Pastor Lori Lampert is blessed with energy, a heart for others and an openness to questions.
Originally trained as a nurse, Lampert has served as a United Methodist pastor for 15 years. She unexpectedly found herself leading the Wesley Downtown-St. Paul Campus this fall.
It has roots that trace back to 1831 with a rich Civil War history and a building that recently celebrated its 110th anniversary. She was tasked with initiating a new strategic planning process to guide the fading church on a new direction.
Lampert initially described her process of discovery by “looking down from the balcony.” Discussions with internal and external stakeholders motivated her to “climb to the roof cupola” to get a broader perspective.
Before long, she was figuratively jetting over Springfield at a lofty 30,000-foot altitude.
She recruited a visioning team of church members and community leaders across a spectrum of millennials to the “greatest generation” to make recommendations on Wesley Downtown-St. Paul’s future.
Everything was on the table.
The team learned about changing demographics. It studied the 26,000 residents who live within a mile of Walnut Street and Jefferson Avenue and how they are younger and less affluent than the south-side Wesley congregation. They need a safe place where people are invited to ask questions without judgment.
Next was a review of the significant costs of maintaining historic buildings and how the current level of utilization isn’t financially sustainable.
The Wesley pastors recognized that it must jettison the “we’ve always done it this way” approaches in order to survive.
The visioning team began to get energized by the possibilities.
Millennials are put off by institutions, but they place a high value on authenticity. It is near impossible to stand in the historic St. Paul sanctuary and not feel connected to the generations who have worshipped there over the past century. Its location is in the heart of Artwalk, cafes, luxury lofts, families in need and the homeless. It has both the grit and gleam of downtown.
With the continued development of the Kimbrough corridor, Walnut Street quickly is becoming the bridge between downtown and Missouri State University. It is generating new levels of pedestrian, bike and vehicular activity not seen for decades. The church already has helped to meet a need for the southeast quadrant of downtown by opening its parking lot to the patrons of Little Theatre, retail customers and employees.
The Wesley Downtown-St. Paul visioning team, on which I participated to represent downtown interests, submitted its initial recommendations to the congregation in early January.
Among the ideas, the church body has the potential to maximize its valuable green space at the Walnut and Jefferson crossroads to create a piazza of outdoor dining for Aviary and Pickleman’s, expand bike corrals and open up a “barking lot” for loft residents to walk their dogs. I saw the doggie idea in Memphis, Tenn., a couple of years ago.
There is still much to be decided. But relatively small and inexpensive changes could create previously unimagined connections with their neighbors.
Downtown has many examples of congregations – Christ Episcopal, First Baptist, First & Calvary, Central Assembly, the Community Church and Emmaus – that have invested significant funds and time into finding new ways to serve a rapidly changing area.
2015 will be a year of anticipation for both the church and downtown. Millions of dollars will be invested in Heer’s, Sky Eleven, Sterling and Hotel Vandivort. Hundreds of new residents will choose an urban lifestyle. The strategies of embracing authenticity, creating new opportunities for vibrancy and fostering a spirit of community can be transformative for churches and businesses.
Rusty Worley, executive director of Urban Districts Alliance, can be reached at rusty@itsalldowntown.com.
