Ground Breaks for Inglewood First United Methodist Church’s Affordable Housing Project 

By Anne To | Contributing Writer | California Local News Fellow

Dozens of people filled the pews of Inglewood First United Methodist Church’s (IFUMC) sanctuary on Saturday, Feb. 7. Applause and “amens” filled the room in celebration of the church’s groundbreaking event as the community became one of the first religious organizations to develop affordable housing in the city.

Sixty residential units will be constructed replacing three empty buildings behind the chapel.

“This has been a seven–year process for the church, for the community, and our partners to get here. It’s a $50 million project,” Pastor Victor Cyrus-Franklin said. “It takes that long to do something that large and consequential that’s set up to house people for generations to come. So, to be a part of something that transformative, it makes us proud of who we are as a community, thankful to God, and inspired by our ancestors to do even more.”

The project comes as part of the Affordable Housing and Faith Lands Act, which streamlined the process for religious institutions and higher education institutions to build affordable housing units. Assembly member Tina McKinnor (D – Inglewood), who introduced the bill alongside Sen. Scott Wiener (D – San Francisco) in 2023, spoke during the groundbreaking event.

“It [the bill] was about trusting faith leaders to do what they have always done: serve the people,” McKinnor said during the speakers’ program.  That bill passed by the grace of God, and now three years later, we are breaking ground. Church, this is what faith looks like when we’re patient. This is what justice looks like when it finally shows up. This is what hope looks like when we put our boots on and work.”

From 2020 to 2022, homelessness in Inglewood rose by 43%, according to South Bay Coalition to End Homelessness, a coalition formed to end homelessness in the South Bay. California makes up 45 percent of the country’s unsheltered population, according to data by Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

Inglewood resident Charlie Kaine said he works to help build affordable housing units and shared the city’s need for more.

 ”While it’s an amazing thing that we have all these new stadiums and thousands of jobs have been created, I think the workers that work those jobs need to have a place that they can afford to live and be able to take part in the same city that they work,” Kaine said, adding that he hopes more institutions will follow in IFUMC’s example. “Hopefully many more people get to see what’s happening here and will replicate it at their church or their school or office building.”

LA Voice, a multi-racial and multi-faith organization which also supported the Affordable Housing and Faith Lands Act, was also in attendance.

“At a point right now where we’re showing that we can be our own superheroes,” LA Voice Executive Director Charity Chandler-Cole said. “We can thrive on our own and build our own communities, and this will be a testament to so many others to look within and say, ‘How can we use the resources, the land, and space we have to build for our community, to not only organize the, but to show up, to build and deliver the resources that they need to succeed and to thrive.’”

After listening to speakers such as Inglewood Mayor James Butts, the congregation was led outside to a pile of dirt right outside Wesley Hall. President of the Coalition of California State Tribes Joey Williams blessed the site and led a land acknowledgement. He shared that there were plans to have indigenous elders access to the units when they are built.

Donning white hard hats, children from the church alongside IFUMC and Cal-Pac United Methodist Church dignitaries, Chandler-Cole, Williams, Butts, and McKinnor lightly tossed the dirt forward.

Attendees were invited back into the church for tacos provided by local restaurant Nay’s Tacos.

Sheri Dunn Berry, a member of Holman United Methodist Church, shared she is thankful to be part of the community taking part in the project.

“It feels like we’re in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing for the right folks,” Berry said. “This is what churches should be doing if they truly are following Christ’s example.”