Swamplot Archives by Tag: Churches

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Downsizing the Galveston Church

November 11, 2009 – 11:56 am
   

Archbishop Daniel DiNardo details the demo list: “The St. Therese of Lisieux mission building on the Bolivar Peninsula already has been demolished. The new plan adds Our Mother of Mercy church, also on the peninsula, to the list to be torn down. Members of Our Mother of Mercy’s congregation, who have opposed the archdiocese’s plans through litigation, said via e-mail Monday that the church’s fate was still to be decided. They said there would be a mediation session on the issue Friday. Ancillary buildings, but not the main church structures, will be removed at both the Holy Rosary and Sacred Heart campuses. The lot and buildings at Reina de La Paz are slated to be sold. The buildings that comprise the St. Peter the Apostle site are all to be either destroyed or sold. Historic stained glass windows, sacred statues, artwork and other items of architectural or symbolic interest will be preserved, Auxiliary Bishop Joe S. Vasquez said. ‘The church intends to keep them. We won’t throw them away or sell them, and will reuse them locally if possible.’” [Galveston County Daily News]

11:56 am | Add a Comment | Read more about Demolitions, Galveston, Quicklink, Religious Facilities
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Monday, November 2, 2009

Freeway Church of the Eastex Holy Roaming Empire: Shining a Little Light on La Luz Del Mundo

November 2, 2009 – 2:37 pm

Blogger Robert Boyd does what every Houstonian who’s driven the Eastex Freeway has been meaning to do — one day: get off the freeway and see what the deal is with that brightly lit marble and marbleish Greco-Roman edificial smorgasbord on the 59 feeder road:

When I was taking pictures, I got a chance to speak with the young watchman. He told me that the church took five years to build. He offered to let me see the interior, but I wasn’t allowed to take pictures there. A shame, because as mindblowing as the outside is, the inside is even moreso.

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2:37 pm | 20 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Camden Woods, Religious Facilities
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Monday, July 6, 2009

Sunday Gear: Biker Church in Manvel

July 6, 2009 – 12:10 pm

The Facts reporter John Tompkins visits the 4-year-old non-denominational Biker Church in Manvel, which operates out of a strip-center wedding and event facility on Highway 6, just east of FM 1128:

Instead of shirts, ties and Sunday dresses, Biker Church members wear vests, leather pants and sport tattoos. And instead of coming to church in the family car, most participants roll into the Jordan Center, where the church services are performed, on motorcycles and line them up in front of the door.

“If you walked into our church with a suit and tie, people would look at you funny,” said the church’s pastor, David Wright.

Robert “Tree” Perot said he started attending Biker Church after a member saw him on the side of a highway praying by his motorcycle. The man handed him a necklace with a cross fashioned from nails and asked him to come to Biker Church.

Photo of Biker Church parking at Jordan Event Center, 20709 Hwy 6 in Manvel: Biker Church

12:10 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Neighborhoods: Manvel, Religious Facilities, Strip Centers
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Friday, February 20, 2009

Sagemont Cross: New Higher Power Lines Beltway 8

February 20, 2009 – 6:42 pm

What’s this? A new clean, modern design for the high-voltage power line structures along the Sam Houston Tollway, just west of I-45 South?

Naah — it’s Sagemont Church’s new 170-ft.-tall steel cross, viewed in its natural setting. Plus: It lights up at night!

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6:42 pm | 50 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Ellington Field, Public Art, Religious Facilities, Utilities
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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Chapelwood United Methodist: Greenbay Packer

January 15, 2009 – 3:41 pm

The new 3-level youth building on the growing campus of Chapelwood United Methodist Church on Greenbay St. in Piney Point Village is now open:

Tour members, most who were seeing the new construction for the first time, were visibly taken aback when entering the ground-level youth activity center Sunday, where they were greeted by loud music and kids enjoying the actiivites.

Complete with 13 video gaming stations, air hockey, foosball, ping pong and pool tables, a snack bar, tables and seating for hanging out, a small stage with a huge video screen for games, group study rooms, free wi-fi, and more.

Youth ministry offices are off to the side of the game room.

Drawing of Chapelwood United Methodist Church master plan and photo: Merriman Holt Architects

3:41 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Houston Architects, Neighborhoods: Piney Point Village, New Construction, Religious Facilities
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Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Baptist Church, the Hooters Waitresses, and the Hurricane Victims

January 8, 2009 – 2:46 pm
   

A 9-year-long relationship between congregants of the Rice Temple Baptist Church in Southgate and a group of Hooters waitresses led to a bit of help for residents of Ike-devastated Oak Island over the holiday. “Over the years, the church has found additional ways to develop the relationship. The church has been a sponsor of an annual Hooters golf tournament, giving away Bibles. They have also worked with the restaurant’s employees on Habitat for Humanity building projects. . . . The waitresses have even joined with the congregation in walking through the neighborhood singing Christmas carols. ‘You could tell they hadn’t gone Christmas caroling before, because they all showed up in high heels,’ [Pastor Clint Reiff] recalled.” [Associated Baptist Press]

2:46 pm | 2 Comments | Read more about Disaster Aftermath, Neighborhoods: Oak Island, Neighborhoods: Southgate, Quicklink, Religious Facilities, Restaurants
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Monday, December 8, 2008

