To Preserve or to Repurpose?

After their conversation with Amy Butler, Amber and Tom turn to an emotionally charged question facing many faith communities today: Is it more faithful to preserve a dying congregation — or to repurpose its financial assets for new life?

They explore what’s really at stake when institutions decline: not just budgets and buildings, but memory, identity and the stories held in stained glass, pews and potluck halls. Drawing on personal stories from their own lives, listener responses and Pastor Amy’s idea of “holy disruption,” Amber and Tom wrestle with whether closure can sometimes be an act of faith, rather than failure.

Along the way, they imagine creative alternatives — shared spaces, affordable housing, selling air rights, renting during the week — that honor both sacred history and present-day needs. It’s a thoughtful conversation about grief, stewardship and what it means to believe in resurrection — not just preservation.

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