Bob Ray Sanders 
Local church members have been perfecting their serve
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
A groundbreaking or building dedication can be a rather mundane affair, even with a ream of dignitaries holding shovels and cutting ribbons.
But a groundbreaking event last week and a dedication scheduled for next week are much more significant than brief ceremonies might suggest. They represent far more than the mere brick-and-mortar structures that will stand for years to come.
As I watched the plans of these two special projects evolve, take shape and begin to fulfill long-awaited promises, I thanked God for an institution that I have often criticized for being too complacent, too uncommitted to those in need and too ... well, too un-Christian.
I'm talking about the institution of religion, and the church in particular.
Today, although I still could criticize many congregations for not doing enough to serve people, I want to pause and praise the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth and the United Methodist Church for their reinvestment in communities that still need a friend, still hold out hope and still pray for opportunities for their children.
The groundbreaking I attended Friday was for the new Polytechnic Community Center, one of three inner-city facilities operated by United Community Centers Inc., which was founded by the Methodist church.
For 100 years, since the establishment of the City Mission Board in 1908 by First Methodist Church of Fort Worth, that congregation has been committed to serving and empowering disadvantaged communities, beginning with programs for the immigrant families in the neighborhoods around the city's meatpacking district on the north side.
Ultimately, three centers would be created -- in the Polytechnic area, Diamond Hill and the near southeast side -- to provide programming for children, adults and senior citizens.
As a youth, I spent many a Saturday at the Bethlehem Center on the near southeast side, where caring adults trained me, inspired me and taught by example lessons in leadership, responsibility and service to humanity.
United Community Centers has renewed its commitment to these neighborhoods and the people who live there by rebuilding all three centers at a total cost of $6.5 million. The new Polytechnic facility, which will come first, will cost almost $3.4 million; Bethlehem Center's new construction costs will be about $2.3 million; and remodeling of the Wesley Center on the north side will run $697,500.
The Centers' mission statement is: "Guided by Christian Principles, we serve and empower those in need."
And they do that by providing after-school child care; special programs for students in the fifth through 12th grades; summer day camps; obesity prevention and education for children and youth; special services, including client intervention and case management, for the elderly; and adult education, computer skills training and English-as-a-second-language instruction.
Yes, other church groups serve many communities in our area, but the multimillion-dollar investment by United Community Centers, in cooperation with the city of Fort Worth, is a major commitment that should not be ignored.
Another substantial investment is that being made by the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, which is fulfilling a promise to rebuild its central-city (not "inner-city") schools on the southeast side, Riverside and north side.
On May 21, church and school officials will formally dedicate the new Our Mother of Mercy School in the southeast section of the city. The demolition of the old building and construction of the new one totaled $2.2 million.
On Thursday, there will be a groundbreaking for a $1.7 million addition to St. George's School in Riverside; later, renovation work will begin at All Saints on the north side at a cost of about $3.4 million. A fourth central-city school, St. Rita's on the east side, also is expected to get a face lift.
Just a few years ago, the diocese was considering closing some of these schools, which serve many non-Catholics. At Our Mother of Mercy, for example, only about 20 students are of the Catholic faith.
Again, here's the church making an investment of well over $7 million in communities that it did not have to make -- but obviously it feels committed to do so.
For that, our entire city and county ought to be grateful.
bobray@star-telegram.com