Church of the Shepherd Drive-Thru

December 8, 2008 – 12:25 pm
   

“The Christian non-denominational Succeed in Life Center near Shepherd and Tidwell has been offering drive-thru prayer service to members and non-members alike a couple of Saturdays a month since October, and pastor Damien Jackson tells Hair Balls the event has garnered praise from participants. ‘The reaction has been great. The people who drive by say everything from, “I’ve never heard of this, this is such a need idea, this is so helpful,”’ says Jackson, adding they regularly see between 20 and 30 cars an hour. Jackson explains that participants drive up to a window and fill out a request sheet, then drive to another window where they receive the prayer and a ‘quick word of encouragement’ from a pastor.” [Hair Balls]

12:25 pm | 1 Comment | Read more about Attractions, Quicklink, Religious Facilities
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Friday, November 7, 2008

Downtown Waiting Room

November 7, 2008 – 10:53 am
   

Architect Lawrence Speck of Page Southerland Page, architect of the Christ Church Cathedral’s John S. Dunn Outreach Center at Prairie and San Jacinto: “We went to other places that were serving the homeless in Houston and spoke with people. Gosh, they have all the time in the world. They’re very happy to talk to you. One thing that we learned that had not been handled well in Austin was that a whole lot of their lives are about waiting. They’re waiting for the meal; they’re waiting for an appointment; they’re waiting for friends to show up; and there’s no place to hang out. They are constantly being moved or jostled. So on the north side of Dunn center, we built a lot of space for just hanging out. There’s a very deep arcade—about 12 feet deep. It’s got ceiling fans. It’s shady. It’s cool. Then there’s a little buffer of green space, which is very, very important because that makes them not feel like they’re on the sidewalk. . . . Another thing that’s good about the arcade is that it’s on the church’s turf, and so the hotels and the condos and the other office buildings down there feel much more comfortable with the homeless people being in their neighborhood than they did before.” [Architectural Record]

10:53 am | 3 Comments | Read more about Institutional Buildings, Neighborhoods: Downtown, Quicklink
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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Grace Community Church and the Giant Crosses on I-45

July 10, 2008 – 4:05 pm

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

The two “Marking Our City” billboards near Grace Community Church’s north and south I-45 locations depict a plain white cross, an American flag, and the words “150 FT CROSS COMING SOON.” But they probably show only the top portion of the structures the church is planning — and the 150-ft. label may be selling the project short. The Chronicle’s Lisa Gray says

. . . the pastor hopes both structures will be 200 feet tall, roughly the height of a 20-story building. The Federal Aviation Administration, he said, may limit the south campus’s cross to 150 feet because it’s near Ellington Field.

Five-and-a-half minutes into the Grace Community Church video above, Grace senior pastor Steve Riggle walks viewers through a drawing of a more elaborate structure. Riggle asks

What if there was one of these at every entrance to the city? And it was there for the prayer movement in the city, not just a church. You talk about marking our city for God.

After the jump: More crosses on the side of the highway!

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4:05 pm | 24 Comments | Read more about Attractions, Neighborhoods: Ellington Field, Neighborhoods: The Woodlands, Proposed Developments
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Monday, June 30, 2008

Baytown Annexes 320 Acres for Second Baptist

June 30, 2008 – 11:37 am

Parking Lot for Proposed Second Baptist Church of Baytown on North Main St., Baytown, TX

Baytown’s City Council has voted to annex 320 acres of land along North Main and south of I-10 — so that Baytown’s Second Baptist Church can get utility and other municipal services for a new 48,000-sq.-ft., $8.7 million shopping-center-style facility it is hoping to construct on North Main St.

The Baytown Sun’s Barrett Goldsmith reports that even more land may be annexed:

According to information submitted to Council by city planner Kimberly Brooks, additional property along North Main will be brought to Council for annexation as the utility system is extended to the area.

After the jump: More images of the new church . . . plus a video!

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11:37 am | Add a Comment | Read more about Annexation, Baytown, Institutional Buildings, Proposed Developments
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008

A Few Scenes from Mt. Carmel’s Battle of the Bulge

May 20, 2008 – 5:10 pm

Collapse and Demolition of the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, Fourth Ward, Houston

ABC13’s Miya Shay posts these photos of the impromptu demolition of the Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church at Ruthven and Valentine in the Fourth Ward, which began collapsing on its own Friday.

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5:10 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Demolitions, Hazards, Institutional Buildings, Neighborhoods: Fourth Ward
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Monday, March 24, 2008

Sanctioned by the Congregation: The Office Building Next to First Baptist

March 24, 2008 – 11:25 pm

Rendering of Proposed Hines Office Building Adjacent to First Baptist Church, Houston

A reader directs our attention to this proposed 16-story office building facing the south side of the Katy Freeway, just outside the Loop — on the current site of a Houston’s First Baptist Church parking lot.

Hines plans to build the office building and an 11-level, 1,500-car parking garage on the lot, which the developer would lease from the church. The congregation has already voted to authorize church representatives to finalize and sign a 99-year ground lease for the property.

The garage would help solve the church’s chronic parking problems: According to the HFBC website, 300 cars currently park off-site on weekends. With the Hines development, the church would lose the 480 spaces in the lot now available during the week, but gain 1,500 spaces for church use on weekends and after office hours.

Below the fold, lots more images of the proposed office building and garage on HFBC property.

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11:25 pm | Add a Comment | Read more about Commercial Real Estate, Development Strategy, Houston Architects, Neighborhoods: Bayou Woods, Neighborhoods: Memorial, Office Buildings, Parking, Proposed Developments
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