Partners for Sacred Places Update: August 2022

The first phase of FCCBC’s work with Partners for Sacred Places* has been in full swing throughout the month of August. The 30+ interviews with key Battle Creek community members and stakeholders have largely been completed and research about FCCBC’s community impact will continue into early September. Sarah Jones, a Chicago based consultant with Partners, had a three day trip to Battle Creek. During this trip, she toured FCCBC’s historic building, met with stakeholders, and received a driving tour of the city.

The FCCBC Administration is preparing a series of documents requested by the consultants to finalize their research process. The research report is likely to be available to the Congregation in mid-October and a Congregational meeting will be scheduled in early November for discussion. The report will contain a summary of the research completed and a series of recommendations for next steps regarding our building.

There will be two additional phases after the research report has been reviewed and Congregational discernment has taken place. Phase two will involve a one-day event, inviting key community stakeholders to take part in mapping out important opportunities, risks, and assets as FCCBC considers the future use of its historic building. It will also feature the formation of an Advisory Task Force committed to supporting the planning and implementation of next steps. The final phase will be six facilitated gatherings of the Advisory Task Force.

If you would like some background on how this project started, here are some links to previous articles:

1. January 2022: Congregation Discerns Consultation with Partners for Sacred Places

2. March 2022: the Congregation was invited to an online Q&A session with the Partners’ consultant

3. July 2022: the Discovery Study was launched

*Partners for Sacred Places is a national nonprofit organization focused on building the capacity of congregations of historic sacred places to better serve their communities as anchor institutions, nurturing transformation, and shaping vibrant, creative communities. To learn more, visit their website at https://sacredplaces.org/