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Partnership works on building bridges
By Erik Alsgaard

Two distinct United Methodist congregations—separated by mere miles in the District of Columbia, but by larger issues of race and economics—have come together to work toward finding things shared in common and to improve life in Washington, D.C.

Metropolitan Memorial UMC, on the city’s northwest side, and Brighter Day Cooperative Parish, on the southeast, began to partner with each other about two years ago, according to the Rev. Charlie Parker of Metropolitan Memorial.

“We were both part of the Washington Interfaith Network,” he said, “which is a network of about 50 churches that came together to form a community organizing network.” For the last 20 years, Parker said, that network has sought to keep pressure on the political system of the District, especially in the area of affordable housing.

Thus, the two congregations came together on the housing issue on June 30, with a joint worship service and rally at Brighter Day. Even the city’s mayor, Vincent Gray, attended.

“I was delighted to have the mayor there,” said Parker, “that he could hear and respond to our call. I trust that we’ll work together to redevelop that property.”

The property in question, Parkway Overlook, sits around the corner from the former A.P. Shaw UMC, now part of the Brighter Day congregation. Parkway Overlook has been abandoned for four or five years and was scheduled to be auctioned at the courthouse later this month, according to the Rev. Earnest Lyles of Brighter Day UMC.

“We wanted to bring to the attention of the city that this property should be preserved for affordable and diverse housing,” Lyles said. He added that if a developer bought the property, it would most likely be established at the market rate for the city, out of the reach of many people in the neighborhood.

“There are 67,000 people on a waiting list for low-income rental property in the District,” Lyles said, with thousands more looking for affordable home ownership. The property near Brighter Day, he said, could potentially hold 266 units.

“The city has committed $100 million to affordable housing,” said Parker, estimating that a redevelopment of Parkway Overlook would cost about $5 million.

Both Lyles and Parker thought the rally was successful in bringing more awareness of the issue to members of the congregations and the community. “Now we need to follow-up with the mayor to ensure he follows through on his commitment,” said Lyles. A meeting was scheduled for July 10 between members of the resident association and the head of the D.C. Housing Finance agency, he said.

But beyond the worship service and rally, both Parker and Lyles say their congregation’s partnership is a blessing.

“We wanted to focus on three areas of ministry,” said Lyles, “and that has now grown to four.” The original three were fellowship, worship and mission outreach.

“We started with fellowship,” said Lyles, “because we felt it was important to building relationships among our membership. There is a lot of diversity among us and some differences. We wanted to start by breaking down barriers and building relationships that unite us.”

The fourth area of ministry is evangelism, with Lyles noting that there are long-term visions of holding a mass revival of United Methodism on the National Mall.

“We have enjoyed this partnership on our end,” said Parker, “and we have been blessed by the rich, diverse community we are developing together. The work on affordable housing is just one facet of a long-term list of projects.”

The partnership has already been noticed by the Rev. Joe Daniels, new superintendent of the Greater Washington District. Daniels attended the worship and the rally, even though his first official day on the job wasn’t until the next day.

“This was a powerful testimony of two churches, two sides of the city, coming together across racial and class lines,” Daniels said. “To me, it was the Kingdom of God, present and visible.”

Having the mayor in attendance was a powerful symbol, Daniels added, and he was prayerful that housing would be built for low- and moderate-income families.

“Blessings to Metropolitan and Brighter Day for their courage, their faith, and their developing trust,” he said.

Lyles said that that developing trust has elevated the two congregations from being a partnership to where he considers it “family.” That growth is also evident in his relationship with Parker.

“We started out as colleagues,” he said, “and it grew where we were friends. Today, we are brothers.”

Speaking of the worship and rally, Parker said that it was a very exciting day. “The whole thing just worked,” he said. “There was such powerful energy.”