Meet an innoFaither: Chelsea Spyres
Meet Chelsea Spyres, Pastor and Executive Director of Riverfront Ministries and the associated Wilmington Kitchen Collective in Wilmington, Delaware, which she has called home for five years now since returning to her native Delaware. Although Riverfront Ministries has a unique model without a physical church of its own, when a local organization wanted to start an incubator for small culinary businesses, Chelsea saw an opportunity. Realizing that industrial kitchens in traditional churches sit empty most of the time, Chelsea and partners innovated the Collective to put those kitchens, and various other supports, at the disposal of culinary entrepreneurs. Overcoming a lot of doubt and skepticism from churches about sharing space in this way, the Collective has grown into a successful model of faith communities partnering with other community organizations to use church assets to meet a need and drive economic development.
What faith(s), if any, do you practice? How does your tradition and/or spiritual practice inspire or influence you as an innovator?
I am Christian, and more specifically, United Methodist. My tradition not only inspires innovation but demands it. Throughout scripture, we see story after story of God creating and inviting creation to join God in that work. Recently, I have been drawn to all of the different ways Jesus gathers people together. He is constantly on the move, in ministry with different people in different places, all while creating places of welcome and trust. I am amazed by the ways scripture describes Jesus' movement while at the same time providing a depth of relationship with the disciples. This is a balance that I am working toward in my ministry: how to innovate while deepening and prioritizing relationships.
What are you currently working on?
I serve as Pastor & Executive Director of Riverfront Ministries. We are a community of faith launched in partnership by the Presbytery and the United Methodist Church. We worship outside at an open-air pavilion from Easter to October and in the Delaware Contemporary Art Museum in the colder months. Our 5:05 Vespers is filled with music, poetry, visual art, prayer, and Communion. We gather for study weekly at our Think & Drink Book and Bible Study, meeting in community spaces to dive deeper together. From the beginning, words of Song, Word, and Table have been important to the Riverfront identity. These words have also set our missional priorities, one of which is serving as the operating partner for the Wilmington Kitchen Collective.
In partnership with another community organization, we launched the Wilmington Kitchen Collective in January 2022. The WKC is a community-based project dedicated to empowering holistic transformation by providing affordable, high-quality commercial kitchen facilities, business development, and economic support to culinary entrepreneurs. Over the last three years, we've taken over the kitchens at four local churches to transform them into shared commercial spaces. We now have 35 culinary businesses that call the Kitchen Collective home, and me their pastor! More about the Kitchen Collective can be found here: outandaboutnow.com/now-youre-cooking/.
What can we find you doing when you’re not working?
When I am not working, I love going to live music, watching sports, gathering friends for dinner, playing board games with my spouse, hiking, or spending time with my godkids.
What is piquing your curiosity these days?
What's not got me curious? Recently, I've embraced curiosity more instead of judging myself for not knowing the answers. These days, I am particularly drawn to conversations about direct service versus systemic change, creative uses for traditional church spaces, how to keep innovating when my default is to settle in, and table theology.
What is something you’d like help on?
Fundraising. We have strengthened this area a lot in the last few years, but as a non-profit innovator, this is an area that could use constant improvement.
What is something you can offer others in the innoFaith network?
Patience and strategy when talking to traditional church folk. Sometimes as innovators, it feels easier to go it alone, but I've found great worth investing in relationships and going it with others.
You can find Chelsea on Facebook, Instagram, or Email. Riverfront Ministries is on Facebook and Instagram. The Kitchen Collective is also on Facebook and Instagram.