D.C. Churches Challenged but not Giving Up, Working for Affordable Housing

Hamil R. Harris WI Contributing Writer

Having long been lauded as a spiritual hub for the Black community, Washington, D.C. has boasted congregations filled with African American members who intentionally come to the nation’s capital to worship every Sunday.

Today many of the larger churches are still open, however, a growing number of smaller churches have sold their property, moved to Maryland or have simply remained closed more than two years after the pandemic.

“This is a period where the African American churches are under great challenge,” said Terry Lynch, excutive director of the Downtown Cluster of Congregations. “Congregations are aging, facing physical and economic challenges.”

Sulton, who has been deeply involved in the development of the RCCA for years, said the legislation reorganizes and reclassifies criminal offenses so that the penalties more closely align with the severity of offenses.

Sulton went on to tell the Informer that, under the RCCA, the severity of penalties, including that for robbery and murder, take into account the conduct, result, circumstances and intent, including whether the person possessed or used a firearm.

Sulton added that the current statutes do not clearly, constitutionally and consistently define crime, which

Lynch said even though some churches need upgraded HVAC systems, “often they can’t take out loans of up to $250,000 for heating and air flow systems.”

This is part of a national trend. About 4,500 Protestant churches closed in 2019– the last year data was available— with approximately 3,000 new churches opening, according to Lifeway Research, an arm of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The housing crisis and challenges churches are facing are hand in hand in the District.

Rev. Cheryl Sanders, pastor of the Third Street Church of God in Northwest, D.C., said the church doesn’t don’t plan to move and, instead, presenting more opportunities for the community to expand with the place of worship.

“We are not moving,” said means that appellate court judges determine the meaning of the law. Amid all the discussion about the RCCA lowering penalties for gun crimes, she said that her aforementioned point often gets overlooked by people with a zeal for incarceration.

When it comes to each criminal case, Sulton said penalties should reflect the circumstances at hand. She noted that it can only happen when judges are allowed more flexibility in their sentencing.

Though she acknowledged the potential of the RCCA to address racial discrimination in the criminal justice system, Sulton said it’s not the end all, be all in reforming the system.

Sanders. “We are investing in the community.”

“We are building two affordable housing units,” Sanders added, noting that the process has been challenging, with the church located in an historic area.

In December, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a faith-based partnership to develop more affordable housing in the District. The program involves the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and other groups.

“Every day, houses of worship across D.C. step up to support our community in several ways,” Bowser said. “We know that there are faith-based partners who see the need for safe and affordable housing, and they want to help.”

Moreover, she lamented the likelihood that she might have squandered political goodwill needed for more radical campaigns because of misconceptions about the RCCA’s potency.

“We can have a principled debate about alternative solutions to gun violence violence prevention, mass decarceration, and limiting state violence,” Sulton said. “The bill doesn’t do that. It puts all the offenses and penalties in the order that it’s supposed to be, and people act like it’s a ‘get out of jail free’ card. Everyone’s painting it as some radical thing when it’s not. What we’ve done is make the statutes clear and consistent.” WI

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Rev. Joseph Williams, senior program manager for Enterprise Community Partners, said, “Faith leaders are seeing the need to rethink their footprint in the city, and we have many examples in the city in terms of incorporating property.”

The Rev. H. Lionel Edmonds, pastor of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church, and the Rev. Joe Daniels, pastor of the Emory Fellowship: A United Methodist Congregation, have worked for years with the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) to bring affordable housing to the District. Now, they have branched out on their own.

“We in the faith community applaud the Mayor and her dedicated work to make our city a place where anyone can own a home or have an affordable place to live,” said Edmonds. “We look forward as leaders in the religious community to continue our labor with the Mayor in this effort. We have worked together before; we can do it again.”

“We have always looked at salvation holistically. It has a spiritual base, but in addition, salvation is also mental, emotional and physical, and it is also financial,” Daniels said. “John 10:10 says the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus said that I have come so that they may have life abundantly.”

Daniels, whose church is located at 6100 Georgia Ave Northwest, said, “We opened the Beacon Center in March of 2019. Our church built 99 units of rental housing at 60 percent of the average income in the city. This was a 60 million project. Eight of the units are permanent supportive housing for those who are moving from homeless to permanent residency.”

He said they also renovated the sanctuary as a multipurpose facility.

“We also have a banquet space and half-court gym, and we are building a restaurant cafe to provide culinary training for returning citizens.” WI

Historical documentation from the District of Columbia Office of Tourism and in particular, Marya Annette McQuirter, Ph.D., shows that African Americans have been a significant part of Washington, D.C.'s civic life and identity since the city was first declared the new nation’s capital in 1791. This is the first of a series that I’m writing about where we are today in the District of Columbia, as it relates to, for the most part, African-American churches. It is my intention to delve into other parts of our history, for example our largest job market, the federal government.

According to the most recent U.S. Census data from the American Community Survey (ACS), the racial composition of the District of Columbia was: Black or African American: 45.39%; and White: 41.07%. Let us take a look at how this all began for African Americans, here in Washington, D.C.

World Population View cites that the median age in Washington, D.C. is 33.8 years, with a slight gender gap of 52.5% female, and 47.5% male.

There are many religions and denominations represented in Washington, D.C., including Baptist (17%), Catholic (13%), Evangelical Protestant (6%), Methodist (4%), Episcopalian (3%), Jewish (2%), Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, Buddhist, Adventist, Lutheran, Muslim, Buddhist, Mormon, Hindu and Presbyterian.

Back in the year 1800, African Americans were 25% of the population, and the majority of them were enslaved. By 1830, however, most were free people. Yet slavery remained.

African Americans, of course, resisted slavery and injustice by organizing churches, private schools, aid societies, and businesses; by amassing wealth and property; by leaving the city; and by demanding abolition.

In 1848, 77 free and enslaved adults and children unsuccessfully attempted