26-minute podcast episode. Most Arlington teachers can’t afford to live in Arlington. While Victoria and I were teaching there, we met teachers and other school staff members who were fortunate to find affordable housing at Gilliam Place, a relatively new, six-story apartment building at the corner of Columbia Pike and South Lincoln Street.
The idea for Gilliam Place came at a retreat in 2009, when some members of Arlington Presbyterian celebrated the church’s centennial by seeking guidance for the future. During the retreat, they thought that they had found it: the church would sell its building and property along Columbia Pike to make way for affordable housing.
But when they returned from the retreat, the congregation said no. That “no” started the church members on a remarkable, twelve-year journey of covenantal and democratic practice that led to Gilliam Place. This public journey also was the most spiritually transformative experience several people say they’ve ever had.
The church sold their property at a discount to Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, which built Gilliam Place. The church now meets in a modern buildout on Gilliam Place’s retail level.
This podcast episode tells the remarkable story of how Gilliam Place came about and what happened to the Arlington Presbyterian members who stuck with the process.
Above: Susan Robbins Etherton and Victoria
The episode includes interviews with Susan Robbins Etherton and Jon Etherton, longtime members of Arlington Presbyterian who helped to steer the congregation through the process. Church members used democratic practice that embodies values and skills such as getting to know their neighbors, listening, becoming reflective and resilient, remaining transparent, and accepting “no” as well as “yes.”
Above: Jon Etherton
Victoria and I also interview the church’s pastor, Ashley Goff, who responded to her call to the church at a critical juncture. Gilliam Place was under construction, the church was meeting in a temporary space, and the congregation was grieving the loss of a significant minority of longtime congregants who chose not to accompany the church in its new direction.
Above: our daughter Bethany enjoys the Adirondack chars in Arlington Presbyterian’s garden
The episode explores the church’s slow (but nimble) democratic process and the spiritual fruit gained by those who participated in it.
Above: Part of the Columbia Pike community gets together for a blues festival a few blocks east of Gilliam Place and Arlington Presbyterian Church this past summer
Our thanks to Rahul Popawala for the licensed use of “Bhupali Raag Teen Taal” from Uppbeat. License code: BNS6H8ZOFUKYM0GI.
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