Resources to engage in housing ministries
Welcome to the Housing Ministries Resource page! We are doing the work of Ministries that Matter under the M.I.L.E., specifically in the area of housing. It is a deeply-seeded Biblical practice to care for our neighbors – the housed and unhoused.
Everyone has the right to access fair, equitable and affordable housing.
The goal of information shared on this page is to provide resources for ministry settings across the Greater Northwest Area engaging in this complex, but necessary work! Whether you’re exploring your call to assist with the affordable housing crisis or looking for ways to honor the needs of the houseless in worship, we hope this page offers inspiration and information.
Your ministry partner: Rev. Brett Pinder.
Email: bpinder@greaternw.org or call 503-802-9216
Deconstructing the Housing Crisis from UC Berkeley.
Gone for Good by Mark Elsdon
The Land: Place as Gift, Promise, and Challenge in Biblical Faith by Walter Brueggemann
The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery by Sarah Augustine
Video: Guide to Mapping Race and Housing Segregation in the U.S. from U.C. Berkeley
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This instructional video shows users how to use Othering and Belonging’s interactive segregation mapping tool which was released in 2021 as part of our Roots of Structural Racism project. The mapping tool allows users to view the levels of segregation anywhere in the US from census tracts to larger metropolitan regions, and observe changes to segregation over time. The mapping tool has so many functions that may be confusing if you’re using it for the first time, but our new instructional video guides users through it all so they can navigate it with ease.
Race & Housing Segregation interactive Map from Othering & Belonging Institute
Systemic Racism Explained from Act.tv
Unpacking the Housing Crisis from UC Berkeley
Scripture related to housing
Imagine Nehemiah shows up to a landlord convention. What conversations might have happened between Nehemiah and the “nobles and officials?” Like Nehemiah, what opportunities do we have to advocate for equitable housing policy?What might be the stories that Nehemiah heard from people facing the choice to take these loans? What pressures today create situations of people being “rent/mortgage” burdened?
Imagine King Ahab throws a lavish housewarming party in Nabor’s stolen vineyard. Who gets invited and who doesn’t? What awkward party conversation ensues? If Nabor’s vineyard had a voice, what stories might it tell to the new inhabitants? What cries for justice or restoration might it make?
(especially 65:21-22) What is our congregation being called to right now to work toward building the world God dreams of?
What are the old wine skins that are not suited for a reality where people are secure in their housing? What “old wine skins” is your expression of church outgrowing already?
Matthew 7:24-27
What if the earth has moved from under our feet? What if the metaphorical solid ground on which we once built our spiritual homes has shifted to become more like sand? The landscape of religion has shifted over the decades, what might we need to rethink about being church and following Jesus’ call to act on his teachings?
Matthew 25:37-40
What needs called out and healed within our congregation’s collective heart in order to more clearly see our neighbors as beloved and sacred and worthy?
What can our congregation do in order to ensure everyone can sit under their own vines and fig trees, while no one shall make them afraid of losing them? What are we called to in order to work toward this vision?
Giving even when jubilee approaches
What if giving is not a zero sum game? What about giving of our buildings and land could be spiritually enlivening even if we don’t expect anything “in return?”
What are the different fruits of equity that the tree of life in Revelation 22 might produce for the healing of all?
Resources shared at Housing God’s Beloved training on Nov. 4, 2023
Prayers for housing & land
Purchase a copy of “Liturgies from Below: Praying with People at the End of the World” by Claudio Carvalhaes and read …
- We Seek your Face – pg. 102
- Invocation from Everywhere Leader – pg. 40
- Prayers for Resistance – pg. 236-237
- God of Unity & Courage – pg. 198
- Advent – pg. 279
Unfolding Light is a daily reflection and worship resource blog created by Rev. Steve Garnaas-Holmes, a retired elder in The United Methodist Church.
United Methodist Discipleship Ministries
Additional worship resources
- Call to Worship by Rev. Brett Pinder
- Confession & Assurance by Rev. Brett Pinder, adapted from “Liturgies from Below.”
- All Creatures Lament by Paul Zach, Kate Bluett, Isaac Wardell
- Music from The Porter’s Gate is available here. Look especially to “Neighbor Songs.” These songs are available under CCLI licensing and the artist shares them through this Dropbox.