On this Martin Luther King holiday, I recalled that, recently, at my church our pastor shared the thought that proximity destroys prejudice. Think about it—if you spend time next to someone getting to really know them—you can’t help but respond in a more open and loving way. Habitat build sites are great places for proximity. We pride ourselves on our mission of “bringing people together” to build homes, communities, and hope. It is not just the product of housing that we are focused on, it is the process by which we create the homes that makes the real difference.
This weekend, local Baptist churches came together to start construction of two homes in East Raleigh’s Neuse Ridge community. The Wake Baptist Association, comprised of historically African-American churches and the Raleigh Baptist Association, comprised of historically white churches came together for the second consecutive year to demonstrate God’s love by working together to build homes alongside families in need.
Indeed, I think Dr. King would be proud….