Standing with a crowd of around 300 people outside the Massachusetts State House, the Rev. Lydia Shiu of Reservoir Church in Cambridge evoked an enduring metaphor — that of David taking on the giant Goliath in the Bible — as she spoke of the commonwealth's housing challenges.

Shiu helped lead a Greater Boston Interfaith Organization rally Thursday, where the coalition of religious groups and unions called on state leaders to make housing more affordable and accessible. She said the “GBIO sling” had secured past policy wins in health care and criminal justice reform.