Sacred Places Spring 2011 | Page 12

UPDATE on Partners: Texas Office New Dollars/New Partners 2011 brings a new round of training to North Texas congregations, supported by grants from the Amon Carter Foundation and the Ryan Foundation, serving an ecumenical class of congregations in the Fort Worth area. To date, 46 congregations in Texas have participated in New Dollars/New Partners. Where Are They Now? Grace United Methodist Church (Grace) is located in downtown Dallas, in an area that has gradually changed from a silk-stocking district to a neighborhood with a wide array of challenges. The 1903 National Register-listed Gothic Revival building is a dominant presence in the community, with a tall tower and spire, impressive stained 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 Elaine Petrus The Reverend Brenda W. Weir Ex Officio Fernando Costa Randle Harwood William J. Thornton, Jr. glass windows, and an imposing facade adorned with carved stone details. It is one of twelve Dallas churches to have graduated from Partners’ New Dollars/ New Partners training program. Grace has a long history of providing outreach to its surrounding neighborhood. The building is used seven days a week by the congregation and a range of nonprofit Grace United Methodist Church in Dallas, TX, took what it learned at New Dollars/New Partners training to show the congregation and the larger community the public value of its historic building to attract new donors. 11 • Sacred Places • www.sacredplaces.org • Spring 2011