory.