What is Co-locating? The Shared Space Option as a Long-term Home for CCC
What is Co-locating?
The Shared Space Option as a Long-term Home for CCC
One possibility for Christ Congregational Church’s next landing place is to co-locate, meaning to share a building with another entity (or more than one). In October 2025, at the Central Atlantic Conference, Anne Weissenborn and Maureen Ingram learned about three UCC churches right here in our local area that are co-locating in unique ways. Here is a brief recap, in hopes that these concrete examples will allow us to think more broadly about long-term scenarios for CCC:
People’s Congregational UCC and The New Synagogue Project (NSP) in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Benjamin L. Bragg-Reynolds is the Interim Minister at Peoples, and provided a synopsis of their co-locating arrangement. He described this as more of a “licensing” arrangement and NOT a partnership. These are two separate congregations – with no intention of merging together.
The catalyst for this arrangement was complementary needs: 1) Just like CCC, Peoples experienced declining membership and pledges, and it was increasingly challenging to afford their building. 2) The New Synagogue Project, described as a multiracial Jewish community committed to dismantling racism and white supremacy, was a new congregation and searching for a building in which to worship.
There is some ease with scheduling for this co-locating arrangement, with Peoples meeting on Sundays and NSP primarily on Saturdays. Even so, they learned very quickly that acute attention needs to be given to calendaring for both congregations, and planning for the individual congregations’ use of space is done as much as one year in advance.
Peoples was formed in 1891 and has worshipped in their current building since 1954. Up until this partnership, Peoples had been their own, separate church for some 130 years. As you might imagine, taking on this relationship was very challenging for members of this African American UCC church. To allow others – with very different beliefs – to share this space was very hard. Rev. Bragg-Reynolds noted that they “strive to be caretakers of those that need time to un-dig their heels,” to embrace this new congregation. Change takes time.
“It is a joy to see the church halls filled with faith/religion.” – Rev. Bragg-Reynolds
Inner Light Ministries UCC and Horton’s Kids in Washington, D.C.
Rev. Dr. Wallace R. Henry, III is the Senior Pastor of Inner Light Ministries UCC and shared about their co-locating arrangement. He explained that Inner Light Ministries is a 32-year old nomadic African American church devoted to community service; they have never owned a building. They have worshiped in many different spaces in Washington, D.C. over the years: churches, houses, and even a theater. They have worshipped in every quadrant of D.C., staying at least a year; the longest rentals have been 7-9 years.
Horton’s Kids is an education nonprofit, dedicated to helping impoverished youth graduate from high school. In early 2023, Horton’s Kids transformed the former New United Baptist Church in Anacostia into their Community Resource Hub. With a sanctuary that was underutilized, they invited Inner Light Ministries to rent space here as well, primarily on Sundays for worship.
Inner Light Ministries and Horton’s Kids are two separate entities – with no intention of merging together. They engage in regular conversations and are considering shared administrative staff. These co-locators love the overlap between their two communities. Horton’s Kids families often show an interest in Inner Light Ministries’ Sunday services, and the UCC congregation leans into Horton’s Kids’ academic support. It is a fruitful relationship.
Inner Light Ministries offers moments of intention and gratitude for their hosts during their worship service, so appreciative for being allowed to share this space.
Emmaus UCC and Vienna Baptist Church in Vienna, Virginia
Rev. Dr. Kristen McBrayer is the Senior Minister at Emmaus UCC and spoke to us about their recent covenant with Vienna Baptist Church. Vienna Baptist, a welcoming and inclusive progressive Christian community, was in the process of selling their longtime church building because they could no longer afford it. Vienna Baptist approached Emmaus UCC about the possibility of renting space at Emmaus UCC. Following months of discernment and with the approval of their congregations, the two churches began sharing space in fall 2025 (Does this situation sound at all familiar?).
These are two separate congregations – with no intention of merging together; they maintain separate worship services and ministries.
They do, however, look for opportunities for the two congregations to truly share in the building. For example, Emmaus UCC believed that both churches should worship in the sanctuary and, following congregational discernment, they changed their regular Sunday worship time in order to make space for Vienna Baptist to have a separate and reasonable Sunday morning worship time as well.
There were many long and detailed discussions about what each congregation owns – desks, chairs, tables, etc., to identify what stuff would be shared and what would be kept separate. The two churches decided to hire shared admin staff, especially to clarify calendars and scheduling. Additional cleaning services for the building were also needed.
They have a shared sign in the front of the church. They recently held an all church retreat in their building, with each church hosting workshops for their own congregants but hosting one large lunch and dinner together for fellowship of both churches. The churches are thoughtful about ways for their communities to intersect.
These three stories illustrate there are so many possibilities for our long-term home beyond what we have done before. As we continue to discern next steps for CCC, let us listen for God’s creative ideas and, in the words of Rev. Dr. Kristen McBrayer, remember to
“move at the speed of trust,
which is slower than slow”