Consider This: The Changing Roles of Religious Spaces in Oregon

Join us on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m., for a conversation about the changing role of religious spaces in Oregon. Guests Frank So, director of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon; Rev. Amy Jayne of Cove Ascension School and Conference Center; and Brandon Rhodes, D.Min. of Coburg Commons will join Adam Davis onstage in La Grande to explore how faith communities across the state are adapting church-owned land and buildings to meet emerging community needs. As third spaces fade from civic life and church membership drops, many communities in Oregon are exploring how church-owned land and buildings can adapt. A childcare center coexists with Sunday services, tiny house villages fill former parking lots, and a community pool and native land management share space with summer campers. Churches occupy large swaths of town centers, and many are shrinking or closing. This conversation will explore how denominations around the state are finding creative ways to serve their communities and their missions.  

This conversation is part of our 2025–26 Consider This series, Beyond 250. 2026 will be the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, and we’re looking at what this milestone means: How do we think about and experience equality, freedom, independence, tyranny, justice, union, and other ideas central to the Declaration and to our nation’s understanding of itself? How has the Declaration shaped the country we live in today, and how might we shape its future?

 

Tickets

Tickets for this event will be available soon. The event will also be streamed live, for free, on our YouTube channel.

 

About Our Guests

Brandon Rhodes, D.Min. has spent his life getting into good trouble at the intersections of localism, food justice, walkable church, ecology, and decolonizing theology. An award-winning author in an earlier life, Brandon is now the executive director of the UMC-affiliated community center Coburg Commons, and is the cohost and producer of the Found in Translation podcast. Brandon lives with his partner in Coburg, Oregon.

Frank So is currently serving as the executive director for Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO). Prior to joining EMO, Frank served in the Obama and Biden Administrations. For over a decade, Frank also served as a US diplomat in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Northern and East Africa.

Rev. Amy Jayne is the executive director and resident pastor at Ascension School Camp and Conference Center, a ministry of the Episcopal Church in Cove, Oregon. She holds a Master of Divinity and Master in Nonprofit Administration and is passionate about community organizing for equity, justice, and radical welcome in her small, rural town.

 

About the Venue

• The space: This event will be held indoors at HQ in downtown La Grande. 
• Parking: Free parking street is available in the area around the venue. There are curb cuts on all sidewalks in the area. There is offstreet disabled person parking one block away in the lot on Washington in between Dr. Loraine's and the Jiu Jitsu studio.
• Food and drink: There will be cookies and lemonade available. Outside food is allowed.
• Lighting: The venue is well-lit inside. Lights will be dimmed during the program.
• Video and Sound: The conversation will be projected on a large screen. The program will be amplified. There will be no loud music.
• Mobility access: HQ is wheelchair-accessible, including bathrooms. 
• Questions: If you have questions about the venue, please contact lagrandehq@gmail.com.

 

Thanks to our sponsors

Consider This is made possible by funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the Oregon Cultural Trust, the Oregon State Capitol Foundation, The Standard, and Tonkon Torp LLP.

This event is part of By the People: Conversations Beyond 250, a series of community-driven programs created by humanities councils across the United States, its territories, and the District of Columbia in collaboration with local partners. Together, these programs explore 250 years of the nation's cultural life and imagine its shared future. The initiative was developed by the Federation of State Humanities Councils and the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage as a complement to the 2026 Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Tags

Belonging, Community, Faith and Spirituality, Consider This, Beyond 250