What are the needs in our community?

purpose

The purpose of this assessment is to better understand our community so we might more effectively serve its needs in accordance with our mission.We understand our community to be those to whom we are in physical and spiritual proximity as a congregation, beginning with North Coastal San Diego County and extending to those who participate with us from a distance.

Summary

Serving the marginalized in the midst of change

The demographics and trends listed in this assessment demonstrate that OSC continues to find itself at the intersection of significant changes occurring in civic, social, and religious life.

North Coastal cities are losing socio-economic and ethnic diversity as rents and property-values increase dramatically and low-income families are forced from their communities. Poverty, food insecurity, and homelessness continue to rise, placing hundreds of thousands at-risk. Political polarization across the country has increased dramatically, dividing friends and even family members. Incidents of hate-crimes, bigotry, and white supremacy are on the rise, emboldened by a resurgent white supremacists movement and the normalization of xenophobic politics.The symptoms of systemic racism, particularly in American policing, have become more publicly visible, leading to massive public protests in 2020. COVID-19 has ravaged the United States, killing over 300,000 Americans in the last 9 months and severally damaging the economy. Religious affiliation and church attendance continue to decline at rapid rates across the country.

Protestant and Catholic affiliation are decreasing and those who identify with no religious tradition are growing quickly.

Periods of upheaval individually and socially tend to accompany spiritual change as well. But God is at work in the margins of life. Serving those who have been pressed to the margins economically has been part of OSC's core identity since the Great Depression. Over the past three years, OSC has also become a place of refuge for those pressed to the margins religiously, as they experienced shifts in belief. More recently, OSC has begun advocating for policy change to provide relief for those who are pressed to the margins due to racial injustices. It is likely that over the next three years OSC will continue to encounter people who are suffering as a result of this civic, social, and religious upheaval. OSC has the opportunity to respond to these needs as a calling of God’s Spirit, providing the sanctuary of a safe, welcoming, and inclusive community of faithfulness.

You can download the full Community Needs Assessment report by clicking here.