UPDATE on Partners:
Texas Office
planted rose bushes and installed park benches under large
shade trees to encourage passersby to use their grounds. The
park is frequented by walkers and cyclists in the community
and it has received praise for the effort to connect with local
residents.
A Fall Festival hosted by South Hills Christian Church in Fort
Worth, TX, and South Hills Elementary School across the street.
Photo courtesy South Hills Elementary School.
In 2012, a group of Fort Worth congregations graduated
from a New Dollars/New Partners training program funded by
a grant from the John Ryan Foundation. Edge Park United
Methodist Church and South Hills Christian Church, two
of the participants, have been hard at work making new
connections with their neighbors, based on lessons learned
through New Dollars/New Partners training.
Edge Park United Methodist Church has seen numerous
changes in the neighborhood over the last fifty years, many
of which left the congregation feeling disconnected and
isolated from its neighbors. “The New Dollars/New Partners
classes helped us think about what our congregation
needs to be doing in terms of ministry in our immediate
neighborhood,” said congregant Jean Anne Lanier.
Members had always been open to the idea of forming
partnerships within their community; they simply were
unsure how to make that a reality. Now, they create
opportunities for outreach to their community, such as
the new “Edge Park,” built on their front lawn. They have
Texas Advisory Board Members
James R. Nader, FAIA, Chair
Kenneth Barr
Diane Bumpas
Richard H. Bundy, AIA
Louise B. Carvey
Robert I. Fernandez
Donald Gatzke, AIA
Krista Gebbia
Marty Leonard
Robert F. Pence, PE
The Reverend Brenda W. Weir
Ex Officio
Fernando Costa
Randle Harwood
William J. Thornton, Jr.
Another positive development is a space-sharing
partnership with a Hispanic Assemblies of God
Church as well as a Burmese Baptist congregation.
These new relationships have created additional lines
of communication between the congregation and its
community neighbors, and they have also generated funds
necessary for building maintenance and improvement.
“The New Dollars/New Partners classes
helped us think about what our congregation
needs to be doing in terms of ministry in our
immediate neighborhood.”
Jean Anne Lanier, Edge Park UMC Church
South Hills Christian Church may be Fort Worth’s “best
kept secret.” For many years, this congregation has quietly
but diligently served its neighbors and forged a very close
relationship with the elementary school across the street.
Howver, the church’s location on a small side street, along
with dramatically changing neighborhood demographics,
presented real hardships for the small congregation.
Pastor Dottie Cook believes, “The New Dollars program
helped us to see how truly broad our connections are with
our community. We’ve been working with our neighbors for
years, and had received many blessings from this work, but
had no idea of all the implications of our ministries.” Their
latest project is a beautiful community park complete with
drinking fountains, enhanced lighting, handicap-accessible
sidewalks, shaded seating, and meditation plaques written in
English and Spanish. The park enhances the lot, providing
rest and refreshment for walkers, joggers, and their fourlegged friends. It also offers a place for parents to meet
children getting out from school and provides a safe place
for children to play ball and families to picnic. d
Sacred Places • Winter 2013 • 14