Article by Darragh Doiron for The Port Arthur News, PORT ARTHUR —
Good neighbors are sharing brotherly love.
The congregations of St. John Lutheran Church and Providence Presbyterian Church can’t get any closer. They’re sharing a building.
“It’s worked exceedingly and abundantly beyond our wildest imagination,” Buddy Blake, St. John pastor, said.
Clay Faulk explained how his flock moved into the St. John gym for a while as their new church is being built. Everything that filled the former church complex now fits in the host gym.
“Believe it or not, we fit in here,” Faulk said, moving a curtain to show stacks of chairs, books and office equipment. “We’re crashing on the couch, literally.”
An altar, piano, tables and chairs are arranged around the basketball goal. A clump of mismatched couches in the corner is where the young people gather at court-side services, he said.
Providence Presbyterian Church is the new name for Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, which just moved from Gulfway Drive. Members are camped out at St. John Lutheran on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard but will soon break ground on a new home on North Twin City Highway.
Faulk said the United Methodist District bought their former home on Gulfway Drive with plans to start a new church.
“It was difficult for people to let go of a building they loved,” Faulk said, but added that they’ve adopted a motto for the process: “If God leads you to it, God will lead you through it.”
“We’re so thankful to the Lutherans,” Faulk said.
The pastors have worked out a schedule that Blake refers to as a three-course feast. On Sundays, locals can catch a 9:30 a.m. Presbyterian service in the gym, a 10 a.m. Lutheran service in the sanctuary or an 11:15 a.m. Presbyterian service in the sanctuary.
Blake said he had faith the arrangement would work out. They aren’t charging rent, but the guests are making a contribution that helps St. John’s expenses. An added benefit is that there are now enough people for a full, blended Sunday School, he said.
“When the opportunity came up, it was something that I knew almost from the very beginning was going to be a tremendous blessing,” Blake said.
The groups plan to be merged neighbors for at least 18 months.
Beth Durham is part of the Providence congregation. She said the changes call for an attitude of adjustment. “It hasn’t been easy, in fact I think the more challenges we have faced, the more of an affirmation it has become, that Satan doesn’t want us moving forward. It’s very difficult to trust in the unknown, but that’s where faith comes in, and I think we’ve all learned that our faith needed to be kicked up a notch,” Durham said. “We’ve had to step out of the box, or out of our comfort zones. But God is seeing us through this move, and we anticipate many new ministry opportunities on the horizon.”
After all, they’ve changed before. Faulk said that in the early 1900s First Presbyterian came into being on Mobile Street, then in the 1960s moved to Gulfway Drive. In the 1970s, the Westminster Presbyterian church joined them and they renamed the congregation First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. With this move, members decided to create another new name with Providence Presbyterian Church.
Good neighbors are sharing brotherly love.
The congregations of St. John Lutheran Church and Providence Presbyterian Church can’t get any closer. They’re sharing a building.
“It’s worked exceedingly and abundantly beyond our wildest imagination,” Buddy Blake, St. John pastor, said.
Clay Faulk explained how his flock moved into the St. John gym for a while as their new church is being built. Everything that filled the former church complex now fits in the host gym.
“Believe it or not, we fit in here,” Faulk said, moving a curtain to show stacks of chairs, books and office equipment. “We’re crashing on the couch, literally.”
An altar, piano, tables and chairs are arranged around the basketball goal. A clump of mismatched couches in the corner is where the young people gather at court-side services, he said.
Providence Presbyterian Church is the new name for Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, which just moved from Gulfway Drive. Members are camped out at St. John Lutheran on Jimmy Johnson Boulevard but will soon break ground on a new home on North Twin City Highway.
Faulk said the United Methodist District bought their former home on Gulfway Drive with plans to start a new church.
“It was difficult for people to let go of a building they loved,” Faulk said, but added that they’ve adopted a motto for the process: “If God leads you to it, God will lead you through it.”
“We’re so thankful to the Lutherans,” Faulk said.
The pastors have worked out a schedule that Blake refers to as a three-course feast. On Sundays, locals can catch a 9:30 a.m. Presbyterian service in the gym, a 10 a.m. Lutheran service in the sanctuary or an 11:15 a.m. Presbyterian service in the sanctuary.
Blake said he had faith the arrangement would work out. They aren’t charging rent, but the guests are making a contribution that helps St. John’s expenses. An added benefit is that there are now enough people for a full, blended Sunday School, he said.
“When the opportunity came up, it was something that I knew almost from the very beginning was going to be a tremendous blessing,” Blake said.
The groups plan to be merged neighbors for at least 18 months.
Beth Durham is part of the Providence congregation. She said the changes call for an attitude of adjustment. “It hasn’t been easy, in fact I think the more challenges we have faced, the more of an affirmation it has become, that Satan doesn’t want us moving forward. It’s very difficult to trust in the unknown, but that’s where faith comes in, and I think we’ve all learned that our faith needed to be kicked up a notch,” Durham said. “We’ve had to step out of the box, or out of our comfort zones. But God is seeing us through this move, and we anticipate many new ministry opportunities on the horizon.”
After all, they’ve changed before. Faulk said that in the early 1900s First Presbyterian came into being on Mobile Street, then in the 1960s moved to Gulfway Drive. In the 1970s, the Westminster Presbyterian church joined them and they renamed the congregation First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. With this move, members decided to create another new name with Providence Presbyterian Church.
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