Moravian Church Southern Province Launches Equitable Homeownership Project to Build Homes for First-Time Buyers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Moravian Church Southern Province presented a proposal to the Winston-Salem City Council last year to build homes on 19 lots owned by the city. Officials approved only four, citing what they considered the group’s lack of experience as developers, according to WFDD’s report.

The proposal was part of a collaborative effort called the Equitable Homeownership Project, which launched this year with a groundbreaking in January for four new homes in the Southwest Ward. The groundbreaking marked the project’s move from plan to construction, a step toward sharing housing with families who need it (Hebrews 13:16).

In remarks quoted by WFDD, one speaker said the church’s involvement is a matter of moral obligation: “The Moravian Church does this not just because they can, they do it because they should. There’s a moral obligation right now for the Moravian Church to stand in this space as the community leads them to do this because of the history that the Moravian Church has played in inequities in our city that obviously dates back to slavery but even continues on to urban renewal projects.”

The same speaker described the project as mission-driven housing intended for communities that have been historically marginalized and under-resourced: “There is just no way that we can operate with market numbers and be able to help people to overcome poverty here in Winston-Salem.” The speaker said the work would require not-for-profits, communities of faith and residents working together to create homes that are sold without generating profit on the back end.

The project’s organizers have a proposal before the city for 10 additional lots. “Currently we have a proposal for 10 additional lots and we would be hopeful that those might be made available by the end of 2025 so that we can do this for 10 more families or households.”

Source: Read the original report