Two historic black churches in Houston have been saved from the bulldozer sent by city authorities to make way for urban development.
According to Liberty Institute, which sued the city over the threats made against the churches—the Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church and Latter Day Deliverance Revival Church—the Houston Housing Authority (HHA) has dropped its claims on the land and announced that it will be leaving the churches in peace.
Initially, the HHA attempted to purchase the churches' properties, but both Revival Church Bishop Roy Lee Kossie and Pastor Quinton Smith of the Christian Fellowship Church declined the city government's offer. They had been approached several times by developers who were planning an aggressive urban redevelopment of the neighbourhood. However, Kossie and Smith told Houston authorities that they're determined to preserve their religious institutions.
When both churches rejected Houston's purchase offer, the HHA then threatened to seize the property by way of the city's powers of eminent domain, saying they would do so after condemning the property.
Liberty Institute came to the churches' defence and filed a lawsuit against the city on Aug. 4, contending that the city would violate the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act if it pursued its plans. After a recent hearing, the HHA backtracked.
The eighty-three-year-old Kossie, who is now in his 60th year as a pastor, could not be more thrilled with the news. "We are overjoyed that we can now continue to minister to the Fifth Ward without fear of losing our property," he told WND. "This is where the Lord called Latter Day Deliverance Revival Church to serve and this is where we can now stay."
"We applaud the Housing Authority for making the right decision and respecting the right of this church to continue its ministry if the Fifth Ward," added Aaron Streett, a partner at the law firm of Baker Botts LLP. "Churches are vital to our communities and government should never threaten to push churches off their own property."
