---
title: Know your Why - a Pride month post
description: When I was 16 my father told me he would kick me out of our family home if I came out as gay ... see how this inspired my passion for affordable housing
image: https://realize-re.org/hubfs/Pride(1).jpg
---

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 Jun 10, 2026 7:20:53 AM

# Know your Why - a Pride month post

![Picture of Peter](https://realize-re.org/hs-fs/hubfs/1.png?width=50&name=1.png) [Peter](https://realize-re.org/realize-real-estate-as-ministry-blog/author/peter)

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| ### When I was 16 my father told me he would kick me out of our home, if I came out as gay.   Knowing the number of young people who are homeless because of conflicts with religious parents, lit a fire under me. I crammed 4 years of high school into two. Graduated early. Eschewed the architectural degree I really wanted, for a practical 2 year community college degree that would keep the lights on and a roof over my head while working. **Got a job. Bought my** **own house at 18,** and once I had moved the last of my possessions our of my family's home, finally came out to my family. ![Pride](https://realize-re.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Pride.jpg?width=6000&height=4000&name=Pride.jpg) |
| --- |

| Not everyone is so lucky. And **not everyone should have to be a hero in their own story**. |
| --- |

| This threat of homelessness **kickstarted my passion for affordable housing** and how faith communities, particularly Christian churches can use their land to repair some of the harm religious institutions have done in Jesus name.   **Redeveloping church property is a way of making repair**; it is a tangible, physical, embodied, concrete way of using church-owned assets which have caused harm to many vulnerable parts of society, for the good and flourishing of the community.   20+ years later, having lived through one of the hardest embodied transitions while in active ministry, and **after leading the three congregations** I've served **through major property developments to transform their real estate for community flourishing**, plus a stint in a middle-judicatory advising congregations on stewardship and church property, **Realize exists to have greater impact**; to change the hearts and minds of more congregations to view their **real estate as an asset to be used for community flourishing**, rather than an idol to be worshiped on Sunday. |
| --- |

| *"Seek the well-being of the city, for when it thrives, you will thrive." Jeremiah 29:7* |
| --- |

| We believe the passage from Jeremiah 29:7, where God tells the ancient Israelites to, *"Pursue the well-being of the place where I have sent you, for when it thrives, you will thrive...."(Jeremiah 29:7)* applies to us as church leaders today. **We have a responsibility** to combat bigotry, homophobia, Christian Nationalism, and all the ways organized religion has been used as a tool of empire, rather than a tool of liberation, to share the Good News of a God who calls us **to embody God’s mercy and the Holy Spirit’s life for the good of the community.**   In solidarity and wishing you a resilient Pride. Peter |
| --- |

## Related posts

[![Image of Peter and other affordable housing advocates gathered in the Wisconsin State Capitol Rotunda, at the Badger State Housing Lobby Day.](https://realize-re.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Affordable-Housing-Advocacy-Day-04.2025.jpg?height=200&name=Affordable-Housing-Advocacy-Day-04.2025.jpg)](https://realize-re.org/realize-real-estate-as-ministry-blog/end-of-year-wrap-up)

## [A Light Shines in the Darkness: Realize Year-in-Review](https://realize-re.org/realize-real-estate-as-ministry-blog/end-of-year-wrap-up)

![Picture of Peter](https://realize-re.org/hs-fs/hubfs/1.png?width=50&name=1.png) [Peter](https://realize-re.org/realize-real-estate-as-ministry-blog/author/peter) 

 Dec 30, 2025 11:23:32 PM

Dear Church Property Visionaries, As the snow falls and the days begin to lengthen, I find myself...

[Read more](https://realize-re.org/realize-real-estate-as-ministry-blog/end-of-year-wrap-up)

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