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How a Chapel Hill Church Built 3 Tiny Homes

And how their model is spreading.

Eli Smith
May 06, 2025
∙ Paid
Small Homes, Big Impact | Triangle Community Foundation

For the first eleven years of their existence, the Episcopal Church of the Advocate in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, was a nomadic congregation. They moved around, worshipping in synagogues, other churches, and community centers before finally buying fifteen acres of land in 2014, placing a 100-year-old Carpenter Gothic chapel from a nearby town onto the land. It didn't take long before the small but mighty congregation became eager to do more with their space.

Their minister at the time, Reverend Lisa Fischbeck, was approached by four recent graduates of the nearby University of North Carolina who had worked with the local homeless population. Their proposition was a simple one, but it struck a chord.

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The Church of the Advocate would be the perfect host for a few tiny homes.

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A guest post by
Eli Smith
Student at Dartmouth College studying the intersection of faith and placemaking.
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