A lot of churches are needing to amalgamate / share spaces to stay alive... and sometimes that's not enough, so I agree, this arrangement with St Matthews makes a lot of sense for both congregations.
A long time ago, I was a member at St Philips on Woodhaven (now defunct). The congregation agreed to sell of a parcel of land that was unused to a developer who was going to build a retirement residence that was to be named after St Philips. After the sale, things "fell thru", and that developer resold the land to a new developer who just built some residential homes. The congregation felt cheated, but there isn't much to do when you sell the land... you no longer have any control over it.
When St. Mark's amalgamated with two other churches to form Trillium Lutheran, there was discussion along the same lines (Sell to a developer with the stipulation that a certain amount was for affordable housing / community outreach / place of worship) but once that sale is done, you have no say in it when the developer comes back with a "Yeah, that wont work with our new plans". I doubt having that as a condition of sale is an option. That's why St Marks went with a group that ONLY does affordable housing.
Coke
A long time ago, I was a member at St Philips on Woodhaven (now defunct). The congregation agreed to sell of a parcel of land that was unused to a developer who was going to build a retirement residence that was to be named after St Philips. After the sale, things "fell thru", and that developer resold the land to a new developer who just built some residential homes. The congregation felt cheated, but there isn't much to do when you sell the land... you no longer have any control over it.
When St. Mark's amalgamated with two other churches to form Trillium Lutheran, there was discussion along the same lines (Sell to a developer with the stipulation that a certain amount was for affordable housing / community outreach / place of worship) but once that sale is done, you have no say in it when the developer comes back with a "Yeah, that wont work with our new plans". I doubt having that as a condition of sale is an option. That's why St Marks went with a group that ONLY does affordable housing.
Coke