In this beautiful audience of housing justice prophets sits a born and bred son of New York City, the former Episcopal bishop of Northern Indiana, but forever a child of this diocese and region, my friend Bishop Ed Little.
When Ed served at St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church, Buena Park as vicar and then rector — not to put too fine a point on it, but it was a half century ago — he and members of the congregation looked at this empty patch of church property and imagined how it might be used one day for the glory of God. Successive vicars, including the Rev. Canon Mary P. Trainor, who is here from Tucson, and the incumbent, the Rev. Dr. Cindy Voien, lovingly nurtured the idea.
Our MC, Alexa Washburn, National Community Renaissance’s chief development officer, marveled at how quickly the Orchard View Gardens came together after breaking ground in August 2023. Our partners at CORE and Episcopal Communities & Services — if they put their minds to it — I’m pretty sure that in 18 to 36 months, they could build affordable housing on the surface of the moon. Both organizations feel passion for housing justice in their bones. Since I began my work as bishop in 2017, they’ve been in my daily prayers and have been my weekly collaborators.
My thanks as well to Board of Supervisors chair Doug Chafee, an affordable housing expert, and City of Buena Park Mayor Joyce Ahn and all their colleagues for their commitment to projects such as this. I remember the night our proposal came before the Buena Park City Council. We were in the thick of COVID. But the only bug that had infected councilmembers on that occasion was the affordable housing bug. The infection rate was 100%.
Yet they were watering a seed first planted during the Carter administration. How many of us will admit to being alive during the Carter administration? Many have St. Joseph’s’ kind of vision. Some people stand in the aisle at Trader Joe’s, look at the shelves, and see dinner for 20. They even hear the laughter of their family and friends around the table. The diplomat looks at the battlefield and imagines the shape of the peacemakers’ table. The poet looks at a blank sheet of paper and imagines the road less taken.
The person of faith looks at the world as it and imagines the realm of God. There are things God would keep, like the way a new child or grandchild sounds, smells, and feels while they’re asleep on our chest. But there are also things that we know God would fix — those things that prevent God’s people from thriving, being joyful, and being safe. Because can’t glorify God and love our neighbors as ourselves, as our God in Christ invites us to do each day, if we’re not thriving, joyful, and safe ourselves.
And whenever church people look at empty property, or available energy and financial resource and apply them to caring for those most in need, including by giving them a place to lay their heads each night, God takes delight. We weren’t sure if it would be rain or shine today, but we knew God would be smiling. So thank you for the vision, St. Joseph’s. Thank you for the miracle, CORE, ECS, and all of our partners. And welcome to all our new neighbors.
[My remarks today, and my photo album, as we dedicated Orchard View Apartments at St. Joseph’s, 66 one- and two-bedroom apartments for those 62 and older earning less than 60% of the area’s median income. About 20% of the units, which include nine casitas, come with supportive services for those who have already experienced homelessness.]
