A Gift for the Neighborhood

Washington's Episcopal Church of St. Stephen and the Incarnation is in the narrow, racially mixed belt that separates Washington's black ghetto from its white community. Just north of the 1968 riot area, the tall, brown brick church has been engulfed by urban redevelopment. Last week the parishioners of St. Stephen and the Incarnation voted overwhelmingly (137-2) to do some urban developing of their own. They will give the three church lots--1.28 acres, valued at $300,000--as the core for a new "urban village."

Other churches have given away property or sold it for token prices, but most have then moved to the suburbs. St. Stephen's parishioners propose no such thing. Led by its activist pastor, Father William Wendt, 50, the congregation will be a minority shareholder in a new redevelopment corporation and work actively with other neighborhood groups. The major goal: to acquire more land and build a 200-unit apartment complex (from efficiencies to five-bedroom apartments) for tenants from all economic levels. The tentative master plan also provides space for day-care centers, medical and dental offices, schools and recreation. Parishioners gave prime importance to a place of worship in the plan, though probably a smaller one than the old church, which may well be torn down to make room for the project.

Social Force. St. Stephen and the Incarnation (two separate parishes until 1928) has long been a social force in its neighborhood. The church already runs a day-care center, a senior-citizens' hot lunch program, and houses neighborhood recreational facilities. Father Wendt, a South Dakotan who once worked on Manhattan's Lower East Side, has often irritated Washington's house-and-garden society Episcopalians by his activism. Last September, Vestryman George Hart, a member of the Black United Front, addressed the congregation to demand that the church give $25,000 and pledge 50% of its income as reparations to the black community. He was refused, but parishioners began meeting to explore avenues for the best use of their property.

Their decision may mean far more to the neighborhood than the $300,000 value of the church property. The new corporation hopes to attract other church funds, foundation money and a low-cost Government loan for their project. The land itself may be sufficient collateral to produce up to ten times its value in financing. But St. Stephen's parishioners have already pledged more than their land. At Wendt's urging, the congregation agreed that each member of the church will contribute a portion of his income not only for the church but for the neighborhood as well.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.