Episode Outline

0:39 Welcome Back!

0:55 Intro to Matt Conner

3:35 Matt shares his love for Newell Presbyterian Church and its impact on his life

7:32 Matt shares his Authentic Confession - "I am endlessly curious"

8:37 Matt pulls an Affirmation Card – “Let me be still today and listen to the truth in silence” -It resonated

11:07 What Discernment means to Matt “A prayerful paying attention”, how he decided to become a pastor, and his process of “Authentic Wrestling”.

16:43 Maya asks Matt about housing and how it came to be at Newell

19:55 Matt discusses his aligned partnership with Dream Key while Liz sheds light on the depth of their work

22:43 Liz digs into the meaning of Stewardship and shares the definition. She drops a gem of “All that we have is not our own”

30:22 Maya asks Matt about the challenges he’s faced during his Faith & Housing journey

31:54 Matt shares known criticisms about Affordable Housing and why he intentionally chooses to use that language.

33:59 Liz talks about Area Median Income “AMI” and what that looks like

· AMI: is defined as the midpoint of a specific area's income distribution and is calculated on an annual basis by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD refers to the figure as MFI, or median family income, based on a four-person household

· Link: https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/home-datasets/files/HOME_IncomeLmts_State_NC_2024.pdf

36:13 Matt offers great advice to other Faith Based Organizations who are pursuing this work

38:38 Matt reflects on the question, what can you bring to the table to work well with others in collaboration? Every Church has at least one.

· Dollars, People, Land, & Buildings

40:33 Liz gives information about the City of Charlotte Toolkit for Churches

· Link: https://www.charlottenc.gov/Streets-and-Neighborhoods/Housing/Affordable-Housing/Faith-in-Housing

· Rooted Good booklet. Available for pick-up at the Give Impact office.

Email: podcast@giveimpact.org to schedule a time to get one

44:37 Matt shares what’s next for the Newell Presbyterian Church campus and what he’s most excited about!

50:31 Liz and Matt ends by sharing information about the Newell Campus Housing Development

· Partner: Dream Key Partners

· Development: on 5 Acres of land

· Unit Count: 50 Homes

· For Sale (Homeownership)

· Link to Project Page: https://www.newellpresby.org/future