Making Room for What Comes Next
Remembering the Duplex and Discerning Future Ministries

By The Rev. Cathlena Plummer

As some may or may not know, one of the major events at Good Shepherd Mission in the last few months has been the plan to demolish the old duplex house at the back of the campus, just a few yards from the Thorne Building.

 Not much is recorded in the Mission’s written history about the Duplex, but we believe it may have been one of the buildings added during the 1950s expansion of Good Shepherd Mission’s property. Although we may not know its full history, we do know that the Duplex has been home to many people connected to Good Shepherd over the years.

In the past few months, I have heard some of their names and stories.

My own father, the late Bishop Steven T. Plummer Sr., lived on one side of the Duplex as a young bachelor in the early 1970s. During that time, he also shared his home with his cousin, Edison Blackgoat.

 Another person who called the Duplex home was our own Rev. Paula Henson, who remembers living there during the 1980s as a renter from the Mission. Our maintenance extraordinaire, Gilbert Bahe, also lived in the Duplex with his young family and has shared stories about raising his children there.

These memories remind us that the Duplex was more than simply an old building on the Good Shepherd campus. For many years, it was a home. Families lived there, children grew up there, and people who would become part of the life and ministry of Navajoland passed through its doors.

Unfortunately, the Duplex has reached the end of its usable life. Recent environmental testing found extremely high levels of asbestos, black mold, and lead. Due to the extent of the contamination, no part of the structure, including its concrete foundation, can be safely salvaged.

Good Shepherd Mission is working with “Built on Faith” Contractors to safely demolish and remove the Duplex, taking necessary precautions to protect the surrounding campus and environment.

At this time, there are no plans for what will replace the Duplex. Instead, its removal allows the Southeast Region to discern what may come next. Guided by our Mission Prayer, we can listen together for what future ministry may be called forth from this place.

Even as we say goodbye to a building that has stood at Good Shepherd for decades, the relationships and stories connected to it remain. Perhaps this is part of the work before us: remembering what has been, making space for what is to come, and continuing to discern together where God is calling us next.